I need help.

[I-samu]

Is there any textbook that:
Gives you a good foundation
Doesn't rattle off random phrases
Teaches you good grammar
Has plenty of excersises for you to do
Has information that is useful
Forces you to use hiragana/katakana/kanji

?

[alex_2096]

Japanese for busy people

[Sachi]

Definately the Genki series. It's been awesome for me I've learned a ton!

Format overview:

SECTION: LISTENING/SPEAKING

-Dialogue
*Starts with an everyday dialogue filled with useful phrases and words.
-Vocabulay
*Lists vocab used in the dialogue and throughout the lesson, and the rest of the book.
*All vocab words and terms are everyday, extremely helpful kind of words
-Grammar
*Very in-depth grammar section gives you a solid foundation on the basics, broken up into
sections
-Activities
*Group and single-study activities that reinforce grammar.
*Varying activities keep you entertained
*Enough activities to make sure you really know the content well
-End-of-Section Vocab
*Useful vocab and phrases in a certain category i.e. "Classroom Words", "At the Post
Office", etc.

SECTION: READING AND WRITING

-Kanji List
*Lists 15 kanji each section (The first two lessons deal with hirigana and katakana)
-Activities
*Activities make you practice the kanji.
-(Other)
*The reading and writing section corresponds to the listening/speaking section, therefore
grammatical concepts and vocab are shared.

Thanks for reading my super-long post! ^^; I know how important a good textbook is, though, so I felt I should really explain.

[I-samu]

Sachi wrote:
Definately the Genki series. It's been awesome for me I've learned a ton!

Format overview:

SECTION: LISTENING/SPEAKING

-Dialogue
*Starts with an everyday dialogue filled with useful phrases and words.
-Vocabulay
*Lists vocab used in the dialogue and throughout the lesson, and the rest of the book.
*All vocab words and terms are everyday, extremely helpful kind of words
-Grammar
*Very in-depth grammar section gives you a solid foundation on the basics, broken up into
sections
-Activities
*Group and single-study activities that reinforce grammar.
*Varying activities keep you entertained
*Enough activities to make sure you really know the content well
-End-of-Section Vocab
*Useful vocab and phrases in a certain category i.e. "Classroom Words", "At the Post
Office", etc.

SECTION: READING AND WRITING

-Kanji List
*Lists 15 kanji each section (The first two lessons deal with hirigana and katakana)
-Activities
*Activities make you practice the kanji.
-(Other)
*The reading and writing section corresponds to the listening/speaking section, therefore
grammatical concepts and vocab are shared.

Thanks for reading my super-long post! ^^; I know how important a good textbook is, though, so I felt I should really explain.

Should I get the workbook and cd's that come with it?

[Kates]

Of course. You want listening exercises, and workbook practice, don't you? It might cost you extra, but it will be worth it. I also highly recommend the Youkoso! series. I used that text through the first 3 years of my Japanese education at my college and enjoyed it, and looking back on it, I think it's well-structured and offers a lot to the student.

You can try http://www.bestbookdeal.com to see if you can find them at a good price somewhere; or perhaps someone on ebay is selling one. (:

[Mercenary]

I have a question on the cds.
Does it make a big difference of getting the teacher 6 cd pack or the student cd.
The student is nice and cheap, only liek $30, but the teacher one is really pricey like $180.

Is the student good enough, or should you really save for the teacher one?
Thanks.

[Sachi]

Not sure.. I have the student CD for Genki, and that's really all I need.