Genki 1 and 2 consist of two sections: "Dialogue and Grammar" and "Reading and Writing."
Dialogue and Grammar: Study of basic grammar and vocabulary, and exercises for improving speaking and listening abilities.
Reading and Writing: Study of Japanese characters and practice in both reading and writing.
The Dialogue and Grammar section of a lesson should be learned before proceeding to the Reading and Writing section of the same lesson, which builds on the grammar items in Dialogue and Grammar.
Contents
The Genki program of elementary Japanese study is completed in 23 lessons.
Volume 1: Lessons 1-12
Volume 2: Lessons 13-23
Sentence patterns: All the major sentence patterns that should be learned in an elementary Japanese course Syllabus Kanji: 317 characters (including 254 of the 284 kanji listed for Level 3 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Kanji List Vocabulary: Approximately 1,700 basic words used in everyday life
Time Requirements
Dialogue and Grammar: 6 hours per lesson
Reading and Writing: 3 hours per lesson
The estimated time necessary to complete all 23 lessons is approximately 200 hours.
In classes where time is limited, it is possible to still make effective use of the material by doing only certain parts of the practices, using only the Dialogue and Grammar section or implementing other such ideas.
Orthography
The Japanese text is basically written in kanji and kana. Kanji transcription mainly follows the guidelines for the most commonly used characters (Joyo Kanji). To lessen the burden on the students, Lessons 1 and 2 use hiragana and katakana only.
Dialogue and Grammar: Every kanji is written with its pronunciation in hiragana (furigana). Romanization accompanies the hiragana and katakana only in Lessons 1 and 2.
Reading and Writing:Furigana are given only for the kanji that have not yet been learned.