Can't I just read a textbook? Are textbooks inherently bad?

September 01, 2024 — Tatsumoto Ren

If you seriously want to master your target language, textbooks are not for you. We recommend skipping them entirely and learning the language through immersion.

We do not recommend textbooks for many of the same reasons we advise against using apps like Duolingo. Textbooks are not designed to align with the AJATT methodology and tend to reinforce traditional learning habits, which are neither ideal nor efficient. These resources focus on constructing sentences from grammar rules, memorizing vocabulary in a specific order, and encouraging early speaking and writing. Consequently, textbooks offer little to no benefit to your immersion learning journey. They provide very superficial knowledge that won't help you when you decide to read an actual novel. Don't expect to become fluent by reading textbooks.

Purchasing a textbook just to ignore the majority of it is also not in your best interest.

Purpose of a textbook

Language acquisition happens when we comprehend what is being said. "Acquiring" a language means developing an intuitive understanding of it. Thus, the AJATT method builds its language learning strategy around immersing yourself in the target language in order to provide your brain with as much input as possible.

Our brains are pattern recognition machines. They need input to decipher and understand the structures, rules, and building blocks of your target language. Think about how babies learn their first language. Initially, they learn from the input they receive from their parents and other speakers, and after a couple of years, they accumulate enough input to begin speaking. The more language they absorb, the more neural pathways they create. Adults who are doing AJATT learn foreign languages in the same way. This process mostly happens unconsciously, but providing the right input can expedite it.

If textbooks were necessary for language acquisition, all infants would be required to read them. But that is not the case.

Do textbooks have a purpose? What can they possibly do to help us? An ideal textbook should provide plenty of example phrases and sentences, a variety of samples of the target language, a wealth of comprehensible input. From the AJATT perspective, it is best to make the explanations short (very short) and provide as many usage examples as possible to feed your brain the essential input.

However, the problem with textbooks is that they never feed you input. They explain rules, force you to memorize vocabulary lists, force you to speak and write prematurely, etc. Textbooks that include stories are not suitable for everyone either. The stories in textbooks cannot compete with manga and anime. They are simply not as interesting. Additionally, the kind of language they use is artificially simplified and dumbed down. Therefore, we think it is better to learn from native content from day one, starting with something easier at first, such as slice of life anime. This way, you can learn in the most natural manner. And when you don't understand something, TL subtitles and dictionaries help you figure it out.

Are textbooks inherently bad?

Absolutely.

Many textbooks are made by non-native speakers, and thus are prone to contain numerous mistakes and unnatural sentences. For example, the Japanese from Zero textbook was made by a person who, at the time of publication, did not know how to read many basic words (such as 挑む) and could not read real novels. He only began reading novels and learning to read kanji after being called out for it.

Textbooks created by native speakers are less likely to contain mistakes, but we still believe they cannot be fully trusted because errors can be unintentional. Natural sentences that you find in your immersion environment are always better.

In textbooks, kanji are often intentionally replaced with kana, so you end up with words and sentences written in a way that you will never see outside a textbook. People rarely write わたし, they almost always write 私. In AJATT, it is recommended to learn how words are written in kanji from the start, to avoid having to unlearn them later.

Textbooks give you vocabulary lists. Vocabulary lists are meant to be memorized as word ⇒ translation. When you memorize words out of context (outside of a sentence), this knowledge is nearly useless, and the brain tends to discard it quickly. Simply knowing what a word means does not help you understand it. You need to know how the word is used in real sentences, what collocations and expressions it pairs with, and what grammar is commonly used with it. To truly grasp a word's meaning and usage, you need to see numerous examples of it in context. Learn words by understanding sentences. To learn words AJATT recommends using Anki and TSC.

Additionally, textbooks typically progress at a slow pace and are reluctant to teach anything they deem too difficult for new learners. Most textbooks cannot prepare you for consuming authentic content because they only cover the very basics. A textbook cannot teach you everything. It is extremely limited and features contrived dialogues and simple vocabulary.

On top of everything, textbooks are very boring. Learning a language through immersion is fun, and you will learn more from a single anime series than from any textbook.

How to use textbooks

Go straight for the dialogues and example sentences. Copy those into your SRS.

— How To Use a Japanese Textbook, article by Khatz.

Textbooks can be used in an way that aligns with the AJATT method. While we don't think it is worth your time (more on that later), it is theoretically possible. Let's see how.

If you want to give a textbook a try, here's what you can do. Don't buy them, download a digital version (PDF, EPUB) from the Internet. Skip everything except the example sentences. Try to understand the examples. Optionally, mine the example sentences by adding them to your SRS. If you notice words where kanji are replaced with kana (e.g. ねん is written instead of 年), fix the words by looking up the proper spellings in a dictionary (GoldenDict, Jisho.org, etc.).

This is what we did with the Tango textbooks when we created Ankidrone Essentials.

Is it worth it?

Of course not. It's a waste of time.

Although you could potentially use textbooks in a way that aligns with AJATT by following the instructions in the previous section, it is still not an efficient use of your time.

Here's why:

The work has already been done. You can just grab Ankidrone Essentials instead. Even though Ankidrone Essentials is based on a different book than the one you may want to use, the differences are likely minimal since most textbooks are quite similar. I also think Ankidrone Essentials offers more because it provides thousands of high quality example sentences.
You will have to do everything yourself. Copy sentences from the book to your SRS app, cut and convert audio clips (if the textbook comes with audio recordings), add definitions for words, add furigana, pictures, and notes.
Some textbooks don't have any kanji in them! Or, kanji are underutilized, which I expect is a common issue with most textbooks. Or, kanji are introduced much later than necessary (e.g., after page 80 in Genki). You will have to convert every word to its kanji form manually and ensure you don't make mistakes.
Typical textbooks are full of vocabulary lists. There are not many example sentences that you can mine. As you already know, words out of context (outside of a sentence) are nearly useless. There are textbooks that do a good job providing examples, but there aren't many of them, and you will first have to find the right one.
Some sentences and dialogues are not translated. You will have to rely on what you've learned previously to understand them. This is not suitable for our mine and dump approach.
There are exercises meant to be done with a partner, "pair-work". They are meant to be done in class. Such books clearly do not favor self-study, and since AJATT is aimed at people who want to master Japanese through self-study, those exercises are also useless to you.

So what do I do?

Don't learn Japanese from textbooks. Follow the AJATT method. It will teach you everything you need to master Japanese faster than any other method in the world.