Am I taking too much time to learn?

[Ryouki]

I find WK does it’s job pretty well

I agree! But we still need to factor in one’s overall study methods and schedule.

@Dungeoneer64, I’d suggest trying to increase your daily number of lessons slowly (and by slowly I mean over the course of a few weeks or more) and see what feels right. You don’t want to be too comfortable, because you want to challenge yourself. That’s how you learn. But you also don’t want to overwhelm yourself because then you may want to quit. So just keep trying different things and you’ll figure out what works best for you soon enough, as long as you keep at it.

[Dungeoneer64]

Get the Reorder script and go to town.

I’ve installed it with Tampermonkey (I use Chrome), but it doesn’t seem to work - I don’t remember the exact problem, my next review is in 2 hours, but it wouldn’t load. Might just be some dumb mistake on my part though

[Ryouki]

Also, if you haven’t already, I recommend reading through @jprspereira’s guide. There’s some excellent tips in there.

My Journey of 368 days (+ The Ultimate Guide for WK 📖 )

[OmukaiAndi]

you might need another script to make it work. lemme do a quick check.

[Dungeoneer64]

I’ve already installed the WaniKani Open Framework script, if that’s what you’re thinking of

[OmukaiAndi]

Here, get this

Installing Wanikani Open Framework

Why you’re reading this: If you recently installed a userscript, and you suddenly find yourself reading this, it’s (probably) because the script requires the Wanikani Open Framework, an open-source, user-created project for making it easier to write scripts for Wanikani. Below are the instructions for properly installing the framework. (If you’re reading this thread for any other reason… well, hello . Feel free to look around!) Installing the Open Framework 1. Install …

[OmukaiAndi]

Okay, then someone more knowledgeable than me is needed to help you fix it

[Dungeoneer64]

Also, if you haven’t already, I recommend reading through @jprspereira’s guide.

Will do!

[MechFactions]

Try reordering the scripts, maybe? i have these two right at the top, so they have priority.

[lollipophuho]

Hey there.

I started out pacing my lessons very cautiously as well, and it eventually levelled out to a point where I’m comfortable with the amount I’m learning a day and I’m getting dribbling of burns so my review amount has increased steadily rather than dramatically. I don’t think you’ll know how much you can handle til you have to handle it, but there’s nothing wrong with being slow and accurate and I think as long as you stick to it, either method will get you where you want to go in the end. 2c from a fellow slowpoke.

I’m doing roughly 9 day levels now (19 will be a little bloated because overhaul) but yeah you’ll either go too fast and want to slow up or start too slow and pick up the pace, it will naturally work itself out imo.

Edit: I was also doing mass grammar and copying a load of example sentences throughout all this though. WK is only one facet of learning after all. I think the general consensus is to have a couple of different learning materials is better than smashing 1 at the expense of other areas of learning.

[Dungeoneer64]

I just remembered that Reorder Ultimate also affects lessons - it’s some kind of the problem with the loading.

Try reordering the scripts, maybe?

I’ve just done this, and the result is still the same:

[Dungeoneer64]

I was also doing mass grammar and copying a load of example sentences throughout all this though. WK is only one facet of learning after all. I think the general consensus is to have a couple of different learning materials is better than smashing 1 at the expense of other areas of learning.

Yes, I’m using other resources at the same time, like BunPro and Genki to name a few.

[Ryouki]

You may not have the latest version.

Try installing this one.

[Dungeoneer64]

Worked like a charm, thank you so much!

[Liras]

only one thing counts on wanikani: that you’re doing your reviews every day. flu, hangover, phone screen cracked, doesn’t matter. the SRS is relentless and laughs you in the face if you think you can “take a little break”.

There’s Vacation Mode though. There’s no point in doing your reviews if you can’t think straight due to the flu or whatever, it will do more harm than good IMO.

[Zenyaaa]

Not a race, do it at a pace that is comfortable to you.

I also think speed varies between individual preferences anyway; too fast and you burn out, too slow and you lose interest. If you think your current pace is too slow, try adjusting it, but only you can know the sweet spot.

IMO: I don’t aim for 100%. Most of the kanji/words really only stick when put in context, so you should probably focus more on concrete learning (i.e reading/writing) than trying to 100% everything.

[OmukaiAndi]

vacation mode stops the SRS timer, but it doesn’t stop memory rot. your brain has no vacation mode. better to do all the reviews while feeling like shit and having a low accuracy, than no accuracy, and a hammer to the face when you come back.

when you feel you’ll get sick, stop all lessons immediately.

[PortCityBricks]

I am 89% of the way to level 5 and for me since I am a beginner with Japanese in general as well as fall in that want to be a perfectionist category, I thought I would share my experience.

I have no time frame in which I need to learn everything, I am doing it by my own choice, not necessity. I do have goals on learning though, so I am not really just mindlessly wandering. haha!

I do lessons throughout the day instead of a big chunk at a time, but only do 3 lessons per session, but with radicals I would end up doing maybe 15 or so per day in lessons, kanji and vocab maybe 9-12 per day depending on what other grammar or outside wanikani vocab, or whatever else I may be doing in that particular day of learning.

So far I have been extremely happy with my progress in just over a month of learning Japanese. I have learned hiragana and katakana, completely. I have learned a ton of key phrases, as well as quite a bit of grammar, how to count, and other random things as well. And I am almost level 5 in WaniKani (should be by end of day). Compared to everyone else as far as speed goes, I would consider myself going twice as slow as everyone doing the 7 days levels. I take about 12-14 depending on how much vocab may be in each level. At the same time though, I am also practicing writing out all of the new kanji I am learning for retention, because for me specifically I want to be able to write them from memory, not just recognize them when I see them. But that isn’t for everyone, it is just a goal for myself.

So basically, I don’t think there is a too slow or taking too much time to learn. Everyone learns everything at a different pace, in different ways, and for different reasons. So basically, you just have to figure out why you are learning, how you are learning, and do you need to know it in a certain amount of time, or what goal you have for yourself with it to figure out for you specifically whether you are going too fast.

For me, if I take the time to do a lesson, I don’t want that time to go to waste, so I would rather feel like I am really learning something instead of just hoping I am learning it, but I know that way is definitely not for everybody…lol! Hope that gives it another perspective too?

[Dungeoneer64]

Thanks for all the amazing replies! I’d like all of them if I still had any left for today.
I’ll see what I can do to improve my schedule. This community is amazing

[OmukaiAndi]

take a look at this, a small guide i wrote up a few days ago