The book 13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese offers some insights on how to speak Japanese fluently with its hybrid style of textbook/comic that students can pick up and grasp easily. Throughout its 13 secrets, learners can improve their grammar, change their study habits, and gain some useful tips to enhance their fluency.
"The book is about half information book/half text book so it definitely isn’t recommended for classes. Instead I feel that this is a book that will seem more useful for solo learners, due to its unique structure."
Overview
13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese has a bit of everything. It has sections which provide explanations of each “secret” which are useful tips that deal with word associations, kids’ games, vocabulary charts, picture definitions, quizzes, and even some comics. The secrets are pretty technical, so an understanding of Japanese at an intermediate level is highly recommended, otherwise you’ll be lost. Most secrets involve some background knowledge and involve understanding forms and adjectives. Some chapters have some fun quizzes and exercises to practice the newly found knowledge and the comic element involved is good for students interested in Manga (Japanese comics). The book is about half information book/half text book so it definitely isn’t recommended for classes. Instead I feel that this is a book that will seem more useful for solo learners, due to its unique structure.
Each unit explains one of the 13 secrets (13 units) and goes over important grammar points, speaking activities, and examples of common language mistakes and how to avoid making them. Throughout each lesson, the student will gain new language skills by going over reading activities and examples. In each unit students will also come across a number of activities such as vocabulary charts, comics, quizzes (with answers), pictures, and fill-in-the-blank activities. Each lesson follows the same pattern and flow while transitioning from secret to secret.
Pros:
· Interesting tidbits and tips to enhance fluency that some orthodox textbooks wouldn’t touch on.
· Lots of illustrations throughout each chapter to give a better glimpse of the material taught.
· The comic and quiz portions add some variety and excitement to each unit. Perfect for more visual learners.
Cons:
· There may seem to be too much information in each unit, which can be overwhelming to some students.
· Not for anyone under the intermediate level because it can get pretty grammatical and technical.
Recommended For:
· Students at an intermediate level (at least) since the chapters are somewhat complex at times.
· Students who are visual learners and prefer to work with illustrations, pictures and charts.
· Solo learners since there isn't much in the book that could be applied in a classroom setting.
Overall, this book is a nice choice if you want to learn how to speak with more clarity and ease. 13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese has some great secrets to share as well as clear examples and entertaining pictures to teach important language structures. Even though the book can be a bit heavy on the text, it’s still very useful for learning some techniques you may have never considered to improve your fluency. This book is worth the read and I would highly recommend it to intermediate level independent learners.
