Mini speed run to 30. Thoughts?

[ccookf]

What is “high intermediate” supposed to mean here? Someone that can comfortably speak Japanese, but can’t read kanji or something?

If that’s the case I would expect the only reason someone of that level isn’t already moving at a fast pace is just a matter of technique/optimization. There’s a lot of little things that make the process more efficient and as a result will open up headroom needed to level up faster. A good starting point is the guide if you haven’t already read it:

My Journey of 368 days (+ The Ultimate Guide for WK )

The Ultimate Guide to Wanikani Become the best version of your Wanikanian self. For newbies: Please read the WaniKani User Guide first before reading this. WK’s User Guide teaches you the very basics. My Guide turns you from a newbie with basic knowledge to a master. However, first, you need the basics. This Guide is really longgggggggg. You can read it all in one go, but there’s no need to if you don’t want to. Think of it as the place to come to when in doubt/need of help. Thanks …

As for whether or not it’s a good idea I think you’ll get a multitude of responses. Some want to “rip off the bandaid” and finish asap while others slow down to do other things. Some members think level 50 is good enough, others think level 40… it’s all preference and individual needs in the end. There’s no real harm in trying and in the worst case you can join the ranks of many vocal WK users who dissuade users from doing similar things because of their bad experiences.

The guide does have some comments on level 30 specifically that might be interesting to read:

quotes from the guide

@jprspereira

First 30 ≠ Last 30.

My first argument for full speed not being necessarily a good thing is that the last 30 levels won’t be as productive to your Japanese learning as the first 30. Let me drop you some cool stats (found them thanks to [STATS] Statistics site ):

• By level 30, you’ll be able to identify 88.07% of kanji used on Twitter and 86.48% of the kanji used on Wikipedia.
• The extra 30 levels, on the other hand, will “only” give you an extra 10,11% for Twitter and 11,71% for Wikipedia.

Don’t get me wrong, the last 30 levels are still very useful. Imagine not knowing around 1 kanji every 10: still annoying, don’t you think so? But this is an interesting concept: Maybe you can go faster for the first 30 levels and then slow down a little and focus on other areas of Japanese learning Wanikani works so efficiently that some people end up getting to level 60 with barely studying any grammar. In my specific case, I definitely neglected my reading practice just to have a cool title on my level 60 celebration thread.

@jprspereira

If you’ve read Chapter 6 of this Guide (if not, please read “The First 30 ≠ Last 30” part), you’ll know how I explained that the first 30 levels have a much bigger impact on your learning, compared to the last 30. However, I also explained that the last 30 levels can still have a significant impact, so they’re far from neglectable. This is a key problem though: the gains from the first half are so big that even if you continue seeing results during the 2nd half of your journey, it’ll feel like too little and you’ll almost definitely lose motivation. The fact that after 30 levels, you’re so good at WKing doesn’t help. You lose the momentum you once had because you’re so used to this program already. It feels like climbing the same staircase over and over again: you’re going up, but it’s still the same staircase. It’s no longer a new challenge.

It’s time to find another challenge - You’re too good to do just one.

Exactly what the title says. Your passion for the Japanese language isn’t going anywhere. You’re not done with learning either. So go find a new challenge, whether if it’s joining the book clubs here on the forums, whether if it’s finding Japanese friends, whether if it’s dedicating more time on grammar, whatever you wish to accomplish. Don’t leave Wanikani behind, however. Use your solid routine to continue with it until the very end (you can do it! o/), but in case you find yourself losing momentum and staying behind, know that it’s time for a bigger challenge

Personally speaking, it was around your level when I really started getting into native materials (or non-trivial reading) with a bit of confidence. If you haven’t tried in a while give it a shot. Either you’ll discover improved reading ability, or you’ll find more motivation to study hard on WK. Kind of a win either way.

@alpha-WK

Please predict my future. Will I go mad? Will I have the most fun I’ve ever had?

I don’t think it was fun, but you won’t go mad. The satisfaction of seeing the studying pay off is immense, but at level 23 you will probably already be able to see some diminishing returns on WK levels contributing to your Japanese reading ability.