Is the game connected to the anime? Cause I loved that.
The anime is actually an adaption of the sound novels themselves! If you loved the anime you totally owe it to yourself to read the original! While the anime adoption of Higurashi is fairly iconic and a decent entry into the When They Cry series, they had to discard most of the âmysteryâ aspects in favour of making it more of a horror. The original has a huge depth of characterization, themes and atmosphere that just canât be properly conveyed in any other form.
That said, you should also absolutely check out the Umineko sound novels too! They are life changing in how layered they are, such a great story. And the music is mind-blowingly good.
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Oh! My apologies, when I said âfast forwardâ I meant that the plateaus will keep happening at different stages, and that after grinding through it you will have a major breakthrough. Skipping stuff or avoiding it would be terrible for your progress.
This is the best time to be creative with your studies, maybe make awkward sentences (âThat cat over there is making 500 pancakes!â) or take an English/Turkish childrens book and try (with the help of a dictionary) to translate the simple sentences as best you can. Use google and text books, make it a journey to get the knowledge and then write down your best translations to the sentences. Read them out loud to get familiar with the structure and sounds. This is what I started doing 2 months ago, and itâs been actually really fun.
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With translation, there is problem that stops me. Words are seperated where they are used. Therefore I am not sure about which word to use. Some words are for literature only, some words are thesis only, some words are speech only. Some words are private only. Because of this, I am not sure whether I am using the proper word. And donât know how to check it. This is issue is really taking me to complete halt.
Not sure which word to use? I usually just pick the one I think makes the most sense, or the first one that shows up in the list of choices. I honestly dont waste much time stressing which word to use. Again, this is all practice. Get comfortable making an attempt, no matter how silly it might end up being, and remember that although you will sound a little odd using a word that is not the best choice for the sentence⊠you will be UNDERSTOOD by the listener/reader. I can tell you that English is my native language and there are STILL times where someone corrects me and says âYou know, thatâs actually not the right word for thisâ and I realize Ive been saying the wrong word for my entire life!
If that funny moment in my native language can happen and I can laugh it off, then the same can happen while I learn Japanese. Iâm totally okay with sounding a bit strange as I get more experience!
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Itâs normal to feel this way while learning a language, but I think you need more engaging learning material. A tutor would be the best but if that isnât possible, you should try to formulate your own Japanese, even if itâs in a small way. Something I found helpful when I was learning German and I do it now with Japanese is, at the end of the day, think of how to answer âWhat did you do today?â. You could also write it down and keep a little Japanese journal. I write my answer as an instagram caption sometimes and then people tell me âé ćŒ”ăŁăŠ!!!â and I feel like Iâm trying my best and accomplishing things.
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I donât have any cure or suggestion other than keep going no matter what. As long as you do that some progress is inevitable i guess.
I have hit several walls along the journey and I am currently struggling to find a new âeffectiveâ study method for my current level. What is important to remember is that it will pass and you will experience the rapid growth sensation again in the future if you push through. Itâs that awkward intermediate plateau that makes us feel like we are just floating around in a void of Japanese that isnât taking us anywhere.
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Hey mate!
I found started learning Japanese through https://www.tofugu.com/learn-japanese/ . I learned up to how to type Kanji so far and I am learning through WaniKani untill I get to around level 10 to properly continue on.
You are already well past that so you could probably read through from âUsing a Spaced Repetition System For Vocabularyâ or start even further as you are a ways into the levels here.
Other than that you could just find something that you could read, maybe starting with childrenâs or early teen books in Japanese to warm you up. That been something Iâve been thinking about when I get to that stage.
Happy learning mate! - DK
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I have tried to watch variety shows but theyâre too loud and chaotic for me. For this, I applaud your effort because I think theyâre an acquired taste. I also have a problem with some dramas. I like to watch mysteries or police shows, but it kills me when I think itâs going to be a serious show and then thereâs comedy! 
So I mostly stick to animated shows because when theyâre dark and serious, theyâre REALLY dark and serious.
Also, be kind to yourself. No one is keeping score so if you have to inch over the language wall a bit slower than you want, thatâs okay.
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Graded readers are good practice. I also watch Japanese TV for reading and listening practice. TV Japan has Japanese subtitles on most of their programs. I watch a lot of the childrenâs programming because thatâs my level and I actually understand a lot of it. Then I watch all kinds of other programs just to see how much I can comprehend. Sometimes I surprise myself!
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Hey, can you watch LOTR - all 3 movies - with Japanese dubs? Then your mind can relax about getting the context, and just absorbâŠ
Sometimes I find re-watching something I already know in another language helpful - or at least interesting! (Different voices can be funny or have a different emotional take⊠)
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If you can still make accounts on Lang-8 (Iâm not sure) you can post your translations or other writings there, and natives will helpfully correct you. You in turn correct their Turkish or English (the more you do, the more your Japanese stuff is seen).
Unfortunately Lang-8 signups have been suspended for a few years now, and the community is pretty dead. ):
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There is a golden rule of learning which is: donât practice your mistakes. Youâll just get better at making them. You want to practice reading and listening first. This is a thousand times more important with self-study, where there is no instant feedback.
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Honestly if he is struggling itâs probably best not to read books, unless they are illustrated. The reason is that language gets rooted by linking its symbols (phonetic and graphic) to experiences. Think of life as a series of mnemonics drilling language into your head, linking things together day by day. Watch story content, like anime, with subtitles. Or J-Drama. But do the repetition thing, donât just watch it for the story one time, watch the same scenes/episodes/series over and over, like kids do. You can only read books once the symbols trigger your imagination in a more or less fluid way. By the time kids start reading they have a good grasp of the language, and will gravitate towards illustrated works instead of plain text. It sounds to me like his level is below that of children, with maybe better vocabulary (but the vocabulary isnât as firmly rooted). A book is nothing but a person telling you a story from across time. Focus on exposing yourself to stories in the most rich way possible. And integrate audio with text as much as possible (which at first just means lots of japanese subtitles).
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Hey, I just wanted to share my experience with this. Iâve heard that just about everybody has hit a wall when learning a foreign language, so if you just think of this wall as something completely normal that everyone will or has gone through, then Iâve found that this has helped me to prepare my mind for any upcoming feelings of having not as much progress. Another thing that has helped was just a bunch of Ted Talks regarding learning Japanese on YouTube. A key point that I keenly remember was a speaker saying to âtolerate ambiguityâ for Japanese. This ties into what others have said where you donât need to have 100% comprehension for the language, but just learn more as you get exposed to the language regularly. English is my native and I donât always comprehend absolutely 100% either. However if anything, make sure to find a way to make the language fun for you to learn. That will help you get past any walls better than anything else. My bad if that was too long, just felt like going on and on 
Anyways, é ćŒ”ăŁăŠïŒ
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Right, nobody can understand everything in their own native tongue, even as fully grown adults. Youâll be watching television and go âwhat did he just say?â, or read a book and think âI donât really know what this word meansâ. Honestly if you pay attention you can see that most people donât fully understand the news in their own language.
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I have a feeling this might be helpful: Reading Sailor Moon, Act 1, in Japanese and English, Soft-Spoken ASMR - YouTube (only wish I could find more of it).
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It has probably been a year and a half since I was last on itâŠ
(after signups had stopped but the community was still going strong)
⊠Been very lax in Japanese learning since going back to school.
I am currently also hitting a wall⊠even though I am only level 9, currently my brain just turns into jam when it comes to kanji. Those I have known for so long suddenly are foreign to me. I feel like I am taking two steps back with every review. I do not trust my own brain when it suddenly comes to kanji-meaning⊠even though I know the meaning, I still write down something else, because my galaxy brain thinks it canât be that easy.
But from my experience this âwallâ always happens before you make a major step forward. It feels like your brain is trying one last time to question just everything and all of a sudden you make a big leap forward. Even if you feel like you are not moving at all currently, all of a sudden this big leap happens.
I think the best is to just keep going without being too frustrated about it. You said you are watching Youtube videos. Continue. Even if the context is still a mystery, be happy about the vocabulary you understand. Think about the time when you would not have even understood the vocabulary.
What I personally do is watch for instance an anime with subtitles. And then without. When I already know what is being said or the gist of it, it feels much more natural to understand. Also what I love to do (when I am alone) is to repeat a sentence I can fully understand. I try to sound just like the person saying it, so that I get the speed and the pronunciation right.
So I would choose a series or whatever you like, watch it with subtitles so that you know for sure what it is about and then try it without. And youâll see that you will understand a lot more than you actually think.
Another thing I personally love to do is listen to Japanese music. I read the Japanese lyrics and listen to the song and try to understand what the meaning is⊠I think music helps soooo much. English is not my mother tongue, but at school 20 years ago I was always the best in my class because I was a total music junkie and listened to English songs 24/7. So maybe this would be a new approach for you as well.
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