Keeping motivation as a long-time learner at a low WaniKani level

Are/were you a data entry worker? :sweat_smile:

Seems like it left an impression.

Thank you everyone! Lots of good points to think about. A lot of the comments about other methods really helped me reframe my perspective - I’ve tried a lot of different methods of learning Kanji over the years, Anki, writing them out over and over, drill books, trying to read, and so on. Thinking about those methods compared to WaniKani, many people are right that some of the vocabulary is still valuable & also once I get above level 10 or so it’s very possible there may be some random gaps in knowledge to keep me on my toes. It was good to hear from others, with this change in perspective I may actually go up a level soon after being on level 9 for almost a year. Cheers!

4 Likes

What capability level are you actually at? Are you past N2?

Hard to say in JLPT levels. I passed N2 about 5 years ago, and currently I use Japanese everyday for work, training people to use certain software in Japanese or having meetings with clients, etc. My spoken Japanese level is more than fine for those purposes. My computer and all the software I use are entirely in Japanese, and my reading is ok enough for reading work emails, and I know the associated kanji for things to do with my job, so I rarely have to look anything up for that. But, if I get outside of my work and life realm my knowledge is more inconsistent - when I go to the doctor I often don’t know some of the more difficult medical words and kanji (but that would still be considered “basic” for Japanese people - not super specialized or anything), or even at the hair salon I get told the words for “just cut off split ends” and “feathering” every time and always forget. So there are some areas where my knowledge is quite high, and others where it’s not. My speaking level is such that I can explain around my lack of knowledge in an understandable way, for example in the hair salon example I can say something like “the bad parts at the end, could you fix them up?” and they can understand I mean “split ends” even though I forgot the word.

Even though my Japanese is very functional, I still want to improve it and also for work upgrading I want to pass N1 next year if possible, so hence the increased focus on Kanji and vocab.

5 Likes

Ah ok then your frustration makes more sense to me. I think you may be too advanced for WK to be effective for a while. Of course WK has the advantage is that it’s already built and easy to do. No workbooks to work through. No flashcard decks to write. However, for you, it might make more sense to try materials aimed at natives working on the kanji kentei if you can find some good materials or apps.

1 Like

I started studying japanese in 2009 before going to study in japan in 2010, when I came back that same year I tried to study by myself but I lost motivation completely since the only book I knew back then was genki (used the vol II) and it is to be used with a classroom and more people together.

Only in december 2020 I got to know wanikani and since then, daily I have lessons and reviews and honestly it was the best tool for learning how to read kanji/vocab I have found since 2010!

my motivation leans and justifies when daily I watch one anime episode with japanese subtitles and today I can understand around 80% what I read and I feel realized that all the effort I have done in almost 2 years is paying everyday.

I cant imagine now as soon as I hit lvl 60 what I am gonna do for other similar source.

Of course, some days are bad, demoralizing when you get many things wrong, but yes, it is part of the process and since I am taking it as a hobby, I am comfortable with my results so far.

2 Likes

If you want to use userscript for Wanikani on mobile, you can use Kiwi browser. It uses Chrome and supports Add-on on mobile. You just have to proceed as you would on a computer (Tampermonkey or eq.)

1 Like

This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.