I am not sure where the other profanity is as I’ve replied to quite a few mails… i did edit it out of one post however.
I hope I don’t get shutdown but I have received great advice from you and the community. I will check when I get home to a computer all my posts to edit out the profanity.
In summation , I know jlpt means nothing for your speech as I probably had more confidence and better speech when I was N7 in high school in Japanese class. That makes my inability and 出てこない moments so much more embarrassing and crushing.
Right now, this December test seems like a wash but I am thinking to start WK again afterwards. What do you think?
I want to make sure that I don’t fall into the same trap of thinking that WK equals studying Japanese when in reality it is a great tool that is what it is - flash cards for vocabulary and kanji.
From today I’m focusing on slogging through articles to try to actually USE the language. In addition to watching drama and etc.
There’s no point in memorizing kanji you don’t see in real life (or at least no point in doing that twice ). I’d recommend making note of kanji you see in the real world but don’t recognize, and add those to some other SRS instead. Or still use WaniKani, but only resurrect those. I haven’t done that yet, but that’s my plan when I decide to do a kanji refresher.
Besides the JLPT you haven’t mention much more. Do you have any interest in japanese media, culture or whatever? Can’t you exploit that as learning material of sorts? Seems you have studied more than enough from books.
I didn’t felt this huge connection with the language tbh for quite some time and had a hard time finding material that I would want to go over after some time.
Finding material that was appealing in its own merit and I would wanna read and watch whether in japanese or any language actually is what changed the game for me.
I want to watch this stuffin japanese daily and sometimes I’ll even binge some show or extra pages from my book, 'cause it’s good entertainment.
This is a totally different mindset from a year before where I was doing still a learning routine.
In any case I haven’t been in your position, I don’t know really what need do you have for the N1, but maybe changing the way you see how you’ll continue to learn can be a better solution than mainly aiming at the test per se.
I’m writing this of course from a place where I don’t need japanese for anything but my own amusement, so I don’t have a lot of the frustrations that you can be experiencing.
I wish you the best!
EDIT:
Don’t just read “some” article, read something about a topic you care. Find a blog, a youtube channel about things you’re into.
In the same way, find some good drama. Ask for recommendations, there’re some really crappy ones, and it won’t do no good if you are doing it because it’s “practice”. Dig further, there’s some real gems! Movies too!
Besides all the WK and learning japanese stuff in the forums there are some great recommendations and people very well informed that could lead you to great material. I actually picked my current book from the book club recommendations (コンビニ人間) here. There’s something for everyone if you look enough.
I feel like you’re contradicting yourself here. Why do you feel the need to restart? Especially to level 1? I get that you may feel like you’re forgetting kanji but I highly doubt it’s things like “one” or “big” or “tree”.
You’ve been kind of saying it but yeah, you need to move on from Wanikani. WK is great for building a foundation but it’s not the end all be all. If you feel comfortable using SRS programs then why not move onto FloFlo, something that’s literally paired with reading.
It seems like there’ two main issues you’re writing about. Passing the N1 and using Japanese for your daily life.
That’s two different problems that need two different solutions.
If you want to pass N1 you need to read. Read. READ. (This is coming from someone who hasn’t even taken it yet but it still applies.) Every section, except Listening, can be improved by just reading more. Kanji, vocab, grammar, and reading, that’s a huge chunk of the test.
If you want to get better at using Japanese then…as others have said, you need to speak.
I’m kind of also have these same problems where I feel like I’m focusing way too much on getting this dumb paper. My solution is that after taking the N1 I’m going to hire a super cheap tutor and pay them just to talk to me. I’ve encountered the same issues as you where normal Japanese people don’t want to correct you. Plus it does feel embarrassing to always ask for clarification. After having a few sessions with the tutor I do want to move onto “harder” situations like groups or strangers. Speaking is just like learning vocabulary or grammar, you have to start off easy and build it up.
Nearly everyone, including OP, has said it already, that to “beat” the language, you have to actually use the language. This recent video (MattVsJapan, Cage Fighting and Language Learning, 23 m 29 s) is the right metaphor for this case, so I defer my usual long-winded reply to it.
It sounds to me that you’re studying Japanese more than you are using it.
There’s no point on burning a Kanji if you don’t sit down and read a book, play a game, or do anything to get to use the amassed knowledge. Join a 会話 and talk a lot, go live in a Sharehouse and befriend the Japanese people there, anything to get you using the language.
I’m currently studying in Japan. There are countless Chinese people that have N2 or N1 on their belts, yet they’re stuck at elementary levels at my school because they can’t hold a conversation or have terrible pronunciation. Just get on with it!
This thread actually terrifies me. I have the very beginner basics down right now, and I’m loving it. It’s been a dream of mine to be conversationally fluent in Japanese and to visit Japan. To be able to read a book or play a game in Japanese and GET it. And this thread is kind of making me doubt whether or not it’s worth it to even bother if it’s going to be that hard and I am just going to forget it all anyways I’m still gonna keep going, it just seems really daunting now, where before it didn’t!
OP, pick up a book series in Japanese and start reading. Grab a pencil and don’t be afraid to mark up the pages - write the definition for things you don’t know, ID for fast reference, etc. They always say, you use it or you lose it, and all the studying in the world isn’t “using” it! My mom gave me a copy of Harry Potter from Japan. The previous reader only made it a few chapters in but it was clearly someone learning and I was absolutely delighted by the notes and stuff written in - idk why, just found it cool to see a peek of someone else’s progress
To clarify: it’s not a trial period as such, it’s just that most teachers offer shorter trial lessons as well. You still have to pay for these but they are a bit cheaper (price still depends on the teacher).
Also: you can not use more that three of these per account.
Speaking does seem like the best way to fix this to me.
I also don’t think I could force myself to just read random stuff every day if I’m not interested…
But I have been able to stick to reading at least 2 pages (set a manageable or even ridiculously low lower limit for yourself!) in a novel every day for 2 1/2 years.
I also think the various book clubs are great places to look for inspiration if you don’t know where to start!
Let’s Play videos (実況プレイ or just 実況 in Japanese) are just people playing video games while commenting.
A few channels I like are:
弟者 from the 2bro channel. Probably among the biggest. He’s got an awesome voice and a cheerful personality, and will sometimes treat you to quotes like 我がクロールに勝てまい！(when swimming from a guard dog)
LayerQ. He speaks pretty clearly. I used to think he was a bit bland but he did grow a bit on me.
Gongen. Plays a lot of NES/SNES games and I think he has a clear and endearing older guy voice.
EDIT: Oh, and sorry for derailing, but on the topic of Let’s Plays. @Naphthalene, you speak French right? And you like let’s plays? Did you know of this guy (fellow that goes by the name Noxferan le panda)?
I’ve been listening to him ever since even I started studying French, and for some reason I just love both his voice and character! (More and more the more I can actually understand him. Less so when he swears in English though)
I always ask and write it down in a small notebook I carry with me. I use a bunch of different colored pens and stickers so that looking back at it, it’s pretty, and I don’t feel visually worn out. Then, I take each week’s list and record myself reading them aloud, the Japanese word first, pause, then the English translation. I listen to a few of them each morning at random, and it helps a lot.
Also, Kamesame has been indispensable for me to be able to remember words from Wanikani that I could easily recognize on paper but might not immediately come to mind during conversation.
Dude, there is only so much you brain can hold through mnemonic neural highways or hard storage. If you don’t let that knowledge sink in through practice, building memories around it, pathways and shortcuts, you can try to learn more but it will just enter one ear and exit through the other.
Chill, enjoy your hard-gained knowledge and after some time you’ll be N1 without even really making the effort.
Never heard of that person, actually On the French side, I’ve never watched much let’s play, since the one I knew of were kinda annoying. I’ve watched channels that are close to doing a let’s play, but are edited into a kind of review. My favorite channel for that is probably Jouer du grenier, although I’m not a fan of the style they’ve been going for in the past couple of years…
So you went back to level 1 with the intention of going for level 60 again… but in a different way this time??
What problems you face when reading for example, listening, etc?
I think improving vocab, sentence mining, shadowing can be something that could add both variety and then be more motivating to do.
I wasn’t very tempted to sign up for lifetime in WK, the reuse value hits against exactly that what you were mentioning. The actual using and having the time (which WK as any SRS app sucks like crazy ).
In any case, I’m curious to hear what change in routine you come up with.
). I’d recommend making note of kanji you see in the real world but don’t recognize, and add those to some other SRS instead. Or still use WaniKani, but only resurrect those. I haven’t done that yet, but that’s my plan when I decide to do a kanji refresher.
I’m still gonna keep going, it just seems really daunting now, where before it didn’t!
On the French side, I’ve never watched much let’s play, since the one I knew of were kinda annoying. I’ve watched channels that are close to doing a let’s play, but are edited into a kind of review. My favorite channel for that is probably