Just finished reviewing a bunch of stuff on WK and Anki, and wanted a quick break to refresh myself before jumping back into studying. So, Iāve been wanting to do a post here looking ahead a little, and thereās no time like the present. As for my current progress, I should be levelling on WK again tomorrow. Iām starting level 8 I guess, though the difference in the level you are āonā and your forum level messes with me. I guess you arenāt officially a level (on the forums) until you have actually finished that level, so to speak. With any luck Iām starting on Genki 2 lesson 18 later, which is approximately the halfway point. Iāll admit to moving through Genki a bit quickly, but subjectively the vast majority of it is sticking well when I see it in reading, and these points are going to come up constantly so I donāt think I need to get them perfect right now. I mean, I make sure I understand what their meaning is to the best of my ability, but there are details about how exactly to form an expression I might need a refresher on or whatever, and thatās totally ok. I also finished all of the level 2 Tadoku graded readers! My abilities are progressing quickly enough that the new Tadoku levels tend to feel easier than the previous rather than harder, haha.
Iāve always generally thought the theories about language āacquisitionā vs learning made sense, and itās been my goal to transition to learning through interacting with āreal Japaneseā when possible. With any luck, thatās going to be the end of Genki 2. I have more things that I want to consume than I could ever get to, so no worries on finding materials. And if Iām learning the language, Iām not picky. For example, Terrace House isnāt the sort of show Iād probably watch in English, but I gave it a quick look after seeing it so frequently recommended, and Iāll probably try it later. Right now itās very hard to understand, but I figure thatās natural. Luckily, trying to understand the language in itself remains fun and interesting for me, so Iām not hard to please.
With that in mind, Iām thinking about trying Satori Reader when Genki 2 ends. There is a bit of an itch in my mind to get to the most ārealā Japanese where itās not learning content at all, but itās still a step up from textbooks, and crucially I think itāll help ease the transition. Thereās a whole lot to figure out in going from a nicely laid out book with lessons that build on each other into suddenly totally self-directed learning. I think Iāll be ready to make it work, but along the way I have to figure out how I want to structure my sentence mining cards (and actually learn to make them myself). I have to keep working on looking things up myself, getting a better handle for how confident I can be that Iām truly understanding what Iām reading, working out a new schedule for basically all immersion learning, etc. Itās a lot, so having a small safety net in Satori Reader as early training wheels appeals to me.
That said, itās not like Iām ever going to stop at just doing one thing, so I think Iāll take some more fun materials to read somewhat more casually alongside my main studying tool, at the start. There are always the book clubs, youtube videos I want to watch, etc etc etc.
Which also brings me to some packages I wanted to share! So, a little while back I discovered Box of Manga and I have to admit that, frivolous as they can be, surprise boxes are kind of fun. Furthermore, I like that someone who certainly knows more than me about the difficulty of a text picks manga to send (there are IIRC 3 tiers of Japanese ability you can select). Knowing that shipping takes a long time, I signed up a little while ago, and just wanted to share what I got.
Right now Iām focusing more on other things, but especially after the textbooks are done, Iāll certainly be back to talk about how reading this stuff goes!