First volume of Tobira: Beginning Japanese, a textbook aimed at beginning-level students with no prior knowledge of Japanese. The Tobira method offers a comprehensive learning of the language and all units include sections dedicated to grammar, reading comprehension, listening comprehension, conversation, vocabulary and kanji.This volume is divided into 10 units and a 0 lesson in which the student will learn the syllabaries hiragana and katakana and the basic principles of grammar and pronunciation in Japanese.Introduction: This section indicates the objectives and skills that the student will achieve once each unit has been completed. Strategies that can be used when studying are also offered.
Conversation: a series of characters have a conversation in which the grammar and vocabulary of the unit are reflected. The audios of the conversations are available on Tobira's website .
Vocabulary: about 70 new words are introduced in each unit . The vocabulary is presented in two ways: in tables, with the words written in kanji, hiragana and English and through pictures that help to better memorize the terms. The audios with the words read are available on Tobira's website .
Kanji: this section starts from the third unit. Each lesson includes the learning of 14 to 18 kanjis and in total, this volume includes 139. The kanjis are presented in tables that include their possible readings, order of strokes, meanings and most frequent words. Once the kanjis have been studied, the furigana disappears when a kanji reappears in the book.
Grammar: each unit focuses on a grammatical aspect of the language. QR codes are included that give access to the Tobira website that includes additional information that will help consolidate grammar.
Activities: this section includes different exercises with which to practice what has been learned in each unit. The proposed activities have different approaches: conjugating verbs or adjectives, talking with classmates, doing a role-play, etc.
Reading: a text is included to read with reading comprehension questions. The most complex words appear translated next to each text.Listening comprehension- An audio-focused exercise section that includes various types of activities. The audios are available on Tobira's website . Through a QR code located on the cover of the book, you can access a website dedicated to the Tobira method that includes different resources, as well as the audios of all the units.