My Japanese Learning guide
Or as I like to call it SRS SRS SRS!
(Step 0, learn kana, I learned it through rote memorization at school but I’m sure there’s lots of guides that have better ways. I don’t care how, just learn it. After that I don’t ever want to hear the word romaji out of you mouth again.)
1. Learn Vocab
They say you can understand basic conversations once you’ve got 2000 vocab under your belt. Not sure that’s true but it’s a good place to start.
SO you are going to want to use a SRS flashcard system to study smart. (SRS guide)
The default is Anki. It’s not pretty, but does what you want and is completely customizable provided you know how. You can find lot’s of useful set people have already made for free. As you learn more vocab and grammar you should start creating your own lists from words you encounter in native resources, start writing sentences instead of words, and trying to define the word using as much Japanese (instead of your native language) as possible.
I do not like Anki. (yeah I’m a spoil sport)
My vote is instead 100% behind Jalupnext! I can not say enough about this site! Unfortunately after the first 100 cards all the decks cost money. But boy are they worth it. Each card comes with native audio recording and by the time you get to the intermediate cards they are in 99% Japanese! This is so great for getting you to think in Japanese and reach that next level. The audio is also great for shadowing. I really challenge myself to try to guess the end of the sentence by just looking at the beginning, and shadowing the audio over and over again until I get it down smooth without looking. I’m paying for these cards right? might as well milk them for all they’re worth.
2. Kanji
A lot of textbooks don’t start with Kanji until later. That is a mistake. You should be learning it as soon as possible from the beginning. Another edit; skip the writing part altogether. With the advent of modern technology we only really type anymore anyways. If you know the kanji you want to type and their reading, you can type in Japanese no problem. So save yourself the pain of learning to write. I’m living and working in Japan right now. They only thing I ever write on a regular basis is my name. Trust me just skip it for now.
But you should be learn how to read kanji through Wanikani!
This website teaches you kanji through mnemonics and SRS flashcards. This is the only way you’ll actually be able to learn 2000 kanji in only a few years. It’s paid, but boy does it work. Kanji used to be my weakest point. Now at only half way through the program I can read most manga no problem, and find my way around a web page just fine.
A sidenote: This site teaches you vocab as well, but because it is not ordered by usefulness and does not introduce vocab that does not use kanji this should not be your main source of vocab. Instead the vocab is there to really reinforce that you know your kanji readings and to go over any reading exceptions.
3. Grammar
Honestly I’m not great at studying this and once you get the basics down you should be able to understand and learn new grammar just by interacting with native material often enough. But if your goal is to pass some kind of test like the JLPT you’ll probably need to study it more formally.
Lucky for you, there is this great new free SRS website!! Bunpro.jp
It has gathered together all the grammar by JLPT level and their online explanations and then tests you own example sentences, fill in the missing grammar style. Did I mention it’s free??! You have the option to add in your own sentences to be tested on which you should 100% do. Taking the time to find example sentences reinforces the grammar, really helps you remember and you can cater it to your Japanese vocab level. There’s no native audio but you should still try speaking it out loud too.
Also it’s Free!
4. Writing
Also something I’m not great at practicing. Which is dumb because again it’s something you can do effectively for free!
Challenge yourself to write a small diary once a day, about things you did or opinions on specific subjects.
Then upload it to lang-8.com and get it corrected by native speakers! For free! This is a great way to practice new grammar, figure out words that are lacking in your daily life, and find more natural ways to express yourself. (while you’re there, correct some entries in you native language; it’s only fair and it’s actually pretty fun!) If you use Anki or another flashcard system consider adding corrected sentences you think you’ll use often.
5. Put it to use!
These are all stepping stones for actually interacting with native materials!
Find Japanese books, manga, videos, music, games, dramas, podcasts whatever! Figure out what you love and then do it all in Japanese. That way you won’t lose interest.
Find language partners and get talking! Hellotalk is a great free app for conversing with native speakers of the language you’re studying.
I’ll probably make a separate post of native resources I use later.
So that’s my study battle plan. Really it’s more of a study battle dream. I don’t do step 3 and 4 enough... But I’m working towards it! Hopefully others can find this helpful.
I will add one more thing. If you’re working towards conversing, you’ll notice none of these resources require actually speaking. You’ve got to add that in yourself. Repeat sentences and words out loud until they’re smooth and you can say them without looking. Speaking is more muscle memory than anything and the more you get your mouth moving the better!
がんばって！
