"Kodansha's Katakana Workbook", designed for beginner-level students, teaches the basics of katakana, the script used for writing English words in Japanese. The book introduces the characters not in the traditional a-i-u-e-o order, but in a radical new one that most usefully serves the needs of the learner. One page each is devoted to the basic 46 characters. As these individual characters are introduced, they are immediately used to form actual, everyday words, so that from the first lesson the student is not only able to read and write a handful katakana, but also to utter more than a dozen words that make use of them. In this way, the book serves as a vocabulary builder in addition to a guide for reading and writing katakana. Exercises abound in "Kodansha's Katakana Workbook". Each set of characters is followed by a short quiz that allows learners to test their understanding.And at the back of the book, like in the hiragana companion volume, there is a set of flashcards with suggestions for games. Best of all, the book comes with free audio in the form of a podcast. By listening to the recordings - spoken by a professional voice actor - students can acquire a sense of proper Japanese pronunciation and intonation. This is an all-new workbook for learning the ABCs of Japanese, complete with flash cards, games and free downloadable audio for every word introduced. This is the companion volume to "Kodansha's Hiragana Workbook", for students who wish to learn the basics of katakana. It is designed so that students acquire vocabulary in addition to learning the characters; illustrations on almost every page make the learning process fun. It is ideal for learners of all ages, whether studying independently or in a classroom.