Yookoso! an Invitation to Contemporary Japanese, Volume 1

Yookoso! is the first volume of a two-volume series for beginning and intermediate Japanese. Employing an eclectic approach based on modern principles of second language acquisition, it is the first beginning Japanese text to integrate the teaching of all four linguistic skills. Each chapter contains listening, speaking, reading, and writing exercises of various types. All Japanese-language material after the introductory section is written in natural kanamajiri style with furigana, and 175 kanji are presented for active master. Grammar is treated as a tool for developing communication skills, not as the focal point of the text, and the chapters are organized in a way that accommodates many different teaching and learning styles. Brief English descriptions of contemporary and traditional Japanese culture, each related to the theme of the chapter, provide a context for language learning, and the illustrations, including photographs, line drawings, and realia, enhance student interest and serve as starting points for classroom exercises. In addition Yookoso! is unique in having a full set of ancillary materials: audio and video tapes, a student workbook and laboratory manual, software (to be announced), and an instructor's manual with test bank and tapescript.