Question:
I have finished both Genki I & II, along with the accompanying workbooks. Right now, I am going back to make sure I can do the questions and use the grammar on my own, without looking up the grammar structure or using a dictionary.
Which textbook/grammar book/ whatever should I try to work through next?
I have heard good things about An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese.
Thoughts? Comments? Opinions?
From here on you have many options.
You can either go with other textbooks like “An Integrated Approach”, “Tobira(上級へのとびら)”, “中級へ行こう/中級を学ぼう”, “みんなの日本語中級” or similar general textbooks.
Or
You can go with more JLPT oriented material like: Sou-matome(総まとめ), Kanzen master(新完全マスター), Try! and similar books.
After Genki2 the road opens up pretty much and you have to find your own way to continue.
I’m a big fan of the Try! books to get an overview over the next JLPT level (in your case that would be Try! N3) and after doing that, going into more details with the Kanzen master books (which I prefer over the Sou-matome series) and doing some drill-books (I have recommendations there too) when I feel I need a revision.
I can not say much to the Integrated approach book. From what I have seen in reviews it seems to be a decent book.Though, everybody seems to like it less than Genki.
Either way you should definitely start supplementing your studies at this point with some native reading material/listening material like easy manga/dramas/songs/nhk news web easy and similar, to boost up your reading speed and get really used to the language.
And try to engage with the language as often as possible by writing/talking to natives when possible.
Hope this text helped you a little bit. Have fun experimenting and finding your own way to learn.
Quick comment here, there are several grammar points (not to mention vocabulary) that the Genki series does not cover that are covered in the JLPT N4 material. Before you jump to N3 as suggested above I would recommend reviewing N4 should you choose the JLPT route (as I did).
I’m curious, how long did it take you to go through the Genki books? Were you self-studying?
I did both Genkis in around 3 months by myself. I did around 2 chapters a week.
@Macaroni I self studied (with the help of my Japanese wife) and it took me around a year and a half to work through both books and all the workbook content. Granted, this is me tarting from total scratch and could easily be accomplished faster as I’m sure you’ll find with many of the folks of the forums. I was studying about an hour a night or a little more with some breaks in between. Half of the battle is learning how to study efficiently and this is always evolving depending on the material you’re working from.
I see! I a lot of trouble with the Genki textbooks at first - even now, I still have trouble finding my own pace.
@grenzionky damn, that’s pretty fast! Seems to me like going this fast would prevent effective retention of all the grammar points Genki throws at your face, did you have to go back to previous chapters regularly?
Both in 3 months?? I was really having trouble to do 1 chapter a week… with the exercises and the workbook. Must say I was also doing Minna No nihongo side by side in the first 8 chapters with all the extra material of that series as a way to reinforce the grammar, but I was getting burn, so I continued just with Genki (though probably will review MNH after finishing with Genki).
That with wanikani, anki, jpod101, graded reading, and kanji writing practice I think it tops my japanese available time. No hurry here… but after almost 5 months I’m just finishing Genki I.
I kind of did the same. Except I did like a chapter a day for 8 days, and then I’d stop, and then I’d do it again. It was summer vacation for me so I studied Japanese for 8+hours a day because I had nothing better to do.
I was able to retain the grammar well, because after doing all the practices in the text book and work book, it was pretty cemented in my head. Except for a few small grammars that I would occasionally forget, but they came together over time from lots of reading. I honestly feel like it’s better to finish as fast as possible, because for me at least, once you get to reading its a better and more fun way to practice your knowledge, rather than waiting a year or two because you went through it slow. I don’t think moving slower will make you remember it better, I think it’s just the amount of time you total at the end. But that’s just my opinion.
It took me about 11 months of off-and-on self-study to finish Genki I. My next goal is to finish Genki II in 9 months, and considering I haven’t opened it yet, I’m going to say any less time than 9 months will be a challenge.
However, if you discount the two long breaks I took, I spent about 6 months with Genki I, averaging about 2 weeks per chapter. Don’t discount the power of the workbook, either!
I see! I personally found that I had trouble remembering some of the more subtle grammar points in the previous chapters, so yesterday I had to review all the chapters from the beginning to give myself a fresh start.
@raephe yeah, the workbook is awesome! I actually started studying Genki last year and stopped because the way they introduce the kanjis made no sense haha So I started again during the November break and I hit a wall at chapter 7 (I think ? The one where they introduce the te imasu form), now I’m onto chapter nine and still going ! To each their own pace 
Keep going back and revisiting as you learn more Kanji, vocabulary and context sentences. The patterns of sound and readings will start to come out from your mind. Level 5 is a real big level! You can do it! Try LingoDeer or even Duolingo now from the start.
I started doing the Genki series through self study in May of this year. I would do a few chapters of the textbook, then go back and do all the corresponding workbook work and audio portions.
I’m currently living in Japan, so I guess you could call me a ‘motivated learner.’ If you sit down for an hour or two a day and do the grammar exercises, in addition to Anki flashcards for the vocabulary whenever you have free time, the workload is not so bad.
It was the summer for me with no job, so I had literally all the time in the world
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