As someone that’s tried multiple resources to self-study for JLPT, i find it difficult to stick to routinely learning from textbooks. One of the methods that work for me is watching videos like JP ammo with Misa.
I really want to make textbooks a part of my self-studying, any advice i can get? I think an online video course using Shin Kanzen would help a lot, something like on Coursera or YouTube. I found a few series on YouTube but there’s not much instruction in English, the lectures are in a foreign language like Vietnamese or Filipino.
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Speaking honestly, you don’t have to. I don’t like textbooks much too, but I like books in general and have read a lot of grammar books instead. What you need to learn is grammar and you can use any kind of sources you like for that, so if you like videos, you can watch videos about grammar and how to say different things.
The idea of textbooks is that it’s all in one. Typically it has vocabulary, grammar and some kind of tasks to practice it. But if you use Japanese content, you already do such practice. So if you also learn vocabulary and grammar, textbooks won’t provide you anything unique. I’m pretty sure Youtube has a huge variety of learning materials and there are many videos starting from more casual towards more educating. If you aim to pass JLPT, look for some JLPT videos.
If you go the textbook route, why not just use Genki I and II books, while watching [ToKini Andy’s videos](https://www.youtube.com/@ToKiniAndy/featured) on Youtube. It’ll cover up to N4 material. Then for N3 and N2 material, do the same for the Quartet 1 and 2, as he also covers those books.
He offers [online video course](https://www.tokiniandy.com/site/about) too on [his website](https://www.tokiniandy.com/), if you want more detailed instruction, a more structured format, as well as getting feedback. Note: I’ve never tried his online course but it seems other’s have enjoyed it.
Note that typically when you’re at N2 and N1 level, most of your instruction will be in Japanese rather than in English, so that’s why a lot of the N2 or N1 videos on YouTube are primarily done in Japanese.
You’ll notice that in the Shinzan Master books, it switches to just Japanese when you go to the N2 book, which is the same for most textbooks at that level.
So when watching video lessons for N2 or N1, it’s good to use Japanese-speaking instructors, so you can develop your Japanese listening skills. There are a lot of Japanese-only N2 and N1 YouTube channels.
If you can understand grammar explanations via spoken Japanese and parse the example sentences by ear, it’ll drastically improve your Japanese ability.
If you plan on taking the N2 and N1 test, you’ll need to be able to pass the listening part, so you really have to work on listening skills once you’re at the N2 level so learning Japanese via Japanese only at that stage is one way that will help you.
I’d actually suggest gradually accumulating yourself to learning with Japanese-only even before reaching N2 level, because improving your listening skill is generally one of the hardest things to do if you’re coming from a Western language.
Listen to these Japanese-only Japanese teaching channels. They cover a wide range of levels, starting from easy stuff to more advanced N1 level material.
* [Meshclass](https://www.youtube.com/@meshclass)
* [Riki Nihongo Dayo](https://www.youtube.com/@rikinihongodayo6441)
* [語の森 (Nihongo no Mori)](https://www.youtube.com/c/nihongonomori2013)
* [出口日語](https://www.youtube.com/@deguchi)
In addition to using bilingual lessons like Japanese Ammo with Miso, try also listening to one or two Japanese-only lessons per day. At first you won’t understand much but you should slowly improve, especially as you gain reading proficiency as some of the channels provide JP subtitles, which can make it easier to follow what they are saying.