Don't underestimate the ability for handwriting to help you remember kana and kanji. At the start where you don't have any neural connections yet, flash cards alone can have a hard time leaving a lasting impression.
I'd say that setting both small and long term goals based on your interests is important. Study provides a solid base, but it rarely provides its own source of motivation long-term.
Having that connection to something that interests you provides that longer term connection potentially.
There's no rush. Learn to enjoy learning, instead of being disappointed that you didn't know more. It'll stick better, and you won't burn yourself out with unrealistic expectations.
I am very much trying to do this, I was rushing ahead wanting to be able to say things when I go to Japan in march but have slowed down and am working at reinforcing my basic knowledge of the kana again
I lived in Japan for 3 years. Just get a Japanese accent down. I learned so much Japanese, only for people to understand me better speaking English with a Japanese accent. Which makes sense, I hardly can understand anyone from Louisiana.
Shadowing is an insanely powerful tool that doesn't get mentioned enough. This *can* be done with TV shows or whatever, but a good shadowing course where you understand the context and have a chance to drill and recall will see your speaking level improve quickly.
The classic is Pimsleur. It can be expensive but also not, if... 🏴☠️
I used some of the Miku Real Japanese material back when she did it on Patreon. She's bundled it all into a bigger course now, I think. Can't tell you what the new version is like, but I loved the old material.
You definitely can, but for me personally, I prefer the structure of focusing on a specific thing, practicing it, then being asked to recall it later. Podcasts come into their own once you've built up your foundations a bit more.
My number one advice for people is to practice using Japanese, not just study it.
Learning with a textbook, teacher, and flahscards is very useful (and you shouldn't neglect study), but to become fluent you also want to listen, speak, read, and write the language.
To a beginner: start WaniKani the moment you feel comfortable with hiragana and make a daily habit of it
To an intermediate learner: get an app like Tandem and make friends with a native Japanese speaker who is learning English. Or better yet, multiple people!
also resist the urge to seek out hiragana-only reading material, because of all the homophones it’s genuinely harder to interact with than middle-schooler-aimed media that uses kanji
trouble with katakana? play video games. Nintendo games (in particular Zelda and Pokemon) are great for learning
I reset it two years ago and it is SLOWLY being useful now. But to be able to use Japanese I personally recommend speaking... And pushing drilling Kanji towards the very end of the learning process. :)
I can’t disagree more and WaniKani is the bedrock upon which all my other Japanese knowledge is built. But therein lies the real lesson: identify what works and doesn’t and don’t waste time on the latter. Took me far too long to drop Anki.
Use it in daily live even if you not good enough. Without practice you can forget it as any other languages. Speaking conversations the best way, but interfaces in app, chatting also help.
Duolingo is sheet, Wanikani is highly overrated, Anki it's not a magical solution.
Use MaruMori because it's the most complete online japanese resource, then CIJ for listening, Satori for reading (after graded readers), and native content as soon as you can handle the frustration.
Well, that's the advice that I would give to someone that starts now. I did the path that most of japanese learn influencers approve (Tae Kim guide + anki as free choice, WK as paid one) and didn't work for me. Found later MaruMori and I can't really recommend any other "main" method.
They've been adding them on kanji, not yet on vocab. But you can select between mnemonics done by the community, if you enter in the mnemonic section of the word.
Treat kanji like the spelling of a word. You don’t really know the word if you can’t spell it. But don’t spend tons of time just writing ‘letters’ without attaching meaning.
Start. Start somewhere. Use whatever works for you, but start. It is hard. Two huge alphabets and then 1000s of kanji. Different grammar. A lot to learn.
Start. Start somewhere, plough on, and gradually it will work.
Some people are good at languages. I am not. It is very hard for me. Persistence.
I'm not really a good learner, tried both Japanese and Chinese, but just can't remember kanji. As for advice, I'll suggest: think of a realistic reason why you need to learn a language, don't try it just because "it's cool", this reasoning will fizzle out pretty quickly
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Having that connection to something that interests you provides that longer term connection potentially.
I used some of the Miku Real Japanese material back when she did it on Patreon. She's bundled it all into a bigger course now, I think. Can't tell you what the new version is like, but I loved the old material.
https://jtalkonline.com/recommended-podcasts-for-japanese-learners/
Or another good (and cheaper option) is Shadowing: Let's Speak Japanese fot beginner and intermediate level.
Might be difficult in the beginning, but it's very rewarding.
Learning with a textbook, teacher, and flahscards is very useful (and you shouldn't neglect study), but to become fluent you also want to listen, speak, read, and write the language.
I've learned a ton with wanikani in 2 years but know to approach fluency I need to be speaking again like I used to w my tutor
https://jtalkonline.com/a-simple-way-to-start-speaking-japanese/
To an intermediate learner: get an app like Tandem and make friends with a native Japanese speaker who is learning English. Or better yet, multiple people!
trouble with katakana? play video games. Nintendo games (in particular Zelda and Pokemon) are great for learning
Having visited Japan for the first time last year, Wanikani did not help me learn using it at all.
“Be consistent” is my number 1 recommendation.
Use MaruMori because it's the most complete online japanese resource, then CIJ for listening, Satori for reading (after graded readers), and native content as soon as you can handle the frustration.
Start. Start somewhere, plough on, and gradually it will work.
Some people are good at languages. I am not. It is very hard for me. Persistence.