Best books/text books to learn Japanese?

Question:

I'm a junior in high school, and the only opportunities I have to learn Japanese are outside of the classroom- which means that I've been relying mainly on the internet. For my birthday, I'm putting all of my money towards buying text books and materials to help me learn more efficiently. I've already learned hiragana, but I still haven't even touched kanji or katana.
I'm looking for books that go into grammar, vocabulary, kanji, and maybe even a bit about the culture.

I am still a beginner, and I would like your opinions and advice!
(Also, if you recommend a book, please please please give me your reasoning for why you thought it was useful!)

Answer:

A website is not always the best way to learn a language, especially a language like Japanese. They are not a good, reliable source to learn a language. The authors of a lot of online courses have no teaching credentials and are not native speakers of the language. If you really want to learn, then invest in a good textbook.

The best way to learn Japanese is through a variety of methods. You need to work on your grammar, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Its best to think of these as separate categories and focus on each specific category as these require different methods and techniques.

Start by learning the basics through grammar. I highly recommend the following textbook.

An Introduction to Modern Japanese by Osamu Mizutani & Nobuko Mizutani is a fantastic book for learning Japanese. The book is designed to give the reader a solid foundation in modern Japanese, sufficient to handle everyday conversations and discussions as well as the ability to express their interests and life.

After studying this book you will be able to read all of the hiragana and katakana, recognise a lot of basic words in kanji, and have a good knowledge of grammar.

The book is made up of 30 lessons which contain dialogues, explanations, drills, reading comprehensions, aural comprehensions, pronunciation practices, and writing practices.

The drills are very useful because they are designed so that you will be able to use new expressions in meaningful actual situations, rather than just memorizing.

It is a system them really works and has helped me improve my Japanese.

How to Learn Japanese http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010…