Genki is one of the best and most popular books among Japanese learners. It has been tested and trusted by millions of people; therefore, you can rest assured that Genki is one of the best books you need when you are learning the Japanese language.
However, there is always a debate about how good Genki is for self-study. In other words, if you are learning Japanese on your own, can you rely on Genki for self-study and have a good understanding of the language?
Well, you can use Genki for self-study, but your learning can never be as quick, effective, and excellent as learning with help of a tutor. In other words, you can use this study material to learn and practice Japanese on your own. However, you will need to purchase the workbook (this is a separate book) that will help you practice some exercises that will ensure that you have an average grasp of the language.
Do you need a study partner to use Genki for self-study?
According to some students, using Genki for self-study requires you to have a study partner so that you can use the practice sections appropriately. They believe that the partner will help you with the question and answer in the section. However, this is not entirely true. Lots of students have used Genki for self-study without a study partner and succeeded in understanding the Japanese language. Without a partner, you will probably need to put in more effort and time. Factually, you will encounter lots of challenges if you don’t have a partner, but it is possible to self-study with Genki.
Why Genki may be good for self-study?
Genki is a well-known book written for people that want to learn Japanese. This detailed book touches on different aspects of the language. Genki I is for people that are learning to pass JLPT N5 whereas Genki II is for JLPT N4.
Perhaps you are worrying about whether you can rely on Genki for self-study or not. Let’s check out why Genki may be good for self-study.
- It is in English
If you understand English, learning Japanese can be quite tasking for you, especially if your study material is in Japanese. However, you don’t have to worry about such an issue when using Genki. This is because the book is written in English. Resultantly, it will be easier for you to study on your own and still understand what the book is trying to teach you without any further assistance from a tutor.
Besides, grammar explanation in the book is done in English. Hence, beginners can use Genki for self-study.
- It teaches all language skills
Regardless of the language you are learning, your study must cover 4 basic language skills – reading, listening, speaking, and writing. Fortunately, Genki covers all these 4 areas. It should be noted that the book itself covers reading, speaking, and writing. A free CD comes with the book for listening comprehension. This means that Genki has everything you need to have detailed knowledge of Japanese.
- It has several oral exercises
Since speaking is one of the most important parts of speaking Japanese, Genki features numerous oral exercises. Therefore, as you are learning Japanese, you will practice speaking the language several times. Therefore, by the time you have completed the book, you should be able to speak Japanese to an extent.
- It covers some kanji characters and grammar
Like other languages, you need to learn grammar when learning Japanese. Luckily, Genki covers lots of grammar and kanji characters. However, these are only enough for the JLPT N5. In other words, what you will learn in the book will only be sufficient for a beginner. So, if you want to self-study as an intermediate or advanced learner, there is nothing to gain from using Genki.
- It has different notes
Another reason Genki may be good for self-study is that it has various notes that can help you to learn on your own. These include expression notes and culture notes. The expression notes aid how to express yourself in Japanese whereas cultural notes cover things you need to know about Japan, Japanese culture, etc.
Why Genki may not be good for self-study
Despite the numerous benefits of Genki for self-study, there are a couple of challenges you are bound to face when using the book. These challenges are explained below:
- It is designed for use in classes
Although lots of people have used Genki for self-study, you should note that the book is meant to be utilized in class. It has a lot of pair-work exercises that you can hardly use alone. If you are in a class, your Japanese teacher will identify your strength and pair you with the right student.
Notably, many people using this book for self-study often have a study partner that can help them to practice the pair-work exercises.
- Answers to exercises are available in only Japanese
Foremost, you need to purchase the answers to the exercises in Genki because they are available in another book. This means you are spending more money to use the same study material. However, the biggest challenge to self-study is that the answers are in Japanese. Therefore, if you don’t understand Japanese, it will extremely difficult for you to get the right answers to the exercises.
- Lots of irrelevant words
Lots of the words in Genki are not important to everyday conversations that each beginner needs. If you are studying alone, you may not know the useful words you should focus on. however, if you are using Genki in a Japanese class, your Japanese teacher can identify the essential words that you need to concentrate on for day-to-day conversation.
Conclusion
Although you can use Genki for self-study, you must realize that the book is not structured and written for that purpose. Consequently, you will struggle a lot if you want to use it for self-study. However, it is doable as some people have done it in the past. Besides, if you want to use Genk for self-study, try to get a study partner to get answers to the exercises.