Tobira 1: Beginning Japanese

"Tobira means ‘a door’. Originally, when the first Tobira book was published back in 2009, it was an intermediate version, so the title was named like a door opening to a more advanced level. That book was really popular, so in 2021 Tobira 1: Beginning Japanese was published. We’re using it in our degree course. It’s really good because it offers a comprehensive coverage of vocabulary, grammar, and Chinese characters and all four skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is relatively new, and comes with very updated materials, which are all available online. If you want to learn Japanese on your own without going to school you can still use this textbook, because it comes with short, ten-minute grammar videos that explain specific grammar points in English. This book is full of practical drills which are very useful in actual settings, including role play and specific, context-based conversation. It has the 139 basic kanji, the Chinese characters, which are explained very well and integrated with practice so the student can learn them in context. Depending on the students, they find some aspects more interesting. Some students are very good at picking up vocabulary through anime and manga , and even songs. Some are really good at memorising the many different characters. With Chinese characters, each one has a specific meaning, like ‘flower’ or ‘tree’, and then there are combinations, and some students are very imaginative and learn as if they learn pictures. So, depending on the type of student, they are motivated to learn in different ways."