Best Foreign Language Instruction
Second edition of the most highly regarded teaching text book on the Japanese language, covering speaking, listening, reading, and writing to cultivate overall language ability.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I moved to Japan about 10 months ago and I needed a textbook to learn the language. That's true of any textbook, but with Genki it's even more so because the authors don't hold your hand and the book is written with the assumption that you are serious about learning Japanese. There is much to be gleaned from both, though the "useful expressions" sections are usually outstanding and provide supplementary words and sentences on a variety of common topics, such as counting, classroom vocabulary, train station expressions and doctor office visits. Then there are a few pages of practice, in which you will write the kanji you learned alone and in compounds, read various letters or stories and answer questions. 4) Meet with my Japanese teacher and do the conversation exercises (took 2-4 hours of class time per lesson). I feel quite comfortable in stores, restaurants, train stations, post offices, and the like. I can talk, to a limited extent, about the weather, my childhood, my job, my future plans, my schedule for tomorrow, and other common topics. Anyone serious about studying Japanese will get a lot out of this book, provided he or she is willing to put in the necessary work!"
"Don't stress too much though because there are plenty of sites to practice, such as lang-8, a free site where you help Japanese people learn English and they help you with Japanese in terms of writing, reading and speaking. This Second Edition comes with a CD, updated lessons, simpler ways of explaining grammar, and much more. If your'e grasp on English grammar is poor, well you might need to dedicate more hours into grammar, because it is DIFFICULT if you don't know what certain things are."
"For example "せんせい” is written out as "sensee" rather than "sensei" which is the actual representation of the characters. I feel like writing it like that will make it harder to read hiragana later on because they get used to reading different characters as a different Romanized English counterpart."
"I got the entire currciculum (textbook, workbook, answer key) and highly recommend it. I would get this book along with a couple others, because although it's more interesting than MNN, it's still pretty dry for self-studyers."
2 Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals (Volume 1)
Features of Book 1: * Integrated Workbook with Answer Key. * Over 800 New Words and Expressions. * Learn to Read and Write Hiragana. * Easy-to-Understand Example Dialogues. * Culture Points about Japan. * Bilingual Glossaries with Kana and Romaji. ...and much more! George Trombley is a professional Japanese interpreter who over the past 16 years has interpreted for corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, NTT DoCoMo, Lucent Technologies, and in countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Coupled with videos online, the material is properly paced to learn the right things in Japanese without burning you out. It's kind of addicting... Have fun and totally buy this book."
"After reading the reviews I quickly purchased both Japanese from Zero 1 and 2 and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. In the past year I have attempted to learn Japanese I often memorized the sentences presented to me with very little understanding of why a certain particle was used and how the grammar worked(hence the wall I hit). I finally found myself capable of applying grammar to my own sentences rather than simply memorizing the one's presented to me. Nearly once every lesson I came across a hirigana letter that I didn't recognize and it would take me a good 5min each time before I realized that it was a mistake and we hadn't actually been introduced to the letter yet. I also wish there was an ending section to the book with 'extra practice problems' or 'put it all together' activities to apply everything you learned in the entirety of the book."
"It also has audio examples for nearly everything in the book, as well as flash games to help things stick in your memory. The printed book contains a “workbook” section that I feel is worth the price alone. This book is great enough on it's own, but when you combine the 3 resources together, you have a truly amazing method to learn Japanese. If you put in your own honest hard work, and effort into these lessons, you will KNOW this information inside, and out before moving on."
![Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Workbook I [Second Edition] (Japanese Edition) (Japanese and English Edition)](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51cdvoP7fPL._SS600_.jpg)
Second edition of the most highly regarded teaching text book on the Japanese language.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am still using it even after class is over because we only covered the first 4 chapters, so lessons can be continued after class."
"it is very easy to understand, and with a "listening section" included and now they have made apps, the Genki system is very comprehensive."
"I like that is split into part with writing in the back so you can practice to write Japanese and the exercises that is fit for the chapters in the book."
"It adds a little more depth to your learning process when added to the textbook and mobile app."
"nice book to try and learn japanese."
"Ordered for my 16 yr old daughter."
"I love Genki, I can't wait to speak fluent Japanese!"
"Very good textbook, explains concepts very well for the beginner level."
Best Chinese Language Instruction
Cheng & Tsui s best-loved Chinese textbook series is new, revised, and better than ever! The third edition of this time-tested series has been fully updated to meet the needs of today s students with new communicative and interactive exercises, a full-color design, up-to-date vocabulary, enhanced cultural coverage, a diverse cast of characters, and a realistic storyline linking all the dialogues and readings. What's new in the 3rd Edition? We recommend it without hesitation as an invaluable core component of a Chinese language program at both the high school and college levels.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A very useful and still fundamental system to learn Chinese."
"Outstanding quality, superior delivery, and splendid packaging!"
"This textbook is easy to understand for someone without a background in Chinese."
"Useful to help you learn, read, and write Chinese."
"Great product!"
"The textbook was a great buy, and there are many matching videos on YouTube that help supplement the text."
"Couldn't find any fault with mine,It is easy to understand and it explains it well."
Best French Language Instruction
This course includes Lessons 1-16 from the French Level 1 program - 8 hours of audio-only effective language learning with real-life spoken practice sessions. The French Language French is spoken by 55 million speakers in France, 3 million in Belgium, 1.5 million in Switzerland, 6.5 million in Canada, and 5 million in former French and Belgian colonies. Dr. Paul Pimsleur devoted his life to language teaching and testing and was one of the world’s leading experts in applied linguistics.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This first 16 lesson set is not really a good investment, because you really want to develop any proficiency in French, you need to buy the entire 30 lesson level on set."
"The lessons progress in complexity, but they also teach complete sentences in a way that makes me think of what I've already learned."
"A great CD to have, I aways put it on in my car in order to practice my french."
"They always say, if you are going to visit Paris, you should try to learn a little French. I took a few years of French a looong time ago, and for me this is the perfect program. (All those guttural Rs, and they do not all sound the same....) After going through the 16 lessons on this set, I am really delighted with what I have learned and retained. I feel like I have enough French to get along for a relatively brief visit, and to impress my traveling companions who, I am confident, will not have nearly as much French in their brains as I will."
"I can't wait to get the next edition."
"I learned so much the French people thought I spoke French but then I couldn't understand what they said back because I didn't learn what they said."
"The presenter is obviously American (and very good at explaining each new lesson), but the "teachers" are native French speakers, which I think is very important."
"No -after downloading can't find the right disc number in sequence .It is cheap and appears cheep."
Best German Language Instruction
German and English are closely related--you already know viele Phrasen! Building on the German language's close relation to English, this all-new edition covers everything from basic introductions to verb conversions. Whether you want to sample das stoutest Lager or converse with your grandparents in their native tongue, you'll soon discover just how easy it is to learn German! Rules of spelling and punctuation Appropriate language for correspondence in German, including e-mail Updated exercises. He is the author of several German, Russian, and ESL textbooks and wrote the first edition of The Everything Learning German Book and The Everything German Phrase Book.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"- The exercises are rather limited, I don't believe beginners will be able to properly learn and understand the cases with such a limited set of exercises about the subject. - It often feels like the vocabulary is just thrown in there, because they had to put in some words here in there, if you're looking to learn a lot of words, this probably isn't the right book for you. All in all it is a good read, but you shouldn't use this book only to study German, consider it as an introduction or a book to freshen up old skills and improve your German by actually getting books with grammar/vocabulary drills."
"Teaching German in my home school this year and this book has been the basis for our lessons."
"Trying to brush up on my Deutsch."
"Time to delve into learning German again."
"I thought that this book might be too elementary for me becaue I have been self-studying German for the last several years."
"Great And besure delivery!Thanks Amazon."
"The first few chapters are all about the fundamentals of language, comparisons of German to English, etc."
"I speak, read and understand German very well as both the progeny of immigrants and through collegiate studies."
Best Italian Language Instruction
It contains content from all For Dummies Italian language instruction titles, including Italian For Dummies, Intermediate Italian For Dummies, Italian Verbs For Dummies, Italian Phrases For Dummies, Italian Grammar For Dummies, and Italian For Dummies Audio Set. Italian For Dummies Intermediate Italian For Dummies Italian Grammar For Dummies Italian Verbs For Dummies Italian Phrases For Dummies Italian For Dummies Audio Set. Italian All-in-One For Dummies brings together content from the Italian Dummies library into one handy guide that covers all the bases of the Italian language.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"So far, so good."
"It is pretty well done."
"Excellent ( but, then I find the Dummies books quite informative.)."
"The grammar explanations are easy to understand, but I was hoping for more exercises."
"Helpful in trying to learn Italian with the help of duolingo."
"Good base book for learning Italian."
Best Japanese Language Instruction
Second edition of the most highly regarded teaching text book on the Japanese language, covering speaking, listening, reading, and writing to cultivate overall language ability.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I moved to Japan about 10 months ago and I needed a textbook to learn the language. That's true of any textbook, but with Genki it's even more so because the authors don't hold your hand and the book is written with the assumption that you are serious about learning Japanese. There is much to be gleaned from both, though the "useful expressions" sections are usually outstanding and provide supplementary words and sentences on a variety of common topics, such as counting, classroom vocabulary, train station expressions and doctor office visits. Then there are a few pages of practice, in which you will write the kanji you learned alone and in compounds, read various letters or stories and answer questions. 4) Meet with my Japanese teacher and do the conversation exercises (took 2-4 hours of class time per lesson). I feel quite comfortable in stores, restaurants, train stations, post offices, and the like. I can talk, to a limited extent, about the weather, my childhood, my job, my future plans, my schedule for tomorrow, and other common topics. Anyone serious about studying Japanese will get a lot out of this book, provided he or she is willing to put in the necessary work!"
"Don't stress too much though because there are plenty of sites to practice, such as lang-8, a free site where you help Japanese people learn English and they help you with Japanese in terms of writing, reading and speaking. This Second Edition comes with a CD, updated lessons, simpler ways of explaining grammar, and much more. If your'e grasp on English grammar is poor, well you might need to dedicate more hours into grammar, because it is DIFFICULT if you don't know what certain things are."
"For example "せんせい” is written out as "sensee" rather than "sensei" which is the actual representation of the characters. I feel like writing it like that will make it harder to read hiragana later on because they get used to reading different characters as a different Romanized English counterpart."
"Very good if you want to learn Japanese on your own."
Best Spanish Language Instruction
Grammatical rules and concepts are clearly explained in order of importance, and more than 300 verbs and key terms are introduced on the basis of frequency. Easy Spanish Step-by-Step is based on the idea that the quickest route to learning Spanish is through a solid grounding in grammar basics. Guaranteed to get you quickly up and running with the knowledge and skills you need to communicate in Spanish with confidence, Easy Spanish Step-by-Step features:
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It divides the task into logical, sequential steps that build upon each other, in the order you would learn them if it was your first language, saving verb tenses for later. The reading exercises at the end of each chapter are a useful and motivating tool, but ideally they would have reinforced vocabulary already learned, rather than requiring footnotes!"
"I'm really happy with the layout of this book, and how easy it is to teach from."
"This us a wonderful book."
"Time is spent desperately scanning vocabulary lists, flipping back and forth between pages trying to find one word until you realize you need to move forward with your life and cut to the answer section, which can remove a sense of reward for the reader."
"We got this book for a series of Spanish classes offered by our local adult school."
"I purchased this workbook style book for my daughter so she could stay connected to the spanish she understands and can speak.."
"It is what it says - easy to learn and easy to work and learn with."
"When I decided to refresh my basic Español I tore through book reviews on Amazon and iTunes app reviews and bought/tried a good two dozen apps and books total because format and style can turn any experience either into an enemy or a best friend - so explore and see what fits you best."
Best Eastern European Literature
This first-hand account by the commander of one of those Panther tanks relates with devastating clarity the conditions inside the Kessel, the ferocity of the breakout attempt through Halbe, and the subsequent running battles between overwhelming Soviet forces and the exhausted Reich troops, who were using their last reserves of fuel, ammunition, strength and hope. Eloquent German-perspective accounts of World War 2 are surprisingly rare, and the recent reissue of Wolfgang Faust’s 1948 memoir ‘Tiger Tracks’ has fascinated readers around the world with its insight into the Eastern Front. The rarely-heard voice of a World War 2 panzer crewman, now in a modern English translation.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"(Read "Tiger Tracks") Faust's accounts puts the reader right into the turret of a deadly Panther tank as it confronts overwhelming Soviet infantry, armor, and air power hell-bent on capturing and annihilating all German forces within their grasp as the war ended east of the Elbe river."
"However, one can still read this and well imagine what it must have been like to try to reach the American side during the final days of the war."
"The winner Russia has not told it, few Germans have covered it, and modern writers basically overlooked it."
"The prime quality of the story is that it is told by a soldier who actually participated in the epic and horrible events.Indirectly one also get some sort of impression of the mentality of at least one skilled and battle hardened german soldier."
"Brutality, heroism, and broken hearts, as the Last Panther rolls towards the west to escape the surrounding Russian forces."
"There are many accounts of the Battle of Berlin and the strategic, as well as the tactical stories of the very last days of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II."
"Enertaining but am having a very hard time believing it's a truthful account."
"Clearly, the tank commander didn't see it all, but there is little doubt that his story is being woven around the stories of others who were also living through the ordeal."
Best Vocabulary
Merriam-Webster's Everyday Language Reference Set contains:A newly updated Merriam-Webster Dictionary with new words added from a variety of fields, 75,000 updated definitions with 8,000 usage examples to aid understanding. The company publishes a diverse array of print and electronic products, including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition America's best-selling desk dictionary and Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great reference books."
"Good dictionaries but they Theasaurus arived damaged."
"Great Set, for everyday and students alike!!"
"yes I purchased a paper back dictionary set."