i have a university japanese exam next week that is 40% reading and 60% writing, i was wondering if anyone knows how to cram kanji effectively lolll. i really enjoy wanikani’s progression but it doesnt really allow you to cram everything. i struggle with reading because my brain just fogs when i see long texts full of kanji and i cant process them individually. i know it’s on me for leaving review to the last minute but if theres any resources or techniques that have helped people id appreciate any suggestions ^^
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What are you being quizzed on on the exam? For example kun’yomi / on’yomi / meaning / stroke order of kanji? That’s what used to be on my exams in uni.
There should be a script that lets you cram both kanji and vocab: [Userscript] Self-Study Quiz
I personally used to keep a study log of the kanji I was supposed to know. It was convenient for me to use discourse/forum because of yomi-chan.
Study log stuff
An example of how I kept a summary of the weekly kanji and verbs etc I was supposed to know, here from genki lesson 22:
For kanji writing practice I made a list of (kana) words that had appeared during lectures. Easy to check with yomi-chan afterwards.
The thread isn’t public right now, but I could make it so if you’re interested in having a look c:
Read out loud. Don’t skip any words you’re not 100% sure about. Make jisho and yomi-chan your best friends.
Reading is always tiring at first and will continue to be for a while when you’re not used to it. So you gotta build stamina and tolerance for reading.
Do you read any native material? How about joining a book club here on the forum? You’re welcome to participate and ask questions even in old threads if you find a book/manga you’re interested that has been read in the past.
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tysm for the script!! i didnt know there was one. for the exam we’re going to be given quite a lengthy text to read and then answer questions in relation to it, and then write an essay on a prompt. for our mock exam we had a 3 page text on world war 2 and then had to write a job application T_T
i will definitely try and use your idea of a study log bc just re writing kanji from textbooks never sticks in my brain. i also do have a book i started reading but the book club here looks interesting, i will def check it out!!
tysm again for the help i really appreciate it, really needed a bit of direction on how to tackle kanji :))
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Happy to hear it! Feel free to ask again if anything comes up c: Ganbatte ne!
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I looked up what I think is the thread (in the Lounge) that you referenced.
If that is the correct one, then I’m a little bit unsure about how you created those lists - but maybe I skimmed the thread too quickly.
Anyway, I noticed that you evidently studied AIAIJ in a classroom setting. [For others who may be reading this, AIAIJ is the textbook " An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese"]
I’m pretty sure that I have (one of the editions of) that book somewhere in my personal library (which has over 1,000 books either written in Japanese or various textbooks and dictionaries), most of which I collected over the years by going to library used book sales and starting in the ‘foreign language’ section where I scarfed up the Japanese books before anyone else could get their hands on them(!). (I’m not sure whether my book includes a CD or not.)
Just wondering - what are your thoughts about AIAIJ as a self-study text, in conjunction with WK and various other texts? I have not finished Genki II yet, but I have gone through much of Japanese for Busy People, and I’m probably at about an N4 level, on my way towards N3.
(I don’t have any constructive suggestions for cramming kanji for an exam that is coming up next week - sorry if I’m sliding the thread away from its original intended purpose - please let me know if this detour is inappropriate, and I can take the discussion elsewhere.)
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I’ve never really thought of the thread as a study log, so it’s not particularly structured as one. If it is the lists of words you’re referring to, then those are in random places in the thread.
It’s been a few years now and I don’t have the book with me where I live now, so I can’t check, but I remember that each chapter started with a text of dialogue with new grammar structures which were explained later in the chapter. It also had a list of vocab, another piece of text and a listening practice section. So overall, the structure is quite similar to the Genki books. I personally thought that it was a good book following Genki 2, there were not too many overlapping grammar structures introduced.
You’re not required to have a classroom setting to learn from it, so I think it should be manageable in terms of difficulty for self-study. I personally used Bunpro at the time (conveniently, there’s an AIAIJ path), so that’s how I got extra grammar practice.
As for kanji, I was around level 50 on WK back then when we went through the book. I don’t think kanji was a major problem for me. You could look at the AIAIJ section in my kanji list for reference.
There are probably others on here or on reddit with more reliable thoughts about using AIAIJ after Genki as a self-study book.
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