First Course in Japanese by Tamako NiwaReview by: Fumiyo YamanakaThe Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Vol. 8, No. 1, Tenth AnniversaryIssue (Nov., 1972), pp. 71-72Published by: American Association of Teachers of JapaneseStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/489097 .

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71 71

information and enthusiasm conveyed are sufficient that the essays seem perfectly understandable without reference to the actual music. Writing about sound, however, is at its best only descrip- tive, and at the least, recordings are necessary to give a sense of the actual musical values involved. In this regard, Mr. Malm's

essay is exemplary in that he has included a discography at the end; the others make mention of recordings but do not identify all avail- able (even in this country) and do not list them in any systematic fashion,

The three essays are beautifully printed and are acompanied by appropriate prints and graphic designs commissioned for the

essays. All fold together into a plastic slipcase. All in all, a most attractive production.

J. Thomas Rimer Washington University,

St. Louis, Mo.

Tamako Niwa. First Course in Japanese. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1971. Paper only. Published in three parts; Part I: 195 pp. $6.00, Part II: 429 pp. $6.00, Character Workbook: 54 pp. $3.00.

The First Course in Japanese by Tamako Niwa is a high school text with the scope of the grammar similar to that of Basic Japa- nese for College Students. Therefore, it is apparently assumed that students completing the text should be able to continue at the next level in any university using the latter text mentioned above.

The complete text consists of two volumes with 8 lessons plus a review lesson for units 1, 2, 3, and 6 lessons for unit 4. All four units are in Romaji. A character workbook (Introduction to Japanese Writing) accompanies the text beginning at unit 2.

Whatever the rationale may be for keeping the Japanese charac- ter lessons separate, no Japanese character is found in the two volumes. From the students point of view, would it not be more relevant and challenging to find characters in the text as well as in the workbook? Also, it may be interesting and worthwhile to question how the prolonged use of Romaji affect students who have mastered the Kana Syllabaries. It may be psychologically frustrat- ing and perhaps it may even curb motivation and achievement...?????

information and enthusiasm conveyed are sufficient that the essays seem perfectly understandable without reference to the actual music. Writing about sound, however, is at its best only descrip- tive, and at the least, recordings are necessary to give a sense of the actual musical values involved. In this regard, Mr. Malm's

essay is exemplary in that he has included a discography at the end; the others make mention of recordings but do not identify all avail- able (even in this country) and do not list them in any systematic fashion,

The three essays are beautifully printed and are acompanied by appropriate prints and graphic designs commissioned for the

essays. All fold together into a plastic slipcase. All in all, a most attractive production.

J. Thomas Rimer Washington University,

St. Louis, Mo.

Tamako Niwa. First Course in Japanese. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 1971. Paper only. Published in three parts; Part I: 195 pp. $6.00, Part II: 429 pp. $6.00, Character Workbook: 54 pp. $3.00.

The First Course in Japanese by Tamako Niwa is a high school text with the scope of the grammar similar to that of Basic Japa- nese for College Students. Therefore, it is apparently assumed that students completing the text should be able to continue at the next level in any university using the latter text mentioned above.

The complete text consists of two volumes with 8 lessons plus a review lesson for units 1, 2, 3, and 6 lessons for unit 4. All four units are in Romaji. A character workbook (Introduction to Japanese Writing) accompanies the text beginning at unit 2.

Whatever the rationale may be for keeping the Japanese charac- ter lessons separate, no Japanese character is found in the two volumes. From the students point of view, would it not be more relevant and challenging to find characters in the text as well as in the workbook? Also, it may be interesting and worthwhile to question how the prolonged use of Romaji affect students who have mastered the Kana Syllabaries. It may be psychologically frustrat- ing and perhaps it may even curb motivation and achievement...?????

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.12 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:20:33 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

72

This text is a welcome addition for teachers seeking teaching materials at the secondary levels for Japanese. However, like most aural-oral texts, much adaptation is necessary since students all do not learn the same way nor at the same pace.

Today, in most comprehensive high schools, classes for the elective courses and even some required courses are composed of students who are freshman, sophomore, junior as well as seniors. Thus, the idea of having the freshman students progress at a slower pace than seniors as mentioned in the introduction may not be very realistic without individualization.

Fumiyo Yamanaka Hilo, Hawaii

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.12 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 21:20:33 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions