So, I finally managed to pass level 10. It feels like a huge accomplishment and I’m really excited to continue learning and progressing. I’ve also finally started burning things which is a relief cuz I’d always want to facepalm whenever I missed something easy and had to build it back up. Still seems like I’m going a bit slower than most on that front, but what can you do.
I am kind of worried about some recent burns though. I never really gave it much thought, but some of these words don’t stick to my brain like the progress would leave me to believe. Take 立つ for example. I know the word when I read it no problem, but I got to thinking about it and it’s not a word that immediately registers when I hear it by any stretch. Heck, if someone asked me how to say the verb “stand”, I’m not sure I could give them the answer without at least thinking really hard about it.
All in all, I’m hyped and I’ve loved the language journey and I know I’m learning a lot. I’m just kinda spooked about how much will actually stay with me the further I go. You guys face any similar struggles?
It sounds to me like you’re doing great, much better than you’re telling yourself!
The absolute best way to really verify that you know a word is to practice listening to untranslated audio or video and see if you can spot it “in the wild.” Once you hear a word as a result of natural conversation and you translate it in your head, you’ll instantly know it so much better.
Part of your insecurity might be that you’re only learning in one direction, Japanese → English. It sounds like you’re nervous about the English → Japanese side of things, which is valid. I haven’t gotten around to using it yet, but I’ve heard WaniKani’s sister site KaniWani can help with that. Personally, I’m leaving that side on the back burner for now, but you might find that starting that is better for your needs, and that works too.
Making it this far is already something to be proud of. I wish you continued success!
This is absolutely correct and you should start today, @Drunkinsnail. There are all sorts of resources for listening practice, but the ones I use most often are NHK and YouTube’s Japanese trending page. You won’t understand a thing at first, but you’ll get better with time. It’ll frustrate you half to death but it’ll give you the biggest and most essential gains.
recognising a word when written, when hearing it in conversation, and being able to produce the word (in text or speech) are all different skills.
WK is very good at teaching recognition of the written word. for listening comprehension it’s probably best to (actively) listen to stuff (podcasts, youtube, anime, movies…). for production you could try kaniwani or kamesame, two SRS apps which will connect to WK and test your vocab going from english to japanese ^^