(originally written as a response to redrooster here)
("JSL" stands for "Japanese as a Second Language")
DISCLAIMER: THESE TEXTBOOKS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS WITH NO FORMAL EDUCATION IN JAPANESE!
Everybody is different, but I can recommend to you two textbooks:
Sakun's pick: Nakama.
Sakun's friend's pick: Genki.
I loved Nakama. It's one of the best textbooks period I've ever had in my life. But as you can see, not everyone agrees. ^_^; It's because we all learn differently. For me, it was great.
My best friend at college disliked Nakama and asked the senseis for another book. Several of them told him (in secret) that they preferred Genki. As you can see, Genki is much more popular. It's also much different from Nakama in how it presents grammar, vocabulary, and culture. I much prefer Nakama and am ever so grateful that our instructors used that instead of Genki, but many students of Japanese disagree and love Genki more.
If possible, go to your local library and see if they have either book. If they don't, see if they can't order it either (a) from a library that does or (b) for purchase, from the companies that make the books. If they cannot do that, then I would say contact me before you make a purchase because I should be able to scan some sample pages from both books so you can see what they are like before you pick one or the other.
Also, if you're self-teaching, always be sure to get the instructor's edition since it contains the answers. I have linked you to the student editions, which are what you would normally want to buy if you were taking Japanese as a high school or college course.
In a nutshell, I think that Nakama is better at introducing grammar in a pedagogic fashion. Students are equipped via rote memorization in the first 2 chapters with simple Japanese phrases and nouns and verbs like chair, dog, and My name is Bill. Starting in Chapter 3, they begin to study the grammar of Japanese from the ground up, beginning with simple constructions and gradually becoming more complex. Nakama is best seen as a pyramid.
Genki introduces grammar points in a somewhat "more random" order than Nakama does, teaching students some advanced grammar concepts very early on and teaching some fairly simple ones much later. The goal with Genki, I think, is to empower the student of Japanese who is immersed in the language. It is (in a sense) to emulate how a baby born into the world would learn a language. Whereas with Nakama, the goal is much more pedagogic (which I love). If Nakama is the pyramid, then Genki is best seen as a web, as a network of seemingly-randomly connected points which interface to form a strong unified mass of information.
One of Genki's strong points is its prevalence of practice problems. There are tons of them inside the textbook (as I recall; I do not own the book but have access to it), and they are like practice problems you would expect in arithmetic homework.
One of Nakama's strong points is its prevalence of in-class practice exercises. There are a lot of things to listen to on audio cassettes (or CDs) and a lot of opportunities to roleplay and practice speaking Japanese.
In this sense, Genki is probably better for the solo learner while Nakama is better for the student who has other students to interact with.
One of Genki's strongpoints (iirc; don't have the book in front of me right now, and the internet isn't being very cooperative) is that it is almost entirely in Japanese. This is because it is a Japanese-printed textbook and the theory is that full immersion in the language will be the best way to get you to learn it.
Nakama, on the other hand, is printed in the United States and contains more English characters than Japanese ones per printed page.
For this reason, Nakama is advised to the student who needs a crutch (i.e. is always scared away by websites which friends link him to that are in pure Japanese) and who is fluent in English. Genki is for the kid who says, "Hey, I love trying to learn Japanese from Japanese websites people link me to, but that's sort of haphazard. It'd be better to have a textbook guiding me every step of the way." Genki may also be preferable for students who speak poor English, since Nakama would require them to learn TWO languages (Japanese and English). But be warned! Genki still does contain English. It is intended for use by English-speaking JSL students!
Genki's commercial website is here. At the top of the page, they give you advice on what to purchase depending on whether you are a student in school or a self-study person at home. Very nice!
Nakama's private website is here, and its commercial website is here.
I really must say I prefer Nakama. But I think most people prefer Genki. To do yourself the best favor, you will investigate not one but both books. In fact, to do yourself the ultimate favor, you will investigate books that I haven't even recommended.
("JSL" stands for "Japanese as a Second Language")
DISCLAIMER: THESE TEXTBOOKS ARE RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS WITH NO FORMAL EDUCATION IN JAPANESE!
Everybody is different, but I can recommend to you two textbooks:
Sakun's pick: Nakama.
Sakun's friend's pick: Genki.
I loved Nakama. It's one of the best textbooks period I've ever had in my life. But as you can see, not everyone agrees. ^_^; It's because we all learn differently. For me, it was great.
My best friend at college disliked Nakama and asked the senseis for another book. Several of them told him (in secret) that they preferred Genki. As you can see, Genki is much more popular. It's also much different from Nakama in how it presents grammar, vocabulary, and culture. I much prefer Nakama and am ever so grateful that our instructors used that instead of Genki, but many students of Japanese disagree and love Genki more.
If possible, go to your local library and see if they have either book. If they don't, see if they can't order it either (a) from a library that does or (b) for purchase, from the companies that make the books. If they cannot do that, then I would say contact me before you make a purchase because I should be able to scan some sample pages from both books so you can see what they are like before you pick one or the other.
Also, if you're self-teaching, always be sure to get the instructor's edition since it contains the answers. I have linked you to the student editions, which are what you would normally want to buy if you were taking Japanese as a high school or college course.
In a nutshell, I think that Nakama is better at introducing grammar in a pedagogic fashion. Students are equipped via rote memorization in the first 2 chapters with simple Japanese phrases and nouns and verbs like chair, dog, and My name is Bill. Starting in Chapter 3, they begin to study the grammar of Japanese from the ground up, beginning with simple constructions and gradually becoming more complex. Nakama is best seen as a pyramid.
Genki introduces grammar points in a somewhat "more random" order than Nakama does, teaching students some advanced grammar concepts very early on and teaching some fairly simple ones much later. The goal with Genki, I think, is to empower the student of Japanese who is immersed in the language. It is (in a sense) to emulate how a baby born into the world would learn a language. Whereas with Nakama, the goal is much more pedagogic (which I love). If Nakama is the pyramid, then Genki is best seen as a web, as a network of seemingly-randomly connected points which interface to form a strong unified mass of information.
One of Genki's strong points is its prevalence of practice problems. There are tons of them inside the textbook (as I recall; I do not own the book but have access to it), and they are like practice problems you would expect in arithmetic homework.
One of Nakama's strong points is its prevalence of in-class practice exercises. There are a lot of things to listen to on audio cassettes (or CDs) and a lot of opportunities to roleplay and practice speaking Japanese.
In this sense, Genki is probably better for the solo learner while Nakama is better for the student who has other students to interact with.
One of Genki's strongpoints (iirc; don't have the book in front of me right now, and the internet isn't being very cooperative) is that it is almost entirely in Japanese. This is because it is a Japanese-printed textbook and the theory is that full immersion in the language will be the best way to get you to learn it.
Nakama, on the other hand, is printed in the United States and contains more English characters than Japanese ones per printed page.
For this reason, Nakama is advised to the student who needs a crutch (i.e. is always scared away by websites which friends link him to that are in pure Japanese) and who is fluent in English. Genki is for the kid who says, "Hey, I love trying to learn Japanese from Japanese websites people link me to, but that's sort of haphazard. It'd be better to have a textbook guiding me every step of the way." Genki may also be preferable for students who speak poor English, since Nakama would require them to learn TWO languages (Japanese and English). But be warned! Genki still does contain English. It is intended for use by English-speaking JSL students!
Genki's commercial website is here. At the top of the page, they give you advice on what to purchase depending on whether you are a student in school or a self-study person at home. Very nice!
Nakama's private website is here, and its commercial website is here.
I really must say I prefer Nakama. But I think most people prefer Genki. To do yourself the best favor, you will investigate not one but both books. In fact, to do yourself the ultimate favor, you will investigate books that I haven't even recommended.
