I'm Learning Japanese!: A Language Adventure for Young People

Christian Galan

Oct 2019 · Tuttle Publishing

About this ebook

This is a fun and entertaining beginner level children's Japanese language book (9 years old and up) that is also appropriate for adults.

I'm Learning Japanese! takes a lighthearted approach to the Japanese language by using fun anime-style manga characters to teach Japanese. The book starts out with the main characters, Emily, Nico and Teo sitting on the grass after school, minding their own business, when--unbelievable!--a giant talking fox dressed in a kimono appears. Explaining that he knows magic, speaks many languages and is respected as a sensei master, he wonders if the three kids are ready to learn Japanese from him.

During the next 128 amusing pages, the three friends learn to speak, read and write Japanese, while also taking breaks to try Japanese hot-spring baths, sumo wrestling, Zen meditation and more. Focusing on exactly what the 9 to 14-year-old learner wants to know, this book is carefully set up to allow them to learn Japanese independently, at their own speed, without an adult's help.

Though fun and lighthearted, this book is incredibly practical as well. An excellent learning resource whether you're 5 or 50! By the end, students will master reading and writing the entire Hiragana alphabet, Japanese sentence structure and 23 key Kanji characters.

Ratings and reviews

Starts from scratch and builds slowly but surely, ensuring you know the material. Good at introducing basic kanji and kana.

Sounds like a very good way to learn Japanese.

About the author

Christian Galan is head of the Japanese department at the University of Toulouse. He is the author of more than a dozen books, textbooks and other language resources for Japanese learners, and has served as editor in chief of Daruma, the international journal of Japanese studies.