"This new edition of the popular Japanese course for beginners has been completely rewritten to make learning the language easier and more enjoyable than ever before. Colloquial Japanese offers a step-by-step introduction to Japanese as it is spoken and written today. No previous knowledge of the language is required." "Learning to read and write Japanese is made as easy as possible, with kanji, katakana and hirigana introduced gradually throughout the course. Colloquial Japanese is also suitable for use by those who do not wish to learn the script." Other features include: lively dialogues, covering a range of social and business situations; lots of exercises with full answer key; grammar reference section; extensive English-Japanese and Japanese-English vocabulary lists, including both Japanese script and romanization; and an index of kanji, giving on and kun readings.