FAQs (2024)

Who is Genki designed for?

Genki is designed for beginning learners of Japanese. As the textbooks are divided into two volumes, students who have completed roughly 100 hours of study can start with Genki 2. Since grammar explanations, vocabulary translations and exercise instructions are given in English, users are expected to have an adequate understanding of English.

Can Genki be used for self-study?

The grammar explanations have been written in plain English with minimal jargon so that students can prepare for lessons on their own. Because of this straightforward design, solo learners should have no difficulty in using Genki for their Japanese studies. However, since many of the exercises involve classroom-oriented work in pairs or larger groups, self-guided learners will find that having a partner or a tutor will make their studies more effective. Also, the Genki CDs should be used in conjunction with the textbooks to provide additional opportunity to hear Japanese spoken.

Is Genki suitable for use in high school classes?

Although Genki was developed with university students in mind, it is already being used with success at high schools in the USA. High school instructors can use Genki effectively by adapting their teaching methods to match Genki with their curriculum, utilizing supplementary resources or incorporating other creative ideas. The main character in the dialogues is an American university student, but since the story is about her doing a homestay while on a study program in Japan, the subject matter will likely be of interest to high school students.

Generally speaking, in each lesson 6 hours should be allotted to the Dialogue and Grammar section, and 3 hours to Reading and Writing, so completion of all 23 lessons should take approximately 200 hours of class time. (See Contents and Time Requirements.)

Can Genki still be used if the suggested amount of class time is not available?

As mentioned above, the standard allotment of class time in each lesson is 6 hours for Dialogue and Grammar, and 3 hours for Reading and Writing. However, instructors who have less time available can tinker with the lesson structure to make it fit their class schedule. For example, they could have the students study the grammar points at home, and start the class off with the exercises. Other ideas include skipping certain exercises or focusing solely on Dialogue and Grammar. The bottom line is that Genki can be used effectively without covering every single part of the textbooks and workbooks; instructors are free to adapt the content and their teaching methods to go with the curriculum.

How many kanji are studied in Genki?

A total of 317 kanji are studied in the Reading and Writing sections: 145 in Genki 1 and 172 in Genki 2. These include 254 of the 284 kanji subject to appear in Level 3 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (revised list of 2002). (See Kanji Introduced in the Reading and Writing Section.)

How many vocabulary terms are studied in Genki?

Approximately 1,700 terms are covered throughout all 23 lessons. In order that students can immediately put the grammar and expressions they learned into use in real situations, the vocabulary selections are predominantly words frequently used in everyday life. Broken down by part of speech, the selections encompass, in rough numbers, 930 nouns (including pronouns and proper nouns), 360 verbs, 80 i-adjectives, 40 na-adjectives and 230 adverbs, adnominals and other expressions.

Should "Dialogue and Grammar" and "Reading and Writing" be studied at the same pace?

Since the grammar points studied in the Dialogue and Grammar section also appear in Reading and Writing section, the latter should be studied after going over the Dialogue and Grammar section of the same lesson. However, since both sections are independent of each other in terms of content, it is possible to study Reading and Writing at pace slower than that of Dialogue and Grammar.

How do the CDs in the 6-disc sets and the 2-disc student sets differ?

The two sets of 6 CDs contain each lesson's dialogue (first time without pauses, second time with pauses), vocabulary and practice, plus the workbooks' listening comprehension exercises. The 2-disc student sets contain only each lesson's dialogue (once, without pauses) and vocabulary, and the workbooks' listening comprehension exercises.

	6-disc sets	2-disc sets
Dialogue (without pauses)
Dialogue (with pauses)
Vocabulary
Practice
Workbook listening practice

What sort of teaching materials should be used after completing Genki?

Genki introduces all the basic grammar of beginning Japanese (see Syllabus of the Dialogue and Grammar Section), so after completion, the students should advance to an intermediate-level text, such as An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese.

Can I make copies of the CDs for use by my students?

The CDs in the 6-disc sets that you purchased can be copied for use by students, provided that they are enrolled a Genki-based Japanese course. Also, audio files recorded from the CDs can be posted on the school's intranet for use by those students. For more information, contact our Publications Department. Please note that permission is not granted for copying of the CDs in the 2-disc student sets.