Lesson 26 Minna No Nihongo Grammar
Natasha Mulhearn
Disclaimer: My experiences with the textbook are not universal, and there might be objectively better strategies for working through it, but I have successfully completed Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I and II, and I thought I might as well share what I learned. Feel free to chime in with additional tips!
The way MNN is set up is not for everyone, but I personally really liked the structure because it encouraged me to try to use the book exclusively in Japanese as much as possible, and I got used to reading in Japanese without having English translations to fall back on for everything. For the most part, I would read the English explanations and then set the book aside and work exclusively with the Japanese text.
Tofugu advises waiting until level 10 to start studying grammar, but I personally disagree with this advice, and recommend starting earlier. I started MNN at level 7, and probably could have started even earlier.
This workbook also has a fair amount of production exercises where it asks you questions, or asks you to write your own questions, and your responses can be fairly freeform. Usually it gives an example answer in the back that you can use as sort of a guide to make sure that you understood what the book was asking you to write. These exercises might be less useful without someone to check your work, but I appreciate having the opportunity to start attempting to formulate sentences in Japanese in a very low stakes environment.
This is, in my opinion, the hardest of the three books. I saved it until nearly last. The only thing I did after it is the 問題 section in the main textbook, since I was better at the listening exercises the more practice I had.
I strongly recommend forming regular, consistent habits if possible. Treat it like a marathon, not a sprint. Think about it in terms of what you can get done each day without too much strain and let that inform your pace.
I tried to complete at least one new MNN lesson each WK level. I could go a little faster if I pushed myself (by starting to learn the vocab for the next chapter before finishing the previous one), but that increased the SRS strain, so I tended to avoid doing that. My pace was about two weeks per WK level, so I completed one MNN lesson about every two weeks. That might seem a little slow, but I aimed for making consistent progress while still leaving room in my life to do other things, and I think it was a good call.
I have all the workbooks and extra audios. in my opinion, it adds a lot to the system. theres a kanji workbook and textbook, a reading workbook, a listening workbook, and even a compisition workbook. some come with extra vocab, the listening comes with cds, and i have the other cds that cover everything in the main book, including the exercises. there are also scripts.
I do it a little differently, i write everything down, and then ill have a list of things to do with the material. everything from reading it silently to writing it out. i find it helps me really keep the info in.
theres also a novel set for the series too, though i havent done much with it other than flip through it yet.
Before moving on to the next lesson, I would add all of the grammar information from the lesson to my (physical) notes. This step is optional, but I felt like keeping a physical notebook helped me synthesize everything I was learning.
After all this negativity, I should probably clarify that I DO like the actual MNN 1 textbook with its companion book (the one that comes in various languages). In my opinion they are well suited for self study and actually pretty comparable to Genki 1.
Lessons 10-25: Further expand on the grammar covered in the initial lessons, introducing new verb conjugations, sentence structures, and vocabulary related to various daily life scenarios, such as shopping, dining, and travel.
Why Minna no Nihongo Grammar PDF? The availability of the Minna no Nihongo grammar PDF serves as a valuable resource for learners, offering convenient access to structured lessons, explanations, and exercises. Learners can utilize the PDF format to study at their own pace, review specific grammar points, and reinforce their understanding through practice exercises.
Conclusion: Mastering Japanese grammar is a crucial step towards achieving proficiency in the language. The Minna no Nihongo series, coupled with the grammar PDF, provides learners with a structured approach to mastering essential grammar points from lessons 1 to 25. Download the provided PDF files, dive into the lessons, and embark on your language learning adventure today!
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From a teacher's point of view of textbooks mentioned above, "Genki" is a good way to start learning sentence structures and grammar points. You can practise all four macro skills (i.e. reading, writing, speaking & listening) within one text book. If you seek more practice, workbook is also available. Negative side is, it can be difficult to do group/pair work yourself. However, if you have a study buddy, you can start making a small conversation with him/her in Japanese as soon as chapter 3.
"Minna no nihongo" is more focused on grammar points and covers them more than "Genki". Thus, it is probably more friendly textbook to autodidacts. However, all the explanations are in a separate book, so it may not be as convenient as "Genki". Other workbooks are also available and if you collect all of the series, it would be quite bulky. But, you can gain thorough knowledge from them for sure.
After you've got some kanji knowledge under your belt (about level 10 or 20 in WaniKani), it's time to pick up a textbook and start learning the framework in which you can use all the Japanese you've learned.
But which textbook to choose? There are so many. And beyond textbooks, there is a wealth of reference books, dictionaries, and other things that expand on your textbook's lessons. And you'll need those to reach intermediate and beyond.
If you're following our path to Japanese fluency, you'll already know upwards of 650 kanji from your WaniKani lessons at level 20. With so much kanji packed in your brain, not only will these textbooks be much easier to use, but you'll be able to skip the kanji lessons and use that time to move your Japanese ability forward in other ways.
To get a decent handle on the structure of Japanese, you need a solid textbook (or the equivalent) to explain grammar concepts, provide practice exercises, and introduce material that's only +1 above your current ability level.
A perfect starting point for beginners, Genki has an easy-to-follow lesson structure that begins with dialogues using target vocabulary and grammar, which are then taught more clearly in the succinct and easy-to-understand lessons.
The difficulty of each lesson scaffolds gradually, so you won't feel the material is too far above your head. The exercises, audio CDs, and workbook match the high quality of the textbook and reinforce what you're learning through variety and repetition.
Genki was designed for classrooms, so if you're a self-learner, keep in mind the material may need to be modified for your situation. Also, this means most of the terminology and dialogue is aimed at the college demographic.
If you're a complete beginner, Minna no Nihongo will present a significant challenge: it's all in Japanese. And we don't mean "there's no romaji," the entire book is in Japanese. You need a separate "translation book" in English to study properly.
The two book system isn't "bad," necessarily. Studying with the main, all-Japanese textbook will force you to figure things out through context and use your brain a little more. You can always check the translation book for grammar explanations when you get stuck.
Minna no Nihongo is very in-depth too. It covers a lot of material and uses complex terms to teach grammar points. It even explains pitch accents with new grammar you learn! This is great because pitch accent should be learned early but few textbooks cover it.
Upon completing the first Minna no Nihongo, you'll know more than if you'd studied Genki I. If you're more academic and want to learn as much as possible, this is a great option for you because you can take your time and soak in the knowledge. If you hit a roadblock, a tutor or language partner would work well with this textbook.
What sets Yookoso! apart is the grammar explanations. They're academic and brief to the point of being a little unclear. But there are a lot of example sentences, tables, and other material to flesh out target concepts. It's like Yookoso! quickly explains how to swim then pushes you into the pool.
This focus on example sentences is a great way to get a feel for Japanese in its native habitat and will give you a strong collocation background. Though short, the grammar explanations do a fine job of teaching you the nuts and bolts of the language, breaking down the rules so the example sentences do you a lot of good.
And while Yookoso! teaches a lot, some may find its content outdated and hard to navigate. The first book in the series begins with a bootcamp of sorts that can disenfranchise beginner learners. It seems like Yookoso! was meant to act more as a college classroom textbook rather than a self-learner resource.
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