My original intent was to speed run WaniKani, and while I realize there are reasons for people to advise against it I still think attempting was the right thing for me, and I have no regrets for trying. I posted around the forms publicly stating my intent because I knew it would help keep me motivated when things got tough, and it did. I guess that’s why I decided to make this post.
Anyway, life and the pandemic caused my goals to change and I felt kanji was less important than when I started. I changed focus to other things. Months slipped pass without remembering to do a kanji review. Now I want to get back into it again, but faced with a mountain of reviews I felt too discouraged constantly getting everything wrong.
So I decided to reset from around 30 back down to level 1. Drastic measure? Yeah, but I figure a review of everything would be good for me at this point anyway, and it will let me get used to kanji in my routine again as I keep up with grammar and communication studies.
Who’s ready for round two? Back up that mountain I go! See you all at the top, someday.
there is no reason to finish wk in a year, is there a competiton somewhere? and rewards?
in the end it is you who decide if your knowledge of the language is enough.
now at level 26, but since lvl 21 I realized only kanji/vocab is not enough, you need grammar, that’s where I am focusing now and since then I have learned several grammar connection points that link sentence and I can understand way better those short text on twitter and news websites.
Heh, same here
When I joined in 2016 I hoped that I’d be able to finish by Summer 2017… And for quite a while it looked like I’d be able to do it, but then I stumbled, lost lots of time and had to do a reset to level 1… And then the same thing happened again… And again… This just shows what a clumsy cat I am…
However, I decided not to speed things up. It’s best to go at one’s own pace and attempting to speed things up can work for short time, but would actually slow things down in the long run…
Exact same story here. I began Wanikani in 2017, tried to rush things, skipping my vocabulary lessons so I could level up faster…then couldn’t handle the massive amount of reviews, reset to level 1 once, twice, stopped for six months, restarted again, doing the same mistake, then reset a third time, stopped for six months…
I am now restarting again, feeling a bit wiser. As @evandcs said, let’s not consider it a failure, but a lesson: we have lost much more time trying to rush things than if we had kept it slow and steady in the first place. I read it multiple times and knew it deep down but I guess I had to experience it in order to really accept it!
Dont say ‘failed’, say ‘changed’
…you need grammar, that’s where I am focusing now…
In the long term goal of learning Japanese, yeah, haven’t failed, still going. In the short term goal of speed running on my first try, yeah, I failed. But it was something I desired to do, so I attempted. And I’m still glad that I did! Anyway, like you, I’ve been focusing on grammar for the past few months.
It’s best to go at one’s own pace and attempting to speed things up can work for short time, but would actually slow things down in the long run…
Awwww, cummon! You’ve gotta try the WK blitz at least once! =D
@BrunoCaesarBlue
Thanks for the encouragement!
@Need2Read
It’s a loooong climb. Whether you try blitzing up to the top or taking it slow and steady is up to you, but just keep at it. If you need to back up and review don’t feel bad, just head back up the slope. The road does end… eventually.
Yes! Oh, I could have some fun with this. Can you please help me? Why can’t I learn any kanji? What are “radicals?” Why am I stuck waiting for several days?
Hmm… do you suppose that if I add my current level to my previous level, I would be level 31? It’s just basic addition!
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It’s just basic addition!