I FORGOT! An important difference between Tobira and Quartet: After finishing Genki II, you would need some kind of bridge before Tobira, because the jump in difficulty is kind of steep. Quartet DOES NOT NEED a bridge. It's a good next step after Genki. ToKini Andy has outgrown Patreon. There is so much premium content now, that we decided to move (there were other reasons too). You can now access our premium course material at: www.tokiniandy.com/
My personal option is that Quartet is published by the same publisher, so to some certain extent they want people to continue to buy their books I guess. =p For Tobira's 内容質問, I guess it is meant for those people who are attempting GCE O Levels or A Levels as they need to be able to write the answers for the 読み物. Also, some sections like 「_______を修飾するのはどこからどこまでですか」helps students to be able to read the JLPT N2 and N1 passages in a more effective way. For the 例文 for the grammar, it comes along with the 教師指導書. It's up to the teachers to give it to their students. After this book, students are expected to move on to JLPT N2. Thus, I think having no English translations is to prepare students for what's coming. =) For personal use, I compiled my own vocabulary list for Tobira. Tobira would require a teacher to maximise it's potential.
Interestingly enough, as soon as you finished describing Quartet and it's layout, I already knew you were going with it. It sounds like Genki 3 and 4 to me lol I was thinking there's no way he's gonna touch the other two after teaching Genki. Even I didn't want the other two after that initial description. To be fair my teacher used the Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese ("The Blue Book" lol) after going through Genki 1 & 2. I appreciated some of the additions like reading in the beginning (for encouragement) as opposed to at the end of the book but the formatting and layout drove me nuts. The grammar points I couldn't understand without referring to my Dictionary of Japanese Grammar or the internet. Additionally, some of the grammar points were already discussed in Genki 2 so we had to hop around a bit. My 先生 supplemented the course with more interesting activities thankfully but I disliked that book so much. It was such a chore that I sadly don't remember much of what I learned that year. I yearned for my Genki days. Maybe I can recommend Quartet to my professor for future students. Meanwhile as I miss studying grammar (lol sorry I actually enjoy it when it's well done/ explained - hence my subscription 😁) you can count me in for that Quartet series. Thanks Andy!
Wonderful. You forgot to mention that quartet vol 1 is meant for jlptn3 and vol 2 for jlptn2 (according to japan times web). I'm preparing for N4 this July with genki 2
I'm still working my way through the tail end of Genki 1, but your stuff is legit so good that when friends ask me about what materials I'm using for Japanese, I NEVER mention Genki without also mentioning your videos. This video alone is enough to tell me which of the textbooks I'm going to use once I get past Genki 2. I seriously hope your channel explodes in popularity in the coming years, it's so high quality.
Tobira is a very good textbook. I like the readings, almost all of the readings are interesting and you will learn something about the Japanese culture. For Tobira, if you know well all the basic verb and adjective conjugations (present plain, past plain both positive and negative), you should be able to do Tobira. IMO, for intermediate Japanese, you need to know these verb forms inside and out (present, past, and both positive, negative): dictionary form (会う, 聞く、食べる for example), て form, た form, ない form, as they are important for all the conjuctions and suffixes attaching to the verbs and adjectives and if you know them inside and out, then Tobira is not hard even after Genki II. The grammar points are very well explained (most of them have a detailed English explanation) with sentence examples. One major complaint about the grammar is that they are scattered, meaning they don't group it like the JLPT books where you learn similar grammar points together in the same chapter. In my opinion, you learn the grammar more efficiently if it is more "organized". I am Chinese, so Kanji is not a concern for me, I just learn as I go. I finished Tobira about 3 months ago and I am currently using 2 JLPT textbooks 日本語総まとめN3 (Nihongo Soumatome) and 新完全マスターN3 (Shinkanzen Master). Tobira covers pretty much all N3 materials (I would say 80%), so if you finish Tobira, you should be able to do N3. 日本語総まとめN3 (Nihongo Soumatome) is mostly review for me if you finish Tobira and it is very good to solidify what you learned in Tobira. 新完全マスターN3 (Shinkanzen Master) is a very good textbook but it is much more involved and more comprehensive and requires more work. If you can pass N3, then you should be able to visit Japan and can do daily Japanese conversation without much of a problem. I think it is possible to self study using Tobira but as it is better to hire a Japanese teacher.
Andy, I'm impressed with how your compositions and editing continue to improve over time. It can be overwhelming and difficult to know what resources to commit to, so this is an interesting topic. Love it!
Thank you Cimpy! Still a long way to go, but it is neat to see the progress when I go back and look at my old content. But you know that! You've been here since almost the beginning! =)
I bought An Integrated Approach way back, but will definitely be picking up the Quartet books so I can follow along with your streams. Still got a ways to go with Genki first, but I'll be there when I'm all caught up!
I was thinking of buying Tobira, but this is definitely making me reconsider. Either way, I'll be there! Thank you for your hard work making japanese easier to learn for us!
I still have to start and finish Genki II, but I hope to be there! It's pretty nice to hear there's a newer textbook that fixes the problem so many people mention about the difficulty jump between Genki and Tobira. I'm excited to check it out ^^
Just finished Genki 2 this weekend, and was about to jump into Integrated Japanese. However I think I need to investigate Quartet, which I had never heard of before. Thanks for your very informative review.
Having used both Integrated Approach and Tobira, this explains a lot about the shortcomings of those books! I've noticed some classes shifting to Quartet so I may give it a try.
Me too! Especially because it doesn't have an answer key! Had never heard of Quartet until the video! I'll still follow along though and try to find where/if the same grammar points are mentioned in Tobira.
YES LADS!!!!!! Your videos are so easy to follow and they’re the main reason I’ve progressed as much as I have with Genki. It’s honestly made my day, knowing that you’re continuing to intermediate level🙌🙌 Onwards and upwards!
Thanks a lot for this video. I had looked into intermediate textbooks a lot a few weeks ago and Quartet kept coming up in discussions. But the common idea was "It looks good, but it is so new that nobody has really used it and nobody wants to be the guinea pig so just get Tobira or something people can vouch for." I'll definitely be joining you on these! But I may be several months late, haha. Still working my way through Genki (along with WaniKani and Tango N5). Loving the NO CHAT lessons and Patreon resources.
Made it to the end, thank you so much for all the Genki and Quartet videos! Preparing for the JLPT in December, moving from Genki 2 soon so this so helpful to see where to go after Genki and will go Quartet for sure, thank you!
I'm so old I used the "Learn Japanese" books (probably before you were born, U of Maryland), and I've started to get into it again in anticipation of one last trip to Japan. An Integrated Approach is doable, but I find it very boring, so I will probably try Quartet once I get through the Moe Tango N4 deck. Tobira is out because of the small print. Thank you for doing this, it is very helpful.
I’ll be there, looking forward to it! I actually have all three of the series reviewed in this video, and also prefer Quartet for the reasons that you have outlined.
I made it to the end, woo! I bought the Quartet textbooks using the affiliate link to the Japanese store; but for some reason, the Quartet II Workbook didn't appear in the link. I modified the webpage URL of Workbook II to include your affiliate link during my purchase, so hopefully you'll get some commission on that one too!
Ughhh you saved me!! I've been researching intermediate books because I plan on buying one this year. I've almost finished genki 1 and will start on genki 2 in-between my university classes! I'm definitely getting Quartet I have followed your videos through genki 1 and they helped so much! I am planning on continuing to do so. Hopefully I'll be starting on these early next year. I have just done a 7 month slog though genki 1 and am almost at goal point 1! Thank you! Awesome video!
i like quartet. i used it with my italki tutors which helped a lot. i also liked the writing section for which i got feedback from my tutors on my writing.
Insightful comparison and great video production quality! I won't be there live because I've yet to do Genki 2, but I'm definitely looking forward to watching the rest of your lesson VODs for beginner and upcoming intermediate levels.
I've started watching you're videos about a month ago. They are a huge help and I hope that I can catch up before you start making the intermediate streams
I made it to the end! Thanks for doing all the heard work of reviewing all these books and giving your opinion. I had heard that quartet was the next logical move after Genki so I’m glad to hear it’s holding out as promised. Looking forward to the new videos in April. Good luck!
I've been working through genki 1 and 2 but I'm so bummed my school is using tobira so your quartet videos won't be too helpful 😂😭 I'll still be coming to you for review though! ありがとうございました!
One interesting positive about the Integrated Approach book is that all the new vocabulary is given with its pitch accent indicated! I've never seen any other textbook do this, so it's certainly an interesting plus if you want to work on your pronunciation! Also, on the grammar and spelling mistakes: the Genki books had the exact same problem, which makes sense since they are all made by the same company (The Japan Times). :/
Iam the exact opposite of the guy. I only liked an integrated approach (though I have the revised edition). I do immersion learning so I hate Genki and would rather go through Tae Kim and avoid excercises since they don't actually help language acquisition. I just cared for the dialogues and shadowing. Then again, this guy is a classroom teacher so I think he does not approve AJATT approach. But hey I ignored the guy's advice and am reading Natsume Soseki in 6 months of immersion, so I think the guy in the video is just salty. Took him a year to get through Genki I. Like bro, that's a snail's pace.
I already worked through 2 other N3 level books and will next work on Quartet! I didn't even know about the existence of this book! I'll be following your stream and hopefully pass the JLPT N3 in July!
I’ve made it to the end :D Thanks for the great video, I’m super happy to know you’re going to continue the videos after Genki II. Count me in! PS: The illustration clips completely disturbed me :p
Haha Sorry for disturbing you. I tried to throw in a little flare to keep viewers engaged. It was a long video so didn't want it to get too long. Thank you for watching, and see you there!
I got jump scared at 12:42 while drinking coffee. Thankfully I didn't spill but a ToKini Andy video turning into a horror film is the last thing I expected.
I found Tobira for ¥1200 at Book Off so I bought that 🙈 Was too good a deal to pass up. The jump from Genki to Tobira wasn’t so bad IMO, but I did a lot of reading outside of Genki (games, manga, etc). If you aren’t used to reading, it could be intimidating.
Just about to finish Genki 1 and wanted to know what I'll be striving for after Genki 2, this video definitely made it easy to choose which I'm getting. An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Janpanese of course... unless?
I will be following your series when you start in April. Have a copy of the Tobira kanji book and textbook book and will be getting Quartet in a month when calculus isn’t kicking my butt. I will say I have not had a Japanese class in over a year and half and tried to jump into Tobira right after self studying the second half of Genki 2. That was six months ago and I’m now past chapter 1 and 2. The gap is real steep if you tried to learn on your own. I managed by supplementing with a N3 kanji book. Even so I feel like quartet will be a bit less mentally draining to learn from and I like the idea that it can be used effectively with a language partner or tutor. I have been waiting for an excuse to practice speaking with a tutor about something that is not boring, textbooky or another self introduction. Good luck everyone.
Update still studying with your series. A few lessons behind but I love the way you teach it gives the grammar time cement in my brain. Looking forward to catching up with the live group in a month and readying for this years JLPT N3. Thank you.
I've only just finished Genki chapter 3 so I have a way to go before I get to this stage but I had been wondering what would be the next best step as there isn't a perfect option. Looks like Quartet will be the one I get as your grammar videos are so useful! Though seeing as Approach to Intermediate Japanese is so old and we have seen Genki 3rd edition last year, you'd hope a newer more up-to-date version would be released for that as well.
I think after they publish Begginer's Tobira part 2 on July 2022, they are going to renew the original Tobira for 2023. Unfortunately, I need to buy one of these soon, so I'll probabably go for Tobira as is is right now.
Yay! This is exciting! I’m picking my Japanese study up again- Your Genki 1 videos were so helpful and am about to start genki 2 now. Will be excited to watch these intermediate videos! Subscribing now ✨🙌🏻🎉
Made it to the end! I have to agree, Tobira's structure is... super bizarre. I worked through chapters 1-4 this summer with my tutor, and she made it a LOT more interesting and effective. I think if you are learning solo, Tobira is likely not the best option.
Don't worry I think a few of us (myself included) have Tobira. I only just got mine recently too and I sure as hell don't need another Japanese textbook in my life - it's already at max capacity! We'll just have check where the grammar points from Quartet are mentioned in Tobira and study that way!
Hi Andy, Feel free to take a longer break after Genki 2.... I have fallen so far behind due to work pressures but I love joining the live streams and want to catch up!!! I will do my best to catch up in time!
Thank you for the video, even if it was a bit biased :D. Tobira not only consists of 3 books, but also has a lot of free stuff online, besides those outdated videos (additional practice sheets, anki decks and so on). Also, you can find the translation for all readings, dialogues and grammar sentences in Teacher's Guide (to be fair, you have to buy it separately). As for Quartet (I've bought it after you mentioned it for the first time :)), it looks promising and I especially enjoy the grammar and vocabulary sections. But the speaking part seems a bit useless (for me there is too much of it). Still, I'm looking forward to our intermediate journey. I'm made it to the end ;).
I'm glad to hear about the translations in the teachers book. Thank you for the comment. Comments like these help people see other perspectives, and give them a better idea of which book they may like. =)
Thank you! Do you know if there's an answer key for Quartet 1 yet? When I used the GENKI textbooks the answer key was very helpful. Also, what do you think about Tobira Beginning Japanese Volume 2? One of the classes I'm planning to take in the spring uses Quartet 1 and the other uses the Tobira series.
so exciting! Ive been following you towards the end of Genki I book and into Genki Ii. Your videos are so helpful and not boring at all! Looking forward to following with you onto the Quartet textbook as this will be supplementary of the classes Im currently taking. I do want to ask though, how do you suggest we can remember the grammar points? I learned them, understand them, but tends to forget about them if I dont use them enough. Thanks
Using them, or encountering them in reading and watching content is the best bet. Creating an anki deck with a sentence using each grammar point, and a short explanation of the grammar point on the back of the card can also be helpful. =)
I wonder if The Japan Times will make a two-part advanced grammar textbook series that follows after Quartet just for completion sake? Though I have read that Quartet II covers some N1 grammar so maybe an advance grammar book is unnecessary. You're the first person I've seen to really discuss and review Quartet; it doesn't seem to have set the Japanese language learning community on fire like Genki or Minna no Nihongo has so I'm excited for your series!
There actually already IS an advanced grammar book from them. But it's mediocre. After N2, you're pretty much on your own when it comes to studying. LOTS of reading is your best bet honestly.
Yeah the Integrated Approach was very random with its grammar points. You’d think they’d break off into sections that covered similar to the grammar dictionaries? Quartet seems to Integrated Approach like Genki 2nd Ed is to Genki 1st Ed. What would you say about 速読？
Thanks for going through each. I had no idea about the pros and cons of either, but I'll order the Quartet in the next few days. Doubt I'll catch up to you guys and finish Genki2 before mid April, but I'll (hopefully) be right behind you! One quick question: do you mind listing each one of the Quartets you'll be using individually, so I make sure I get them all (even the optional workbooks); I see the first one, the workbook for it, and the second, but not the workbook for the second. The affiliate link also just goes to the search result page on the JP Amazon, just wanted to make sure it still gives you credit if I use that as well.
Thank you! We will be using Quartet I and Quartet II. The workbooks for each are optional, as you put it, though there aren't really any exercises in the textbook, so having them will be helpful I think. Workbooks would be Quartet I and Quartet II workbooks. =) With the Amazon links, I believe that anything you buy during the same session after clicking on an affiliate link counts, so it doesn't necessarily matter if it's on the search page. =)
Quartet is 140 dollars on Amazon now. When I was buying Japanese books back 20 years ago they were like 5-20 dollars. I get Quartet is like a series but I was able to get all N2 books for under 100 dollars even several years ago.
I really liked the Minna no nihongo books (the 2nd edition)! But after MNN II there is just the first edition available, which is pretty bad in my opinion! Which of these series would you recommend in my case?
I have used genki and Nakama at my local university and the intermediate integrated approach and now in my conversation class it we are using Marugoto I still need something around the lines of casual talk among friends and when i speak it sounds to stiff and bookish like
Is there a quartet replacement because they dont sell a physical copy of quartet where i live only a pdf and, be honest who can focus on a digital copy?
Does Quartet have an integrated book reading series (like the Genki books had the Genki Readers series. That series really helped me with my grammar and vocab more than the textbooks alone).
I also agree, don't buy it. That series is really dry in my opinion and works best in a class setting not for self study. If you go from using the friendly Genki to that, you'll have a boredom shock!
I'm asking this after having used Genki 1 and starting Genki 2 and realizing that Genki's grammar instruction and lesson format has some of the issues that An Integrated Approach... has. I switched to MnN a month ago and realized that I appreciated its presentation of Japanese structure (while Genki is of course visually pleasing and has some good audio content though it is recorded in terrible fashion).
Are you going to eventually cover Quartet 1 & 2 like you did Genki 1 & 2? I’m still on Genki 1! Studying part time between work so each lesson is taking about a month to cover, I’ll get to Quartet eventually, I watch the streams even though I’m still not falling further behind. Signed up to Wanikani after watching the streams and love it, so much better than RTK. If I’m never going to live in Japan but want to be able to hold a conversation and maybe understand some overheard Japanese and read signs etc, how proficient do you think I’d need to be? When I last visited I only knew touristy set phrases so I’m already far more confident than I was thanks to your channel!
I do plan on it! I will be beginning sometime in May. Most likely mid-May. The more you know, the better! But if you finish both Genki books and start moving on to Quartet, and find you can handle the listening portions, you should do fine. =)
I hated Intermediate Approach with all my life. My university used it for our intermediate class and it was a pain. I especially hated the workbook because they do not provide the correct answers. I did not know whether I was answering them correctly or not.
Japanese is the only thing I get excited to buy a textbook for 😂
I hear you! haha
same 😂😂
I’m a math nut, so I end up sinking my money into both Japanese books and math books 😭
I FORGOT! An important difference between Tobira and Quartet: After finishing Genki II, you would need some kind of bridge before Tobira, because the jump in difficulty is kind of steep.
Quartet DOES NOT NEED a bridge. It's a good next step after Genki.
ToKini Andy has outgrown Patreon. There is so much premium content now, that we decided to move (there were other reasons too).
You can now access our premium course material at: www.tokiniandy.com/
My personal option is that Quartet is published by the same publisher, so to some certain extent they want people to continue to buy their books I guess. =p
For Tobira's 内容質問, I guess it is meant for those people who are attempting GCE O Levels or A Levels as they need to be able to write the answers for the 読み物. Also, some sections like 「_______を修飾するのはどこからどこまでですか」helps students to be able to read the JLPT N2 and N1 passages in a more effective way.
For the 例文 for the grammar, it comes along with the 教師指導書. It's up to the teachers to give it to their students. After this book, students are expected to move on to JLPT N2. Thus, I think having no English translations is to prepare students for what's coming. =)
For personal use, I compiled my own vocabulary list for Tobira.
Tobira would require a teacher to maximise it's potential.
I heard Tobira is rather hard as well after Genki, but I wonder if I'd need a book to bridge the gap? Or maybe just immersion?
Interestingly enough, as soon as you finished describing Quartet and it's layout, I already knew you were going with it. It sounds like Genki 3 and 4 to me lol I was thinking there's no way he's gonna touch the other two after teaching Genki. Even I didn't want the other two after that initial description.
To be fair my teacher used the Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese ("The Blue Book" lol) after going through Genki 1 & 2. I appreciated some of the additions like reading in the beginning (for encouragement) as opposed to at the end of the book but the formatting and layout drove me nuts. The grammar points I couldn't understand without referring to my Dictionary of Japanese Grammar or the internet. Additionally, some of the grammar points were already discussed in Genki 2 so we had to hop around a bit. My 先生 supplemented the course with more interesting activities thankfully but I disliked that book so much. It was such a chore that I sadly don't remember much of what I learned that year. I yearned for my Genki days.
Maybe I can recommend Quartet to my professor for future students. Meanwhile as I miss studying grammar (lol sorry I actually enjoy it when it's well done/ explained - hence my subscription 😁) you can count me in for that Quartet series. Thanks Andy!
@@ohadhefets9973 From my professional pt of view, just immersion with the help of an experienced teacher.
Wonderful. You forgot to mention that quartet vol 1 is meant for jlptn3 and vol 2 for jlptn2 (according to japan times web). I'm preparing for N4 this July with genki 2
I'm still working my way through the tail end of Genki 1, but your stuff is legit so good that when friends ask me about what materials I'm using for Japanese, I NEVER mention Genki without also mentioning your videos. This video alone is enough to tell me which of the textbooks I'm going to use once I get past Genki 2. I seriously hope your channel explodes in popularity in the coming years, it's so high quality.
Thank you @Pinwheel! I'm happy to hear that you've found the content here helpful enough to share! =)
I wonder what's your Japanese level is now after 3 years ?
Making me want to pick up quartet before I even finish genki 1
Tobira is a very good textbook. I like the readings, almost all of the readings are interesting and you will learn something about the Japanese culture. For Tobira, if you know well all the basic verb and adjective conjugations (present plain, past plain both positive and negative), you should be able to do Tobira. IMO, for intermediate Japanese, you need to know these verb forms inside and out (present, past, and both positive, negative): dictionary form (会う, 聞く、食べる for example), て form, た form, ない form, as they are important for all the conjuctions and suffixes attaching to the verbs and adjectives and if you know them inside and out, then Tobira is not hard even after Genki II. The grammar points are very well explained (most of them have a detailed English explanation) with sentence examples. One major complaint about the grammar is that they are scattered, meaning they don't group it like the JLPT books where you learn similar grammar points together in the same chapter. In my opinion, you learn the grammar more efficiently if it is more "organized". I am Chinese, so Kanji is not a concern for me, I just learn as I go. I finished Tobira about 3 months ago and I am currently using 2 JLPT textbooks 日本語総まとめN3 (Nihongo Soumatome) and 新完全マスターN3 (Shinkanzen Master). Tobira covers pretty much all N3 materials (I would say 80%), so if you finish Tobira, you should be able to do N3. 日本語総まとめN3 (Nihongo Soumatome) is mostly review for me if you finish Tobira and it is very good to solidify what you learned in Tobira. 新完全マスターN3 (Shinkanzen Master) is a very good textbook but it is much more involved and more comprehensive and requires more work. If you can pass N3, then you should be able to visit Japan and can do daily Japanese conversation without much of a problem. I think it is possible to self study using Tobira but as it is better to hire a Japanese teacher.
面白いコメント。ありがとう！
Andy, I'm impressed with how your compositions and editing continue to improve over time. It can be overwhelming and difficult to know what resources to commit to, so this is an interesting topic. Love it!
Also "I made it to the end!" :D
Thank you Cimpy! Still a long way to go, but it is neat to see the progress when I go back and look at my old content. But you know that! You've been here since almost the beginning! =)
I bought An Integrated Approach way back, but will definitely be picking up the Quartet books so I can follow along with your streams. Still got a ways to go with Genki first, but I'll be there when I'm all caught up!
I look forward to seeing you there! Good luck! ☺️
I was thinking of buying Tobira, but this is definitely making me reconsider. Either way, I'll be there! Thank you for your hard work making japanese easier to learn for us!
You're welcome! I hope that I can continue to do some!
Cant wait to finish Genki so i can join you guys in Quartet! 🙌
Can't wait to see you there!!!
Andy san’s videos make me want to go from N4-N1 in 6 months🤣
8 hours of Japanese per day, here Yash comes!
@@ToKiniAndy I think we call that full time.
So excited to hear you’ll be doing an intermediate course!
I'm excited to start!
I still have to start and finish Genki II, but I hope to be there! It's pretty nice to hear there's a newer textbook that fixes the problem so many people mention about the difficulty jump between Genki and Tobira. I'm excited to check it out ^^
I wish you luck on your Genki II journey!
Just finished Genki 2 this weekend, and was about to jump into Integrated Japanese. However I think I need to investigate Quartet, which I had never heard of before. Thanks for your very informative review.
You're welcome. Thank you for watching! =)
I'll be there! I was considering buying Tobira this week, so this came at just the right time!
Glad I finally got it out!!
So far you're the only one that's reviewed Quartet. Thanks to ur video I know to get the Quartet books after Genki. Keep up the awesome work!
I'm glad to hear that you found it helpful in making your decision. =) Thank you for watching.
Having used both Integrated Approach and Tobira, this explains a lot about the shortcomings of those books! I've noticed some classes shifting to Quartet so I may give it a try.
Ouch, I was hoping you'd use Tobira!
I'm almost done with Genki 2, and your lessons have been really helpful!
Thank you :)
I'm happy to hear it! Thanks for following along! ☺️
Me too! Especially because it doesn't have an answer key! Had never heard of Quartet until the video! I'll still follow along though and try to find where/if the same grammar points are mentioned in Tobira.
@@7dee3 a lot of the points are definitely shared, so this is certainly a possibility. ☺️
YES LADS!!!!!!
Your videos are so easy to follow and they’re the main reason I’ve progressed as much as I have with Genki. It’s honestly made my day, knowing that you’re continuing to intermediate level🙌🙌
Onwards and upwards!
I'm happy to hear that! Thank you! Keep it up!
Thanks a lot for this video. I had looked into intermediate textbooks a lot a few weeks ago and Quartet kept coming up in discussions. But the common idea was "It looks good, but it is so new that nobody has really used it and nobody wants to be the guinea pig so just get Tobira or something people can vouch for."
I'll definitely be joining you on these! But I may be several months late, haha. Still working my way through Genki (along with WaniKani and Tango N5). Loving the NO CHAT lessons and Patreon resources.
Take your time and keep it up! I'm happy to hear that everything has been helpful!
Made it to the end, thank you so much for all the Genki and Quartet videos! Preparing for the JLPT in December, moving from Genki 2 soon so this so helpful to see where to go after Genki and will go Quartet for sure, thank you!
I've been using the quartet books and they're really great! I strongly recommend them to anyone looking to move into the N3 territory and upwards
I’ll be there! I have gotten through half of genki 2 thanks to you!
That's awesome!! Thank you, and I'll see you there!
I'm so old I used the "Learn Japanese" books (probably before you were born, U of Maryland), and I've started to get into it again in anticipation of one last trip to Japan. An Integrated Approach is doable, but I find it very boring, so I will probably try Quartet once I get through the Moe Tango N4 deck. Tobira is out because of the small print. Thank you for doing this, it is very helpful.
...that moment when I've spent money on Tobira and Intermediate Japanese already 😅😅😅 I will totally be there!!!
Ouch! Sorry I didn't release it earlier!
I’ll be there, looking forward to it! I actually have all three of the series reviewed in this video, and also prefer Quartet for the reasons that you have outlined.
I made it to the end, woo!
I bought the Quartet textbooks using the affiliate link to the Japanese store; but for some reason, the Quartet II Workbook didn't appear in the link. I modified the webpage URL of Workbook II to include your affiliate link during my purchase, so hopefully you'll get some commission on that one too!
Thank you so much!! I hope that you find them and the new series helpful!!! ☺️
wow this is probably the best books review video I've encountered after I watched tons of videos of Japanese and korean books..thank you so much!
Thank you!
I’m finishing the semester on ch 23 at school. I will definitely be following your videos to continue with my studies thank you 😊
Ughhh you saved me!! I've been researching intermediate books because I plan on buying one this year. I've almost finished genki 1 and will start on genki 2 in-between my university classes! I'm definitely getting Quartet I have followed your videos through genki 1 and they helped so much! I am planning on continuing to do so. Hopefully I'll be starting on these early next year. I have just done a 7 month slog though genki 1 and am almost at goal point 1! Thank you! Awesome video!
I'm happy to hear that you found the video helpful! Keep it up, and you'll make it! =)
ow you really sold the quartet books for me! it seems that the things you appreciated the most were the things i look for in a language textbook
i like quartet. i used it with my italki tutors which helped a lot. i also liked the writing section for which i got feedback from my tutors on my writing.
Insightful comparison and great video production quality! I won't be there live because I've yet to do Genki 2, but I'm definitely looking forward to watching the rest of your lesson VODs for beginner and upcoming intermediate levels.
Thank you Wazhai! It's good to see you!
I made it to the end! Now I’m off to your genki 15 lesson, hopefully one day I’ll be at quartet!
I've started watching you're videos about a month ago. They are a huge help and I hope that I can catch up before you start making the intermediate streams
I wish you luck! I'm happy to hear that the videos are helping! =)
Nice. Made it to the end and all that. I’m considering buying the textbook and following along in April. My Japanese needs brushing up!
😮😮😮
I feel like YOU could teach us all a bit! Haha
Thanks for doing this, I'll be sure to join whenever I can finish my way through Genki!
I made it to the end! Thanks for doing all the heard work of reviewing all these books and giving your opinion. I had heard that quartet was the next logical move after Genki so I’m glad to hear it’s holding out as promised. Looking forward to the new videos in April. Good luck!
Thank you! I too am looking forward to it!
I've been working through genki 1 and 2 but I'm so bummed my school is using tobira so your quartet videos won't be too helpful 😂😭 I'll still be coming to you for review though! ありがとうございました!
aaaaa im so excited!!! i had already bought the quartet books a couple of weeks ago and hoped youd continue with them. thanks a lot!
Happy to hear it!! I can't wait to get started. ☺️
uuuuuughhhh ill be there...when i finish lesson 3 from genki that is
I believe in you!
One interesting positive about the Integrated Approach book is that all the new vocabulary is given with its pitch accent indicated! I've never seen any other textbook do this, so it's certainly an interesting plus if you want to work on your pronunciation!
Also, on the grammar and spelling mistakes: the Genki books had the exact same problem, which makes sense since they are all made by the same company (The Japan Times). :/
Iam the exact opposite of the guy. I only liked an integrated approach (though I have the revised edition). I do immersion learning so I hate Genki and would rather go through Tae Kim and avoid excercises since they don't actually help language acquisition. I just cared for the dialogues and shadowing.
Then again, this guy is a classroom teacher so I think he does not approve AJATT approach.
But hey I ignored the guy's advice and am reading Natsume Soseki in 6 months of immersion, so I think the guy in the video is just salty. Took him a year to get through Genki I. Like bro, that's a snail's pace.
I already worked through 2 other N3 level books and will next work on Quartet! I didn't even know about the existence of this book! I'll be following your stream and hopefully pass the JLPT N3 in July!
I believe in you! And I hope that the content here can help!
I’ve made it to the end :D
Thanks for the great video, I’m super happy to know you’re going to continue the videos after Genki II. Count me in!
PS: The illustration clips completely disturbed me :p
Haha Sorry for disturbing you. I tried to throw in a little flare to keep viewers engaged. It was a long video so didn't want it to get too long.
Thank you for watching, and see you there!
I got jump scared at 12:42 while drinking coffee. Thankfully I didn't spill but a ToKini Andy video turning into a horror film is the last thing I expected.
I found Tobira for ¥1200 at Book Off so I bought that 🙈 Was too good a deal to pass up.
The jump from Genki to Tobira wasn’t so bad IMO, but I did a lot of reading outside of Genki (games, manga, etc). If you aren’t used to reading, it could be intimidating.
Finally someone reviewed Quartet! Thank you for this!
You're welcome! I hope you find it useful! ☺️
@@ToKiniAndy i do, I was already thinking about buying quartet after im done with Genki II, and this solidified my decision. Thanks again!
I'll be there! I am so thankful for you and for what you do for us.
Thank you! I'll see you there!
I know it already came out but I'm super stoked about this and I'll be there.
Just about to finish Genki 1 and wanted to know what I'll be striving for after Genki 2, this video definitely made it easy to choose which I'm getting. An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Janpanese of course... unless?
I will be following your series when you start in April. Have a copy of the Tobira kanji book and textbook book and will be getting Quartet in a month when calculus isn’t kicking my butt. I will say I have not had a Japanese class in over a year and half and tried to jump into Tobira right after self studying the second half of Genki 2. That was six months ago and I’m now past chapter 1 and 2. The gap is real steep if you tried to learn on your own. I managed by supplementing with a N3 kanji book. Even so I feel like quartet will be a bit less mentally draining to learn from and I like the idea that it can be used effectively with a language partner or tutor. I have been waiting for an excuse to practice speaking with a tutor about something that is not boring, textbooky or another self introduction. Good luck everyone.
I hope that you can find it helpful! =)
Update still studying with your series. A few lessons behind but I love the way you teach it gives the grammar time cement in my brain.
Looking forward to catching up with the live group in a month and readying for this years JLPT N3.
Thank you.
I've only just finished Genki chapter 3 so I have a way to go before I get to this stage but I had been wondering what would be the next best step as there isn't a perfect option. Looks like Quartet will be the one I get as your grammar videos are so useful! Though seeing as Approach to Intermediate Japanese is so old and we have seen Genki 3rd edition last year, you'd hope a newer more up-to-date version would be released for that as well.
I believe that Quartet IS their new "Integrated Approach", as both books are by the same publisher. =)
@@ToKiniAndy Ah that does make a lot of sense as to why there is no gap between Genki and those books then!
I think after they publish Begginer's Tobira part 2 on July 2022, they are going to renew the original Tobira for 2023. Unfortunately, I need to buy one of these soon, so I'll probabably go for Tobira as is is right now.
I'm just starting with genki 1 but hope to be learning in the quartet in the near future
The beauty of UA-cam, is that the videos will still be here when you catch up! =)
Argument for quarter sounds quite compelling hmm :thinking emoji:
They are the better books! But if you already have Tobira...
Yeah, I already got Tobira so TT
Made it to the end - woohoo!😂 Why am I so excited for this? I haven't even finished Genki 1 yet
Thank you! I hope it can give you some motivation to keep going! =)
Yay! This is exciting! I’m picking my Japanese study up again- Your Genki 1 videos were so helpful and am about to start genki 2 now. Will be excited to watch these intermediate videos! Subscribing now ✨🙌🏻🎉
Thank you! And thank you for watching!
I'll be there for sure! Your channel has helped me a LOT
I'm happy to hear that! Thank you!
Made it to the end🎉 ill be buying the quartet books soon.
I had just given JLPT N5 using your genki 1 tutorial and self study.. now ill move to genki 2. Thank you!!
Congratulations! Thank you for watching!
Made it to the end! I have to agree, Tobira's structure is... super bizarre. I worked through chapters 1-4 this summer with my tutor, and she made it a LOT more interesting and effective. I think if you are learning solo, Tobira is likely not the best option.
Aww shucks! Tobira just came days ago assuming this’ll be what you will be teaching us since it is the popular choice for intermediate japanese 😅.
Don't worry I think a few of us (myself included) have Tobira. I only just got mine recently too and I sure as hell don't need another Japanese textbook in my life - it's already at max capacity! We'll just have check where the grammar points from Quartet are mentioned in Tobira and study that way!
Hi Andy, Feel free to take a longer break after Genki 2.... I have fallen so far behind due to work pressures but I love joining the live streams and want to catch up!!! I will do my best to catch up in time!
Hi Nyukins! There is a good chance we may push the start back to May 2nd, so that may give you some time. ☺️
@@ToKiniAndy That would help 😅 I will keep doing my best to catch up either way!! Thanks 😁
I’ll be there! Can’t wait to learn more! 😍😍
See you there! ☺️
I'm glad I found this video before I bought any of the books, thank you.
I'm glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching!
ill be there! I made it to the end! cant wait
Yay! Thank you!
... Well that was unexpected!!
I have a tobira textbook but I’ll be there if I somehow get my hands on a quartet pdf 😆
Thank you for the video, even if it was a bit biased :D. Tobira not only consists of 3 books, but also has a lot of free stuff online, besides those outdated videos (additional practice sheets, anki decks and so on). Also, you can find the translation for all readings, dialogues and grammar sentences in Teacher's Guide (to be fair, you have to buy it separately). As for Quartet (I've bought it after you mentioned it for the first time :)), it looks promising and I especially enjoy the grammar and vocabulary sections. But the speaking part seems a bit useless (for me there is too much of it).
Still, I'm looking forward to our intermediate journey. I'm made it to the end ;).
Also, I've forgotten to mention that there are no answers in Quartet. You can ask the publisher for them, but they send them only to some people.
I'm glad to hear about the translations in the teachers book. Thank you for the comment. Comments like these help people see other perspectives, and give them a better idea of which book they may like. =)
Thank you! I’ve been wondering the Intermediate books that you recommend 😁
I made it to the end! Love your videos:)
Thank you!
I made it to the end! Haha :D Can't wait for Quartet!
Thank you! Do you know if there's an answer key for Quartet 1 yet? When I used the GENKI textbooks the answer key was very helpful. Also, what do you think about Tobira Beginning Japanese Volume 2? One of the classes I'm planning to take in the spring uses Quartet 1 and the other uses the Tobira series.
so exciting! Ive been following you towards the end of Genki I book and into Genki Ii. Your videos are so helpful and not boring at all! Looking forward to following with you onto the Quartet textbook as this will be supplementary of the classes Im currently taking.
I do want to ask though, how do you suggest we can remember the grammar points? I learned them, understand them, but tends to forget about them if I dont use them enough. Thanks
Using them, or encountering them in reading and watching content is the best bet. Creating an anki deck with a sentence using each grammar point, and a short explanation of the grammar point on the back of the card can also be helpful. =)
I wonder if The Japan Times will make a two-part advanced grammar textbook series that follows after Quartet just for completion sake? Though I have read that Quartet II covers some N1 grammar so maybe an advance grammar book is unnecessary.
You're the first person I've seen to really discuss and review Quartet; it doesn't seem to have set the Japanese language learning community on fire like Genki or Minna no Nihongo has so I'm excited for your series!
There actually already IS an advanced grammar book from them. But it's mediocre. After N2, you're pretty much on your own when it comes to studying. LOTS of reading is your best bet honestly.
I *hope* to be there. If I finish Genki 2 in time :)
I wish you luck!
First and I’ll definitely be there!!
Winner winner!
I’ve an integrated approach to intermediate Japanese and I LOVE it🥲 but after this video I wanna buy quartet...
Yeah the Integrated Approach was very random with its grammar points. You’d think they’d break off into sections that covered similar to the grammar dictionaries? Quartet seems to Integrated Approach like Genki 2nd Ed is to Genki 1st Ed.
What would you say about 速読？
I made it to the end and I will be there! (once I catch up with Genki.)
Woohoo! See you there!
Thanks for going through each. I had no idea about the pros and cons of either, but I'll order the Quartet in the next few days. Doubt I'll catch up to you guys and finish Genki2 before mid April, but I'll (hopefully) be right behind you!
One quick question: do you mind listing each one of the Quartets you'll be using individually, so I make sure I get them all (even the optional workbooks); I see the first one, the workbook for it, and the second, but not the workbook for the second. The affiliate link also just goes to the search result page on the JP Amazon, just wanted to make sure it still gives you credit if I use that as well.
Thank you! We will be using Quartet I and Quartet II. The workbooks for each are optional, as you put it, though there aren't really any exercises in the textbook, so having them will be helpful I think. Workbooks would be Quartet I and Quartet II workbooks. =)
With the Amazon links, I believe that anything you buy during the same session after clicking on an affiliate link counts, so it doesn't necessarily matter if it's on the search page. =)
I made it to the end.....the role-playing pop up cracked me up!
Hahah thanks man! I'm glad you caught it. ☺️
I'll try to be there... hopefully in time since i only just started Genki
Did anyone finish JFZ 5! and moved on to Quartet? Is it to big of a Jump?:)
Me too, was wandering is it a good choice to move from JFZ 5 to Quartet
Quartet is 140 dollars on Amazon now. When I was buying Japanese books back 20 years ago they were like 5-20 dollars. I get Quartet is like a series but I was able to get all N2 books for under 100 dollars even several years ago.
I strongly suggest ordering off the Japanese Amazon. The American version gets weird price hikes sometimes.
Thanks so much for the content.
And thank YOU for watching. =)
I really liked the Minna no nihongo books (the 2nd edition)! But after MNN II there is just the first edition available, which is pretty bad in my opinion! Which of these series would you recommend in my case?
so what did you choose then?
I’m starting on your Genki 1 series! I’ll arrive at it probably a year late!
The beauty of UA-cam! =)
I have used genki and Nakama at my local university and the intermediate integrated approach and now in my conversation class it we are using Marugoto I still need something around the lines of casual talk among friends and when i speak it sounds to stiff and bookish like
Is there a quartet replacement because they dont sell a physical copy of quartet where i live only a pdf and, be honest who can focus on a digital copy?
I'll be there! When will you start?
Tobira was ok but I found the font too small. Id need a magnifying glass.
I made it to the end Andy!!!
Does Quartet have an integrated book reading series (like the Genki books had the Genki Readers series. That series really helped me with my grammar and vocab more than the textbooks alone).
Unfortunately, no not yet. I do hope they make something like that!
What do you think of みんなの日本語 中級? I'm thinking about getting that one and then Tobira or, maybe now that you recommend it, Quartet
Not good. Don't buy it. - 日本語の先生より。=p
I also agree, don't buy it.
That series is really dry in my opinion and works best in a class setting not for self study. If you go from using the friendly Genki to that, you'll have a boredom shock!
I'm asking this after having used Genki 1 and starting Genki 2 and realizing that Genki's grammar instruction and lesson format has some of the issues that An Integrated Approach... has. I switched to MnN a month ago and realized that I appreciated its presentation of Japanese structure (while Genki is of course visually pleasing and has some good audio content though it is recorded in terrible fashion).
@@Coicoy if you are on Minna no Nihongo now, finish it then switch to Tobira or Quartet
unfortunately I'm still on Genki 1 but i think next year I'll be there
Are you going to eventually cover Quartet 1 & 2 like you did Genki 1 & 2?
I’m still on Genki 1! Studying part time between work so each lesson is taking about a month to cover, I’ll get to Quartet eventually, I watch the streams even though I’m still not falling further behind. Signed up to Wanikani after watching the streams and love it, so much better than RTK.
If I’m never going to live in Japan but want to be able to hold a conversation and maybe understand some overheard Japanese and read signs etc, how proficient do you think I’d need to be?
When I last visited I only knew touristy set phrases so I’m already far more confident than I was thanks to your channel!
I do plan on it! I will be beginning sometime in May. Most likely mid-May.
The more you know, the better! But if you finish both Genki books and start moving on to Quartet, and find you can handle the listening portions, you should do fine. =)
I hated Intermediate Approach with all my life. My university used it for our intermediate class and it was a pain. I especially hated the workbook because they do not provide the correct answers. I did not know whether I was answering them correctly or not.
Is Quartet 2 really on par with JLPT N2 level?
FYI, I started Quartet after finishing Marugoto, an underrated series.
You'd probably still need to do practice tests and whatnot, but it's pretty close.
So I just ordered both Genki (3rd ed) and the 1st Quartet.
I wish you luck on your journey then! =)
tobira gang gaaaang
=-o
What do you think about JLPT N3 Shin Kanzen Master?
I've never looked at them!
I think the grammar book and the vocab book are good, but the rest are not so good... =/
@@ToKiniAndy I thought they were super famous, I've seen a lot these books in youtube videos