textbook question

[karelhof]

some days ago I bought "japanese for busy people 1", but it only teaches how to speak and write kana, but no kanji.

sooooooooooo.........
my question is:
can I learn everything from "japanese for busy people" except kanji, and learn kanji from another book, or:
what textbook should I buy that teaches both kanji as speaking.

P.S. :WAAAGH!!!

[paul_b]

karelhof wrote:
some days ago I bought "japanese for busy people 1", but it only teaches how to speak and write kana, but no kanji.

Eh? It covers the first 200 kanji or so doesn't it?

That's what it says in Selecting a Japanese Textbook and I certainly remember it having kanji.

[clay]

For better or for worse, the first volume has no kanji. The entire series (3 volumes) covers 200 kanji or so.

[firescorpy]

I have Japanese For Busy People and the first volume covers only the number in Kanji, and some other basics like moon, sun, etc. Maybe 20 or so is covered in the first book.

[paul_b]

clay wrote:
For better or for worse, the first volume has no kanji. The entire series (3 volumes) covers 200 kanji or so.

firescorpy wrote:
I have Japanese For Busy People and the first volume covers only the number in Kanji, and some other basics like moon, sun, etc. Maybe 20 or so is covered in the first book.

Ah, I was obviously thinking of the whole lot not the first book. It was a long time ago.

Oh, and firescorpy. Your signature image is 200px wider than allowed. See the FAQ.

[clay]

I see. There is a page at the end of the appendices that basically lists the 20 or so kanji with stroke orders drawn.

So Karelhof, back to your question, I would say, use JFBP as your base but try to learn some kanji on the side. You can do this by either getting a kanji book or just studying online. There are many free kanji sites including:
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/kanji/list.php?jlpt=4

I think having a good kanji vocabulary even from the beginning would only help you later on.

[Infidel]

yea, I had high hopes for JfBP, but got disgusted by the lack of kanji since learning kanji was the main reason I was taking a textbook course in the first place.

[chikara]

clay wrote:
I see. There is a page at the end of the appendices that basically lists the 20 or so kanji with stroke orders drawn....

JBP II introduces a further 220 kanji and I'm not sure of the exact number in JBP III but from memory it is around the 200 mark. There are also a number of kanji throughout JBP II and III which are introduced for "recognition only". That is to say that the kanji are given and their reading in a particular compound but stroke order diagrams are not provided.