Redmond Claypoole Joanne. Beginner's Japanese

Hippocrene Books, 2006. — 318 p. — (Hippocrene Beginner's Series).
This book is designed to equip the learner with a solid foundation of Japanese conversation. As with many languages, Japanese contains various levels of social language; this book will focus on language that is acceptable to all Japanese individuals.
This text provides the foundation for a strong grasp of Japanese conversation and grammar structure, and the skills to read Hiragana and Katakana, two of the Japanese phonetic alphabets.
Dialogues are written in Hiragana and Katakana, followed by Romaji, and translated into English. Try to read Hiragana and Katakana as often as possible. Practice dialogues with another partner, preferably a Japanese person. The dialogues are based on every-day conversations.
New vocabulary words are introduced in each dialogue, and are defined in each chapter. Additional words taught in the lesson are included. Memorize all vocabulary words and note the usage of each word in sentences.