So I’ve been reading and studying through the Genki series, and personally it’s been fantastic to learn with. (Especially 3rd edition makes things much easier to understand. (Not a sponsorship))
However, I what I’m trying to achieve are two things.
A method to practice the content I’ve learned. (Besides the practice on the textbook since some don’t work that great for me)
A method for composition practice. (Exercising sentences that I feel like saying vs memorizing a sentence)
Ultimately my issue is when I consume content. I practice through the book and through my notepad, however I don’t feel confident with my method as it hasn’t really help me express through speaking as much a I hoped. It’s difficult when trying new things that aren’t from the book, so I tend to double take to the lesson my and it’s just a loop from there. Especially when the lesson gets more complex. Feels inefficient, and I feel like I should change things up.
Would can I do? I’m looking for a solution that I hope will be it once and for all!
Basically, you find native Japanese speakers that want to learn your language there. Then you both write short compositions and correct each other’s ones.
I’ve been a fan of the app HelloTalk for language exchange. You can practice and make posts in Japanese and native speakers can correct you for grammar or unnatural vocabulary or whatever else.
You can also check out the ‘Japanese Sentence a Day Challenge’ thread. However, it probably won’t be as reliable as HelloTalk or Lang-8/LangCorrect because there’s no quid pro quo: you’ll have to hope someone comes along and offers comments with no incentive other than the WK community spirit, since you probably won’t be able to help them in return. Plus, as someone who used to offer comments there, I’ll just say that it can get tiring, especially if you feel that your advice isn’t getting across, particularly since you don’t want to sound too harsh when offering further correction because you don’t want to reduce anyone’s enthusiasm. Correcting large numbers of posts is impossible alone. That aside, native speakers will probably be better at telling you what’s natural, even if they might not be able to explain the reason or the intricacies of sentence structure.
Oh, but you could try the beginners’ practice threads in the Japanese Only section of the WK forums. As long as you’re responding to the theme that’s been set, you should get corrections and help from staff. You might find that useful.
