Welcome to Minna no Nihongo Shokyu Second Edition
Minna no Nihongo is a long-selling and classic textbook series for both teachers and learners of Japanese alike. with its use of short-term intensive study, easy-to-understand language presentation, a cast of characters in practical conversational settings, etc., it guarantees that the learner is able to make conversation in everyday life in the shortest time possible. The two books in the series will enable the general adult learner to make simple conversation (Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I Second Edition Main Text) or more advanced conversation (Minna no Nihongo Shokyu II Second Edition Main Text) in daily life situations. Through accumulated study, the learner will build up and develop his/her basic speaking ability.

What is actually in the Minna no Nihongo Second Edition Textbooks?
There are 25 lessons in Main Text I and 25 in Main Text II, making a total of 50 lessons. Each lesson comprises the following: sentence patterns; example sentences in the form of a question and answer to show how the sentence patterns are used; a basic conversation between various people in a variety of situations in Japan, using everyday language and the words and sentence patterns being studied; exercises (divided into three levels: A, B and C) to gradually build up the learners' skills, from learning systematically the basic sentence patterns, strengthening the learners' grasp of the same, and showing their usage in actual situations; and finally practice, including listening, grammar and reading practice. A review is also provided every so many lessons to go over the essential points studied.

When studying with Minna no Nihongo by yourself, what books do you need?

Main Text
The central book of the series is the Main Text, or 'Honsatsu,' in Japanese. Main Text I comes in two versions: Kanji-Kana-ban, which is written in Japanese characters (Chinese characters and hiragana and katakana syllabaries), and romaji-ban, which is written in the roman alphabet, for those who cannot read Japanese characters. if you only want basic Japanese conversation and don't feel you will need to read or write Japanese, the romanized version is probably for you (though please note that there is no romanized version of Main Text II). if you feel you will need to read and/or write Japanese or wish to take your studies further than basic conversation, we suggest you use the Kanji-Kana version. This will require that, to begin with, you have to study hiragana and katakana. An ideal book for this is the Self-Study Kana Workbook. As all the kanji (Chinese characters) in the Main Text come with transcription into hiragana, learning this is essential for studying with the Kanji-Kana version. The accompanying CD includes a recording of all the conversations and many of the exercises found in the Main Text.

Translation and Grammar Notes
The other book that is essential for your studies is the Translation and grammar Notes, or 'Honyaku Bunpo Kaisetsu,' in Japanese. This provides a translation of all the new vocabulary, reference words, sentence patterns, example sentences and conversations found in Minna no Nihongo as well as an easy-to-understand explanation of all the important grammatical structures, plus cultural information. This is available in 13 languages, including English and Chinese, and all the other major Asian and European languages.

Basic Workbook
The above two books are the main components you need to study Minna no Nihongo by yourself. However, a third component would be the Basic Workbook, or 'Hyojun Mondaishu,' in Japanese. This workbook is a collection of exercises and tests devised to confirm, consolidate and reinforce what has been learnt in each chapter of the Main Text. it is a great way to review your progress in your studies.

Supplementary Texts
The above three books are enough to give the learner a basic start. However, if he or she wishes to take his/her studies further, the books outlined below will be of great use. Their necessity will depend on the area(s) the learner feels he or she needs to focus on.

For focusing on your reading and writing skills:
Minna no Nihongo Shokyu Dai 2-Han Shokyu de Yomeru Topikku 25 (Second Edition Reading Comprehension Texts)
Minna no Nihongo Shokyu Dai 2-Han Kanji (Second Edition Kanji)
Minna no Nihongo Shokyu Dai 2-Han Kanji Renshucho (Second Edition Kanji Workbooks)
Minna no Nihongo Shokyu Dai 2-Han Yasashii Sakubun (Second Edition Basic Writing Practice Workbook)

For focusing on your listening skills:
Minna no Nihongo Shokyu Dai 2-Han CDs (Second Edition CDs)

How to use the books effectively
1. Learn the words
The Translation and grammar Notes introduces the new words for each lesson. learn these new words by practicing making short sentences with them.
2. Practice the Sentence Patterns
Make sure you understand the meaning of each sentence pattern, and do Exercises A and B aloud until the pattern becomes automatic.
3. Practice holding conversations
practice the sentence patterns using the short dialogues given in Exercise C, but don't stop there; carry on and extend the conversations. The conversations simulate everyday situations that students are likely to encounter, and the best way of acquiring a natural conversational rhythm is to act out the conversations using gestures and facial expressions while listening to the CD.
4. Check your understanding
Each lesson ends with some practice questions which you should use to check that you have correctly understood the lesson.
5. Apply what you have learnt
Try talking to Japanese people using the Japanese you have learnt. Applying what you have learnt right away, before you forget it, is the quickest way to progress.

*Free Audio Content*
The audio content of the CDs accompanying Minna no Nihongo I and II Main Texts, as well as other Minna no Nihongo texts, is now available for free downloading or streaming. For details, please visit the relevant book's web page.