I joined a class and I messed up as I got work and couldn’t keep up with the pace of the class. Today the class finished the first book and I am nowhere close to the class.
​
Is there any kind of app or resource which will help me understand or play with Minna no Nihongo and understand it? I know its not efficient, I wont be speedrunning it but planning to practise again and again to catch up with the class
11 comments
Japanese is difficult and Minna no Nihongo is quite dense and accelerated.
For each chapter, you should crush the example sentences, so those are well worth concentrating on. Along with the vocabulary.
The separate grammar book in English might help you (they have vocab lists from the book but you can find them in Anki or just mine the words yourself. Also, you could also use the internet resources here to work on grammar points (search reddit for ideas).
They also sell audio CDs if you want to work on listening skills. They are excellent IMHO.
There are other workbooks too but I’m not sure how useful you would find them. And you want to spend time studying vs. getting bogged down in resources.
How does your school deal with kanji?
[https://www.3anet.co.jp/np/en/list.html?q=Minna+no+Nihongo](https://www.3anet.co.jp/np/en/list.html?q=Minna+no+Nihongo)
https://nihongokyoshi-net.com/jlpt-grammars
https://www.imabi.net/tableofcontents.htm
There’s a YouTube channel called nihongoal which might be useful. She’s following MNN.
I’ll step up and be the one to offer the unpopular suggestion to create time for extra study by putting aside social media, television, manga, etc until you’ve crammed enough to catch up. There’s not some magical technological innovation that’s going to give you a pass on doing the work.
Some people just take more time than others for certain things to click. There’s no shame in that. If you feel like you’re not keeping up, just put in the time outside class to re-read and review things until you feel like you’re at the level you want to be.
Unfortunately, there’s no magic solution, but the positive flip side of that is that if you stick with it and persevere, and develop a strong work ethic in the process, you’ll eventually reach a level beyond that of those who may be having an easier time now, but who may eventually give up at some point because they lose interest or because it isn’t so easy for them anymore.
Answers: https://robokon-answer.com/answer.html
There are books in multiple languages with its vocabulary and grammar explained. Easy to find.
Download the Renshuu app. When you first open it it will ask you what textbook you’re using. Choose MNN and all of the features will be related to what you learn in that series.
Minna No Nihongo is a fairly steep learning curve as a beginner. I really struggled with them in class at the start. I eventually switched to a tutor and basically re-did the whole of that the first year but using Japanese for Busy People instead. JFBP 1 covers pretty much the same grammar as chapters 1-12 of MNN1 so depending on where you got lost in the classes, you might find those books helpful to work through as catch-up material in a friendlier format. JFBP built up my confidence enough that I was then able to switch back to MNN and have continued with them ever since (just about to finish Intermediate 1)
I personally found the workbooks really really helpful for understanding the grammar because I need a lot of repetition. I’d also second the recommendation for the NihonGoal youtube channel.
I’d also echo the advice about the example sentences – I pretty much learnt these off by heart by putting them into flashcards that show me the english first so I have to produce the japanese. It was a killer at first but in the long run really helped to internalise the key grammar points from the book.
I’m taking Minna No Nihogo and am currently up to Chapter 17 via 1:1 classes. Happy to help if I can.
What’s the problem do you think? Where do you need help?
Did you use only the main textbook or all of the workbooks? I recommend you do those too, they are SUPPER useful. Do the reading, grammar, sentence patterns, listening, but omit the kanji books.
Please tell me you have the yellow grammar book in English and not just the text book?! The grammar book makes an immense difference to being able to properly use the MNN textbook!
If you are able, I’d highly recommend italki! I really love it because the teacher does their lesson one-on-one with you and can help you find your weak spots. A lot of them use Minna no Nihongo as well. (shoutout to my sensei [Hiromi](https://www.italki.com/teacher/6238606) for being super sweet and helpful!)