Does your mind feel like it's melting with reviews/learning?

[ekg]

@shippeb

is that we know by now what learning strategies work best for us

Very true! And that’s also what’s being discussed in pedagogical research as well, focusing on the various ways different people learn.

I’m also very visual, but unlike you I like tactile input and writing by hand is very effective for me. (but typing is, I guess, a close relative)

So, it really is worth trying out a some different ways of learning the kanji as your retention might be improved quite a bit. Like always having the sound on during lessons and reviews. Some users do that.

There are some threads about using images to remember kanji on the Forum. I don’t remember the names, but it’s worth searching for them if you are interested.

[shionamekuji]

Agreed. I see failure at the apprentice level as a way to get more reinforcement and practice. I die though when I guru down from an almost burn.

[Mombie]

I agree… In my understanding so far, learning more example usages of a given kanji is likely to reinforce the meaning and all the possible readings. So, I guess it is like moving into a new school. You need to figure out things by experience. I was able to see the fruits of this way of learning by level 13sh… I was able to comprehend more and more kanji… Connecting the nodes starts getting easier after a point. I am a slow (very slow) learner, but I would say…try to hang on…

[izzyfizz96]

Eventually it just becomes part of the routine. Over time, learning them gets easier and you can do it faster and faster. And you’re in control of your own pace. You’ll have fewer daily reviews if you do fewer lessons, and spread them out as opposed to doing large stacks of them right after leveling up. Whatever pace works best for you is what you should do.

Doing reviews gets easier over time as well. A hundred reviews used to sound like a massive pain, like it would take hours and I would never get to sleep. Now I can sit down and do stacks of over 300 in one sitting. The hardest part is learning how to learn, getting used to how it works, and working it into your routine. After that, it’s monotonous and can get boring, but it ceases to be difficult.

But it’ll always be time consuming. If it’s not going to fit into your schedule, there’s no shame in that. You can either take it slower and try for ~100 reviews per day, take two weeks or so per level, or you can find a different method of learning kanji. WaniKani’s a way to fast track, but it certainly isn’t for everyone.

[alo]

@shionamekuji

die though when I guru down from an almost burn.

Haha me too. But sometimes I’m glad when it’s an item that I completely blank on. I need some extra time with it.

@Mombie

You need to figure out things by experience

Exactly.

For example, WK teaches 音 and 質 so that you can see a word like 音質 and have a pretty good idea of the meaning and reading even though that particular word isn’t on WK.

[Dogonaroof]

Nice! Good to hear. Thanks for the info. I am moving slowly through things. Had 117 reviews today and down to 68 so going to slowly chip at things and keep moving forward slowly.

[Saida]

@Taschi and @seb When I read @MarieFrancuskaya’s message I think it was about taking more time on the lessons before you move on to the lesson quiz, not about reviewing before reviews.

I think, but I’m not completely sure.

[jprspereira]

@Dogonaroof feel free to read my guide to Wanikani (mainly chapters 1 to 8). It will hopefully make your journey much more manageable

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

The Ultimate Guide to Wanikani Become the best version of your Wanikanian self. For newbies: Please read the WaniKani User Guide first before reading this. WK’s User Guide teaches you the very basics. My Guide turns you from a newbie with basic knowledge to a master. However, first, you need the basics. This Guide is really longgggggggg. You can read it all in one go, but there’s no need to if you don’t want to. Think of it as the place to come to when in doubt/need of help. Thanks …

[wannabefssp]

you gotta embrace the melt

It’s like soreness after a workout

[seb]

hehe, I just checked and… the button ‘start session’ really starts reviews or lessons, but the button between lessons and the first review says ‘start the quiz’.

And even in that quiz I would be sceptical. You’ll want to avoid using your short-term memory too much, because there is no gain in using that, you’ll forget it right away. I sometimes even do a very quick other action between the lesson and the first quiz, just to make sure to clear that short-term memory.

I do, on the other hand, always do a little review of all items in the screen after reviews and lessons, that summary screen. After lessons it’s just one other pass through all the mnemonics (and there are still four hours in between that moment and the actual first review, so I think it’s fine). After reviews I look at the ones I got wrong and try to remember what went wrong and what the right answer should have been. Both these things do help me a lot

[outronobre]

One trick I’ve been doing that seems to help: I keep WK as a pinned tab on top of my web browser.

That way, WK is always close at hand. If there’s a pause at work, or if I simply get bored, I find it easier to hit CNTRL + 1 and jump back to WK than looking up Instagram or something else.

And so I can break my reviews into 10-15 item bits, which take me 5-10 minutes to complete.

[Rushian_Asset]

sometimes my percentage is < 50%

Are you using mnemonics for every item? I’ve come to find that the mnemonic association works like magic even when it has absolutely nothing to do with the item in question, purely because there’s more information to build memory around. Any mnemonic is a helpful mnemonic! As long as it doesn’t actively imply the wrong reading. (Looking at you 木, making me answer with まく on that first review.) I stop relying on the mnemonic for probably 80%-90% of my items by the time they hit Guru, and then my memory completely discards the mnemonic for me soon after.

If you’re trying to complete all your lessons immediately because you’re not completely sure how unlocking more content works, sections 4-7 of jprspereira’s guide are essential. With the lesson override script and some strategy, even going at the fastest speed possible for WaniKani, you only need to do about 20 lessons per day. The system is definitely not intended to make you attempt to learn 50 new items simultaneously.

[Elysiium]

A good way to manage reviews is to keep the number of Apprentice items below a certain number. Lots of people use 100, but I personally use 50-75 depending on how busy I am. If your number of Apprentice items is above your threshold, it’s better to hold off on doing anymore lessons until you’ve moved some of these items to Guru. This will keep your reviews more manageable.

[Vanilla]

@Dogonaroof

Does it feel like your mind is melting when you feel you’re drowning in these reviews/new Kanjis?

I never really had a problem with reviews or lessons, but I had a big problem with this when I started reading.

I’ve never really heard of it happening to anyone else, but back when I first started reading like visual novels and manga I would get really really mentally fatigued. Like I never get headaches but after reading for 20 minutes I would start to get headachey and my brain would feel like it was turning to mush. Quite unpleasant, but it stopped happening after awhile.

[aanhlle]

@Dogonaroof

Perhaps I just wanted to rant

It’s perfectly fine to come here and share your anxiety and even “rant” a bit. It’s what we are here to cheer for you.

I find out that treating reviewing items like a habit can help a lot. Just separate your lessons and review in small chunks and do them daily. For me I often do my reviews 2 or 3 times a day. And using an app on smartphone (android is flaming durtles) enables you to do review everywhere, any free time you have (doing chores, commuting…)

[Duckretainer]

It seems like I’m taking it a lot slower than everyone else. But I only really do it when I’m in the mood. I try to stay up on my reviews, but I may skip a few days every week. I won’t do any lessons unless my reviews are empty. I try not to do lessons unless I’ve got less that 10 or so critical condition words. I want to work on memorizing the words I have before I move on. It has taken me about 1.5 months per level so far. If I try to rush it I know I’ll just end up quiting.

[alo]

@Vanilla

Quite unpleasant, but it stopped happening after awhile.

Yeah, even when you know the Kanji from WK, there’s a bit of mental tax in recalling it. As you go on, you get to the point where you’re reading rather than recalling.

I’m at the point now where that happens for maybe 40% of a passage. So I’ve gone past the rocky road and onto one with speed bumps.

Just takes time.

[Dogonaroof]

That’s a fair thought on it. I don’t blame you. I’ve a month in and i’ve been doing it daily. But the last days since posting this i’ve given myself a lot more slack. If I don’t finish all of my reviews, it’s fine. What’s important to me is daily studying. Even if for 2 minutes, daily. Although i’ve been good at clearing the reviews thankfully but i’m still fresh. Let’s see as time goes on. I have a 2023 goal to speak enough to get by when living in Japan for 2-3 months so I am motivated by that as well.

[Dogonaroof]

I’ve tried the app but not a fan. I reallly do much better a full keyboard. Thankfully it’s not so hard to get the laptop out and sit and go. It makes it feel more lesson like with the routine of laptop and sitting.

Thanks " feels good to get it out and talk to others about it hehe

[aanhlle]

yeah, I feel you friend (I’ve done it sometimes too lol)