Made it to the end of the week, and I don’t think I skipped a single day of studying! I’m very happy with my progress, especially now that I have the Wallpaper Generator by the wonderful @Masayoshiro ! I did not realize how big of an impact this wallpaper would be, but I get excited every time I update it.
I really love the 12-key, and I think once I have more levels under my belt, I’ll go back to using it in earnest. But right now, because I rely a lot on mnemonics, it’s only confused me. I’m glad I was able to go back to romaji without feeling guilty, because I know myself well enough to see I could have ended up making it not fun again, which would mean I would’ve fallen back out of studying for another long period. As for the Japanese keyboard on laptop, I love it. It’s helpful for Anki, and for typing stuff out here.
WK Review
Progress is steadily growing. Over half of the level 4 radicals are now at Guru level, and I believe I should have all the kanji unlocked by the end of tomorrow at the latest. I’m also below 100 on apprentice items, which is a great feeling.
Another great feeling that has me excited is that I’m able to give the context portion of my vocab more than just a cursory glance. It’s become a lot easier to read the examples out loud, and I’m excited to figure out how to incorporate that into my studies in the future. If you have any suggestions from your personal experience, I would love to hear from you!
かな Review
I’m glad that I was a little ahead previously, because now it’s getting harder. I added ナニヌネノ to the deck, and I think this is the point where I’ve struggled and stopped in the past, since the previous ones were easier to remember/learn. I know some katakana have some visual similarities to their hiragana pair, and I was hoping to find more similarities as I went on, but seeing as I haven’t given it as much attention as I think I should, it’s been slow progress.
I know this is typically the point where it’s easy for me to give up, and I think the best way to combat that is to either find a way to make it fun or find a way of tracking my progress that has the same impact as the WK wallpaper. Have you experienced any unique ways to make it fun or to track your progress?
Next week's goals
By December 14, I aim to:
- WaniKani: Start Level 5
- カタカナ: Incorporate ハヒフヘホ and have a way to make review fun
Pep Talk Ahoy!
If learning is starting to get hard, you’re doing something right. But remember that learning a language works best as a marathon, where it’s vital to learn to pace yourself. Test your limits, but give yourself room to let up if you need to. Keep at it, and you’ll go far!