Hee ho adventurers in language learning! Thought I’d say hi and share my study log with everyone.
I began in July 2020 with hiragana and katakana with the aim of making a planned trip to Japan less painful (whenever that becomes possible) and I’ve been hooked ever since! Although it started off fairly slow, it finally feels like things are coming together. I don’t really have a end goal per say, just want to see how far I can get with Japanese. Perhaps take the JLPT at some point? How many years has it been since I last took a standardized test…
July 2020
Hiragana/Katakana lessons via app
August 2020
Picked up Japanese ruled notebooks
Started Grade 1 Kanji practice in notebooks
Continued Hiragana/Katakana in app as well as in notebooks
September 2020 September/October was not great due to a loss in the family
Began elementary readers
Continued Grade 1 Kanji read and write
Completed Hiragana/Katakana read and write
Started daily writing practice for Hiragana/Katakana
October 2020
Completed initial Grade 1 Kanji
Added Grade 1 Kanji to daily writing practice
Began some grammar lessons on YouTube/Twitch
November 2020
Continued daily writing practice
Continued YouTube but it wasn’t clicking with me
Was gifted(!) Genki I (textbook and workbook) at the end of the month
Completed chapters 1 and 2 of Genki I
December 2020
Continued writing practice but now only 1 day a week (Genki was filling this role)
Completed Genk I 3,4, and 5
Started WaniKani
Began Japanese journal (entries after every Genki chapter)
Continued elementary reading
January 2021
Completed Genki I 6, 7, and 8
Made it to WaniKani level 5
Continued journal
Continued writing practice now including Grade 2 Kanji
February 2021
Completed Genki I chapter 9
Made it to WaniKani level 6
Continue writing/journal practice
March 2021
Completed Genki I chapter 10, 11, 12
Started Genki I Review
Made it to WaniKani level 7
April 2021
Purchased Genki II
Completed Genki chapters 13
Joined Book Club
Made it to WaniKani level 8
May 2021
Completed Genki Chapters 14 and 15
Completed 2 Chapters of Book Club
Found Tutor
Made it to WaniKani Level 9
June 2021
Continue writing/journal practice
Worked with Tutor once a week
Lots of review of previous grammar lessons
Made it to WaniKani Level 10
July 2021
Completed Genki Chapter 16
Wrote in journal
Read and listened to native materials
August 2021
Complete Genki Chapter 17
Make it to WaniKani Level 11
Wrote in journal
Read and listened to native materials
Future Goals September 2021
Complete Genki Chapter 18
Make it to WaniKani Level 12
Wrote in journal
Read and listen to native materials
I regularly watch Japanese news, listen to music (髭男dism ), I bought a couple of manga as future reading goals (Splatoon is the first one I hope to read), and I’m now ready to find a speaking tutor. I’m a bit nervous about this as I am shy, and have had little speaking practice other than just talking to myself. I hope to have some luck on iTalki, but I’m open to any suggestions!
The journal has been a pretty fun way to reinforce/learn new grammar points, I highly recommend it. It’s mostly simple sentences at the moment, but I don’t let that discourage me. I took a look back at some of my writing from grade school and reminded myself that we all have to start somewhere.
I don’t think I would have bought Genki on my own (it is pretty expensive investment) but I would recommend it if you can get ahold of it. Genki has been a lifesaver, not so much for the grammar lessons themselves (they leave a lot to be desired IMO) but the exercises and overall lesson plan have been a real boon. I watch Genki lessons on YouTube to help iron out the grammar points. I feel better about spending the $$$ on Genki II at this point.
Well the end of February is almost here so it’s time for an update.
What started out as a promising month did not go as planned. Unfortunately, disaster struck my state (Texas) and I was without consistent power, limited food, and in survival mode for almost a week. Needless to say, it took a toll on me physically and mentally. I’ve only just now been able to get comfortably back to day to day normal activities. I was finally able to order groceries today, which was one of the last major normal things I had not been able to do.
I consider myself lucky, especially how quickly I was able to go back to Covid pandemic normality. I know of people who were in much worse situations than myself, and will not be able to get back to normal anytime soon. If any of you are here on WaniKani, just know that when you’re able to get back to learning, we’ll all be here cheering you on.
That being said, the loss of progress was just the cherry on top of this terrible TERRIBLE cake. I had not only lost progress but also had regressed a bit. Much of this week has been spent on relearning along with learning new things.
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I wrote these in my workbook this week:
吹雪がありったから、先週は忙しいかったです。
パンデミックがあるから、今週の週末出かけません。
March will hopefully be much better. I plan on completing Genki I and prepping for Genki II. I’m going to ease up on WaniKani expectations and just try to make it level 8. I have not yet found a tutor on italki but I’ll hopefully be able to get one set up soon. I’d like to write in my journal more frequently, going from once a week to twice a week. Regardless, I hope the next update will be much better than this one.
Good news is I have made it through Genki I and made it to level 7 in WaniKani! Huzzah!!!
Bad news is I’m moving and have had progress drastically slow down. If there is one thing these last two months have taught me is that life has a way of getting in the way of one’s plans.
But I have high hopes things will finally settle down (famous last words) and I’ll be able to buckle down with Genki II here in a few weeks once the move is completed. I also hope to join one of the lovely book clubs and work my way through my first manga in Japanese. In the meantime I have been keeping up with WaniKani and my Anki decks. I also need to find a way to do grammar review to help with some of the tougher bits (darn you て form).
When you’re able to join a book club, you’ll find it to be very difficult at first. A few chapters in, you may feel as if you’re not making any progress. Halfway through the volume, you could even wonder if it’s worth your time. But get to the end of the volume, and you may notice something. Those tougher bits of common grammar will seem more familiar to you.
Looking back through the volume, you’ll feel you have a good grasp on them (even if it’s just an illusion from having already covered that material). Getting into a second volume of manga (either in the same series, or a different series), you’ll find those same grammar coming up and you may release you don’t quite have them down as well as you thought you did. But as you keep reading, you’ll see them more and more, and you’ll encounter them in various situations. Before you know it, you’ll be able to flip through pages of Genki and wonder, “How did て ever seem tough to me?”
Disclaimer: Actual results may vary. But keep at it, and it’ll be close enough.
April is finally over with, and I’m moved into my new place. Moving out was unfortunately as time consuming as one would expect, so even my lowered goals were a bit too lofty. I still manage to get a copy of Genki II, and complete the first chapter. I’ve also picked up a copy of からかい上手の高木さん for book club. I’ve read the first couple of pages so far, and WOW, I can’t believe how far I’ve come. The first page I was able to read without any help(!), and the second page I could put together a large chunk of it on my own. My ego needed the boost after feeling like I’ve not been as committed to learning as I was at the outset.
I am already back on my regular study schedule of about two hours each night, and I’m aiming to get myself through a larger chunk of Genki II this month. I’ve acquired a copy of “A Dictionary Of Basic Japanese Grammar” to help with those grammar points that haven’t quite started to stick yet. I’ll need to get a tutor at this point as I am starting to find myself having more difficulty with the grammar than in the past. I would also like the opportunity to work on my listening and speaking skills as they are the weakest. May looks like it’s going to be a bright spot for this…project?..hobby? I’m not sure what to call it at this point
Be sure to check out the book club discussion, as well. Early on in reading, I found sometimes I’d have a notion of what was going on in a scene, and the ensuing club discussion pointed out a lot of nuance and detail I hadn’t learned well or thoroughly.
Good luck on the listening/speaking aspect! I’m starting to dabble in listening practice, although I’m not too concerned about it until my known vocabulary word count is higher. My current hurdle is that sometimes even if I know all the words (thanks to subtitles), I can’t recognize what’s a word of what’s being said.
Last month was a bit of an eye opener for me. As I started lessons with my tutor, I found that I needed the opportunity to practice much MUCH more often. Not just through speaking practice, but through more rigorous writing, listening, and reading practice. Much of last month was spent trying to figure out what the best avenues for practice would be.
I also realized that working full time is just not going to allow for me to continue at the pace I was going with grammar lessons and do the new level of practice.
I’ve decided to not focus as heavily on grammar now that I have rudimentary foundation built, and I’m going to try to work on reinforcement through reading, writing, listening, and speaking exercises. I expect that many grammar points will come up naturally through this process, and, now have several good resources (THANK YOU BOOK CLUB!) for grammar, will be able to work through them.
I still plan on working my way through Genki II, but now at a slower pace. Hopefully I’ll see some good progress using this method.
), I bought a couple of manga as future reading goals (Splatoon is the first one I hope to read), and I’m now ready to find a speaking tutor. I’m a bit nervous about this as I am shy, and have had little speaking practice other than just talking to myself. I hope to have some luck on iTalki, but I’m open to any suggestions!
