Japanese From Zero! 3: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals Paperback – 21 May 2015

Japanese from Zero Book 3,Please note that I am writing this review with the assumption that you have already read and understood the first two books in this series.The third book in the series is where you will really need to know your stuff before you even think about attempting it. You will NEED to know Katakana and Hiragana from the go and up to a high standard as everything is written in that format apart from the explanations that of course are written in English.A little Kanji knowledge would be helpful if you know it but is not necessary, as this book will introduce you to them at a steady pace. I would also recommend another book in the series called ‘Kanji from Zero’ that has more examples that you may find helpful as an accompanying book but isn’t necessary.So as I just mentioned, this time the Kanji symbols are introduced for the first time but fear not, they are not as difficult to understand as you might think! I know many people start to panic when these are introduced and look like nothing more than funny squiggles. However, much like when Katakana and Hiragana were introduced in the previous two books, this one follows the same pattern. It will show you the first five (which are also the numbers 1-5) from that point on any time one of those numbers turns up it will be replaced with the Kanji symbol. Then you will get a chapter on something else (usually grammar) before getting another five to add to the list. I found this a great way to do it as it does give you a breather between chapters and allow to get used to the style. Once you’ve learned some it will make Japanese much easier to read and understand. Your written sentences will shrink in size and be a lot easier to read. Oh, and you will feel smarter :-POf course you will learn some new vocabulary and grammar skills like the previous entries but I would also recommend going back to the first two books and brushing up on the vocab in those as well. They do come up and you will not be reminded of what they are this time.The thing I noticed about this book is how it is more adult in the way you have to present your answers. Simply giving one-word answers or simple sentences like you did in the past is not enough. For example, one question will ask you to translate the sentence, ‘I like the seventh bird from the left’. So you will need to know grammar, animals, numbers, vocabulary and location words to answer one question. That is a lot of knowledge for such a simple answer. I want to get across that you will need to really think about your answers and all previous knowledge from book 1-2 will be used.However, that being said the book is still within the N5 category if you are working towards that test and I would say it takes around three to four reads for the majority of the information to sink in.If you have the first two in the series then you can’t go wrong with this one. A real challenge this time around but very rewarding in the long term. Also if you have made it this far, please don’t give up even if it gets tough. Learning a language is not easy but to come this far and give up is something you will regret for years to come. I know this from personal experience.*************I would also like to recommend some other learning material that may help you with this book which can both be found on YouTube.First is the official YesJapan channel. George Trombley, the founder of Japanese from Zero hosts a series of videos that go through each lesson from book 1-3 in more depth and in a friendly setting. I didn’t know about these till a few days ago but I have watched a few and they are very useful even if you have gone through the books already.Second is a channel called ‘Japan Radio’ hosted by NHK (A Japanese news network) They upload regular podcasts of the national Japanese news and is spoken entirely in clear and well-spoken Japanese too. Very helpful for listening practice.

Firstly, I wish everyone at Amazon a Very Happy Easter and a special thanks to the deliveryman who was very polite and courteous. The set of books arrived in a neat box with wrapping to avoid damage. I have added these to my collection (1 and 2). So happy to own these. I am learning Japanese and I really love the layout and presentation with diagrams. The book offers exercises and tests that really help to show how much progress is made. Worth every penny. I never knew that one day, I would be learning to speak Japanese. I am learning Hindi as well because I love both Japan and India. Thank you very much, Amazon. GOD BLESS YOU.

This is the first book in the series I have purchased. I chose to do 1 and 2 on the authors website yesjapan.com because although the progressive way kana is introduced seems like a great Idea for learning I found it a little strange reading it since I had studied it previously. The website allows you to choose how text is displayed.I have previously studied with a few teach yourself beginners things intended for tourists followed by Japanese for busy people which although was good the language was stuffy and business oriented. I've also done Pimsleur up to level 5The thing I like about this series of books is the clear layout, good pace, depth of explanations and the occasional things the author throws in to keep it interesting. Despite having a degree in astronomy I hadn't thought about the names of planets till I bought Kanji from zero.To sum up I wish these books had been available when I first started learning Japanese if they were I'm sure my learning would have progressed a lot quicker. I'm about halfway through the book now and will be purchasing 4 shortly.

I chose this rating because during the time i first got this book, I started to use an app which I made me able to talk to native japanese people, and after each chapter of the book I learnt a new concepts which made me sound more fluent and more able to under stand people when they speak in japanese. This book has made a big impact on my learning of japanese and made me able to communicate in japanese very easily. I definitely recommend getting this book if you want to learn japanese.

Another great book in the series. The writers have videos on YouTube to go with the lessons and are very active on social media and in their own forum. Your questions about lessons can be directly answered unlike every other Japanese language system. The book is clear, easy to understand especially if you have gone throught books 1 and 2. If you have got this far with the books I don't need to tell you how effective they are. Forget Genki and get this.