Intrepidfox's study log

[IntrepidFox]

This is mainly so that I do not slack.

Currently on Lvl 3 of Wanikani and I’m trying to take it slow, making sure that my recall is not a complete disaster. Apart from Wanikani, I’m also using Kaniwani, Kitsun.io (N5 vocab deck) and Bunpro. I think for the time being this is fine. I also try and watch an episode of anime a day on Crunchyroll (currently Black Clover).

Yearly goals:

• Hit min. lvl 30 in Wanikani
• Do the reviews regularly (or if really busy keep afloat with at least 20 reviews a day)
• Keep up with the Kitsun.io N5 vocab deck
• N5-N4 Bunpro grammar (reinforce grammar points from Basic Dictionary of Japanese Grammar)
• Once I hit lvl 10 in Wanikani, start reading manga (I have Yotsuba from before, but I also want to get into other stuff)
• Immersion (anime, beginner podcasts etc.)
• Perhaps try and do N5 in December (if it is happening)

[IntrepidFox]

Plans for the next few weeks:

• Keep up with all these resources (more or less daily)

22-28 Feb
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
KaniWani	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Kitsun.io	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Grammar		x	x*
Anime	x	x	x	x		x	x

“*” I renamed the Bunpro section into grammar. I am still using Bunpro as a resource, but I also started watching the New Absoltute Beginner Japanese Lessons playlist by Japanese Ammo with Misa (I would highly recommend her to anyone, the videos I watched so far were so easy to follow and informative). I also ordered A Basic Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, so once it arrives I will also add that to the resources I am using.

[ChristopherFritz]

Be sure to develop and solidify good systems to ensure you can reach you goals. Applications such as WaniKani and Kitsun do this for you by managing a review schedule, but you’ll want to ensure you’re keeping pace on lessons as well.

Don’t worry too much if you struggle with any grammar early on. You’ll notice recently-learned grammar when watching anime (especially if you don’t use English subtitles) and you’ll encounter such grammar when you read manga. Those kinds of things will help you to recognize the grammar more quickly, and to understand it better in the long run. (But it’ll take a while to get there.)

Watch for areas in your daily life where you waste time that you can spend being productive.

For example, if you’re having trouble getting in watching one episode per day, but find you typically spend half an hour a day sitting around doing nothing, then make a rule that any time you’re sitting around doing nothing, you start up the next episode to watch.

If you spend half an hour throughout the day scrolling through meaningless social media posts, then require of yourself that you read and fully understand one page of manga before you can pull up social media, for every time you want to bring up social media throughout the day.

And if you haven’t already done so, be sure to check out the completed Yotsuba book club, and the Absolute Beginners Book Club!

[IntrepidFox]

Thanks! I’m definitely trying to build a sustainable system, doing new lessons at a reasonable pace etc. I learned to be very organised with my time while I was doing a PhD, and even now post-PhD I’m very mindful of where my time goes (especially since I have a book deadline that my publisher set and I cannot miss it…)

Japanese is also not my first language, but 4th/5th depending on how we count them so I have a good idea about how to try and approach things. Though, grammar is always a sticking point for me and perhaps have to be a bit more relaxed about that.

[IntrepidFox]

I’m trying to get together a small book club to read やがて君になる preferably at a snail’s pace, but I might also join one of the upcoming absolute beginner’s book reads!

[IntrepidFox]

I bit the bullet and bought Genki I (both the textbook and the workbook), so will be incorporating those into my study sessions too. I’m thinking a chapter per week, but will have to see how it goes with everything else as well. I also got a WK subscription, because finished level 3.

[IntrepidFox]

Weekly check-in.

22-28 Feb
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
KaniWani	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Kitsun.io	x	x	x	x	x	x	x
Grammar		x	x
Anime	x	x	x	x		x	x

I think I did quite well with everything I set out to do, although perhaps I could have kept up with the grammar section a bit better.

The plan for next week is slightly different. I’m adding Genki I to the study list and I think I will be slowing down with Kitsun a bit, I will only do 5 new lessons at a time from the N5 vocab pack and maybe adding the vocabulary at a much slower pace, since Genki has more than enough new vocab to keep me busy.

My Basic Dictionary of Japanese Grammar should be arriving next week too, and will be checking that alongside Genki. I will still use Bunpro on the side but not subscribing. As far as I understand that only stops me from accessing the SRS function, but I’m not a massive fan of that anyway for grammar.

[IntrepidFox]

1-7 March
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I	X	X	X	X	X
Kitsun.io	X			X	X	X	X
Anime	X		X	X	X

Plan for 1-7 March:

• Genki I chapter 1 (textbook) > This will also be my main source of grammar for the time being.
• Keep up daily WK and KW (10 new lessons/ day when available)
• Kitsun N5 vocab deck (keep up with reviews, new lessons when I feel like it)

[BDRabbit]

Wish you good luck with learning!

I rly hope you will be able to maintain your studies because number of sources you are using seems a bit scary to me, I am definitely would be easily burned out if try to do so.

P.S. It would be awesome to pass through wanikani together))

[IntrepidFox]

I know it looks like a lot, but actually, it’s very manageable right now alongside all my work commitments.

I have a schedule for Wanikani, where I do reviews in the morning, then in my lunchbreak and then in the evening. I make sure that I really pace my lessons, so I never have that many reviews to do. This is the number one priority right now

I do Kaniwani in the morning and in the evening, but the two together don’t take up massive amounts of my time. With Genki, I’m planning on a chapter a week, but if it turns out to be too much, I don’t mind slowing down. The Kitsun vocab deck is more of an optional thing, I do the reviews, but I only add new lessons when I’m really sure I can manage (and some of the vocab kinda duplicated with WK anyway).

The anime is like 20 minutes in the evening. I usually just watch an episode on my phone (Crunchyroll app) when I’m relaxing in the evening.

Good luck with the levels, definitely keep an eye out for each others’ progress!

[IntrepidFox]

So, last week went ok, though I had loads of work (some of which was unexpected and thus not scheduled…), but considering I mostly kept to the weekly schedule. *pats oneself on the back *

1-7 March
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I	X	X	X	X	X
Kitsun.io	X			X	X	X	X
Anime	X		X	X	X

[IntrepidFox]

Plan for this week is pretty similar to last week. Carry on with Genki (chapter 2), keep up with WK, KW and Kitsun (again, only add new vocab when I feel that I can handle it).

8-14 March
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I			X		X		X
Kitsun.io	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Native lang. material	X	X	X	X	X	X

This week went ok. I decided to only include material in KW that I have already guru’d in WK, to make it easier to keep up with it. I would have preferred to spend more time with Genki ch2, but will catch up next week, along with starting on chapter 3.

Just levelled up to lvl 6.

[BDRabbit]

Congrats with level 5, the first beautiful number

[IntrepidFox]

Thanks!

[IntrepidFox]

Plans for the week 15-22 March.

• keep up with WK, KW
• Genki chapter 2 catch up and chapter 3
• JLPT N5 deck (mainly keep up with the reviews)
• やがて君になる book club starting (chapter 1)

I created a kitsun deck for the first chapter of the book. As I’m reading along, my plan is to add the vocab into my review queue. Also need to look up some grammar points.

15-21 March
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X		X
Genki I	X	X	X	X
Kitsun JLPT N5 deck	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Native lang. material			X	X	X		X

[IntrepidFox]

This week the goal is pretty much the same as last week. I need to spend more time with Genki I, though. First week of book club went well, I think, so looking forward to this week.

• keep up with WK, KW
• Genki chapter 3 (need to get my head around the verbs) and 4
• JLPT N5 deck (mainly keep up with the reviews)
• やがて君になる book club (chapter 2)

22-28 March
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I							X
Kitsun JLPT N5 deck	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Native lang. material				X		X	X

[IntrepidFox]

Last week was crazy at work and did not manage to do everything I wanted to, so have a bit of catching up to do this week.

For the Genki I grammar I started a Notion page where I make notes on the grammar points and also add additional material from The Basic Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, but also from online sources. I like Notion, because it is really easy to embed videos and even podcast episodes. For example, when I was working out the difference between だ and です, I found the Tofugu podcast on the subject quite helpful and I just embedded the whole podcast from Soundcloud.

The plan is:

• keep up with WK
• I set KW to only quiz me on items I mastered on WK and this way it seems more managable
• Genki chapter 3 (really consolidate the grammar part) + add it to my Notion grammar page with extra examples etc.
• JLPT N5 deck (mainly keep up with the reviews)
• やがて君になる book club (finish chapter 2 and start on chapter 3)

29 March - 4 April
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I				X	X	X
Kitsun JLPT N5 deck	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Native lang. material		X	X			X	X

[IntrepidFox]

Levelled up! I found level 7 to be ok, but I can feel that it is getting a bit more complicated, so to say. 末 and 未 anyone? At least 失 has a little drop on the side.

[IntrepidFox]

Last week went quite well, finally managed to get around finishing the grammar points in Genki I chapter 3. I added most the points to my Notion grammar page, but still need to add some additional material. I also want to practice what was covered in chapter 3 by writing a few sentences. That is for this week, though. I finished both chapter 2 and 3 of やがて君になる, so now caught out with my own book club.

I also started listening to The Konnichiwa Podcast. I think it is really good for beginners, because it is bilingual English-Japanese, so you know what the topic is and what the conversation is about, more or less, but still practice listening to Japanese.

The plan is:

• keep up with WK+KW+Kitsun N5 deck
• Genki chapter 4 + writing practice for chapter 3
• やがて君になる book club (chapter 4)

5-11 April
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I	X	X			X	X
Kitsun JLPT N5 deck	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Native lang. material			X	X	X

[IntrepidFox]

I levelled up on Sunday.

This week is bit crazy, stuff happened over the weekend, so not sure how well I can keep up with everythig this week.

The plan is to do:

• Genki chapter 5, grammar notes in Notion
• Keep up with WK, KW and the Kitsun N5 deck
• Chapter 5 (last chapter!!!) of やがて君になる

12-18 April
	月	火	水	木	金	土	日
Wanikani	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
KaniWani	X	X	X	X	X
Genki I						X	X
Kitsun JLPT N5 deck	X	X
Native lang. material		X		X		X	X