I bought Genki 1 textbook and workbook when I first started learning Japanese because it was so highly recommended, but I am not a physical book lover and hate the textbook format. It really doesn’t get me motivated and I have hardly read paste the first few pages without feeling overwhelmed.
I found some YouTube channels that teach grammar such as Game Gengo and Cure Dolly but wondering if these are supplementary sources of grammar or if they could be as useful as the likes of Genki for teaching a solid foundation and as the sole source until I know enough grammar and vocab to read basic books.
I also heard of BunPro but have seen advice to only use this around WK level 10/20 and to use it to practice what you have learned, not as a method of learning.
Any video or interactive resource would be high appreciated as I am loving WaniKani so far and really enjoy the video format of learning.
I was pretty similar in that textbooks just did not work for me at all. Most of the beginner grammar I know now I learned from Japanese Ammo. After watching a fair amount and I had progressed to around lvl 20-30 in WK I was about ready to start reading basic native Japanese material. I don’t remember exactly which videos or in what order I watched things in, but if you want somewhere to start this seems like a good playlist. What grammar I didn’t learn from Japanese Ammo/Misa I looked up online and there’s usually an article or something about it. It’s been several years later, my Japanese level is still not super great but that’s more my own fault, but I’m starting my first ever light novel and haven’t even touched a textbook in all that time. It is definitely possible to learn Japanese without a textbook if you know where to look for good resources. Good luck!
Frankly I think the book is not meant to motivate you. Who cares what the format is? Hating textbooks because they’re textbooks doesn’t help you. Your own reasons for learning Japanese are what should motivate you, regardless of what it is.
There’s nothing wrong with using videos as supplements, but at the end of the day, you don’t learn a language by having someone talk the rules at you. The structure that Genki offers you in reading, writing, listening, etc, will help you more fundamentally because it is that repeated, structured use, that is what will take you from hearing about something, to actually understanding something.
Personally I’ve found Cure Dolly’s videos to be the most useful of any explanation about grammar I’ve encountered. If you want something to go along with Genki vol. 1, I would recommend checking out “セラムーンSarah Moon” on youtube. She has a Japanese for Beginners series that follows along with the textbook. She’s also an active Japanese to English translator so she’ll frequently include extra information or nuance based on her own experiences with translating.
I watched her series after going through most of Cure Dolly’s videos and the only time I really learned anything new was when she added in the extra information. I think that shows that Dolly covers pretty much the entirety of Genki vol. 1 at some point. I still found watching Sarah’s videos good practice and reinforcement of what I’d learned. She also includes a sentence practice section after each video which I really liked.
As for BunPro it’s okay. I’ll echo the sentiment of it being best used to practice things you’ve already learned as it doesn’t really explain things well. Try out it’s free trial month when you feel ready for practice and see if it works for you.
I would say that it’s not too soon for you to start watching Japanese videos/audio without English for immersion practice. You won’t understand much for a long time, but it’ll give you practice at hearing when Japanese grammar sounds right.
I just learned recently about Refold, which is a sort of general language-learning roadmap by Matt from Matt vs. Japan. I don’t know if I agree with everything on the roadmap, but his thoughts on grammar are pretty sensible.
I’ve seen Tae Kim’s site get a lot of flack for having sloppy or inaccurate explanations, but I haven’t seen anything that would harm beginners (in fact, I think slightly sloppy explanations when starting out are good; simple is better at first).
Once you know your basics like particles & verbs, Maggie Sensei is a really good blog. I’d recommend going in JLPT order. Here are her N5 lessons. If you have the money, I’d recommend her Patreon; she provides a lot of audio and she’s good about answering questions from her patrons.
I know it sucks, but if you want to feel confident in your grammar, you have to buckle down and open a textbook. But you don’t have to go quickly. If it takes you a week to learn a particle, and you feel confident in that particle, then that saves you from relearning it later. Like a lot of other skills, deliberately building a strong foundation will save you a lot of unlearning and relearning later.
I also hate textbooks. I know they work as I learned grammar using them. But they are boring and after I long day of college classes I don’t feel like ‘studying’ anymore.