I’ve decided to start a study log here on WaniKani because it seemed like a good place to track where I’ve been and where I’m going. My short term goal is to pass JLPT N4 this December.
Ultimately, my goal is to be better able to communicate with my wife’s family and not get so damned lost when I wander off on my own during our return trips every year or two to Japan, but it’s also to fulfil a personal goal of mine to learn a second language, and make up for all the learning time I squandered when I lived in Japan 15 years ago.
What I’ve done so far:
10/22/2022:
I started learning Japanese with a plan back in October of 2022 after missing my return bus home from a solo hiking trip in the Japanese Alps because I didn’t understand the bus driver’s instructions. Also, I kept irritating my parents-in-law by wandering off when I wasn’t supposed to. I already knew how to read katakana, hiragana, and the VERY basic of Japanese. Present tense, past tense, negative, and about 2 dozen verbs.
My wife who was born and raised in Japan has been so kind as to help me study about 45 minutes every night.
Minna No Nihongo Shokyu I:
Probably the first 4 - 5 chapters were review for me, but then I started learning.
I managed to make it the whole way through the book, but I found it was a poor learning experience. At that time I didn’t have the workbooks (essential), and at the speed I worked through things it just didn’t stick well.
Japanese for Busy People I
Not having felt I truly appreciated the information in Minna no Nihongo Shokyu I, I decided to try Japanese for Busy People I. I used the workbook and textbook, and I felt for a true beginner this was a superior textbook, as the explanations were simpler and there was more focus on basics.
Japanese for Busy People II
I completed up to about chapter 7 before writing JLPT N5, carefully doing all the workbook activities. I found Busy People II vastly inferior to the first book, as they began to focus far more on business texts, and not enough time on language itself.
Kanji Master N5 - Introduction to Kanji by Arc Academy:
I learned my N5 Kanji by learning/reviewing 2 kanji/night
I also did 10s of hours of level appropriate online listening activities.
12/03/2023:
Passed JLPT N5 with a score 104/180.
Reading 74/120
Listening 30/60
I know N5 is not a big accomplishment in the grand scheme of things, but it was important to me because it was the first time I had proof that after a year of study I had actually learned something. Before that, I was working hard, but was I learning?
02/XX/2024:
Japanese for Busy People II:
Workbook and textbook finished. I didn’t enjoy the later half of the textbook, as I felt they got lost in business jargon, and there wasn’t enough focus on regular Japanese. I decided I wouldn’t touch Japanese for Busy People III.
It was around this time that I realized my study method was woefully inadequate to reach JLPT N4 by the end of the year, so I started looking to double down on the time I was studying, and focus more on self-study instead of just relying on my wife’s benevolence.
02/XX/2024:
Minna No Nihongo Shokyu II:
I started with the next part of the Minna no Nihongo textbook but this time I decided to do it right, with textbook, translation and grammatical notes, and both workbooks. I find I really need the extra practice from both workbooks to really get things to stick in my brain for an extended period of time.
02/18/2024:
I started WaniKani.
I realized studying kanji with my wife was an inefficient use of my time, as I could just as easily study it alone.
09/2024:
Tanki Shuchu Nihongo Bunpo Somatome Pointo 20
I started reviewing through this excellent beginner level review book. I never would have been able to handle this if I hadn’t been doing WaniKani for several months at this point. It does an excellent job of reviewing basic grammar points, and clarifies a lot of areas I had confusion.
12/02/2024:
I will write JLPT N4
12/03/2024:
Minna no Nihongo Chukyu I
