Monthly Progress

What a lovely idea ! It´s a good way to have a look at what you have accomplished so far and stay motivated. I may not post every months but once in a while is funny !

PROGRESS PetiteChose #1

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 35

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : 37/38

THIS MONTH’S GOAL:
For this month, honestly, I intend to rest a little and slow down my studies as I just taken JLPT N3 and Christmas is coming soon.
But here some little goals for me :
-Play my Japanese games (they are visual novels with voice acting, so it´s easy to follow and to search for unknown words)
-Start a book (I have already downloaded 3 of them !)
-Keep doing some Italki lessons to keep up with grammar (though it won´t be every week because of Christmas ans so on)

RESOURCES:
For Vocabulary and Kanji : Wanikani (though, not enough for vocab)
For grammar : Somatome with an Italki teacher and Minna no Nihongo (though I kinda dropped this because it´s much more efficient Somatome with a teacher)
For reading : Shinkanzen Master. This book is very good. I felt that the level was a little more difficult than the JLPT so if you can finish it without trouble, you won´t have any trouble with JLPT. Some games, but I rarely have time for that :frowning:
For listening and grammar and speaking : Italki and Asao. Both are good, though I much prefer my Italki teacher. She explains everything very clearly and all in Japanese so I can work on grammar while improving my listening skills. It´s very efficient because without ANY training for listening section for N3 I didn´t feel so lost. I just thought it was a bit difficult for me, but nothing impossible.

FAVE:
Italki teacher. It helped me so much. I could see a lot of progress in a short time, it´s the most efficient method for me. I just take grammar lesson with my teacher but because the lesson is in full japanese, I could train my listening skills and we always talk a bit at the beginning of the lesson so I can improve my speaking abilities as well (though it´s still very low compared to my other skills)

LEAST FAVE:
Minna no Nihongo. It used to be my favorite, but since I started Italki I don´t really need it anymore.

TRY NEW RESOURCE:
I want to start listening to more content. It´s hard to find some to my level though. I can´t listen to beginner stuff as it´s way too slow but native content is way too fast and difficult. I need to find something good in between. My visual novels aren´t so bad since the voice actors speak quite slowly and very clearly, but I would also like to listen to some Youtube videos as long as they aren´t too difficult and very entertaining…
Anki. I hated it before, but I need more vocab and JLPT focused vocab so… No choice I guess. But I definitely won´t start this month.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Speaking, obviously (hard for me to find a lot of natives to speak with). It is waaaay below the rest.
Vocab, I always lack vocab
Grammar : this point is improving but I don´t feel confident. Basically, I understand it well, but when I use it, it´s kinda terrible.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE:
Good question ? For speaking well… Maybe I will take some japanese lesson on Italki for free talk. But if anyone has any recommendation, I take !
For grammar, I know it´s hard because I don´t get to use what I know a lot. So need to talk. I guess reading could help a lot as well because I would get exposition to grammar so I should try. Like instead of working on new grammar points, maybe read and focus on what I ALREADY know.
Vocab : I will make an Anki deck, as mentioned earlier, but I don´t intend to do that now. Maybe starting January or February (I need some rest)

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
It honestly depends on your own goals. But in general, finding a good teacher (Italki, Asao, Preply,…) is very helpful. Expensive, but helpful. You always make progress and stay motivated. You just need someone who fits your needs and style.
Kanzen Master is so good for reading. I think will buy the grammar book as well, to try it out.
And last but not least : keep going. Language is about never giving up. It may take time but if you don´t give up you will success. So, when you feel you lack motivation please have a look at what you have accomplished. For example, you may find yourself able to read titles of videos, articles and so on or understanding some stuff in your games and animes. And you were not able to do that before, so it is improvement ! Because we always tend to see what is lacking and what we should do, so it is super important to look at your achievements as well :slight_smile:

4 Likes

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 5

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : 7

LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT: I started on October 31st, so level 0.

THIS MONTH’S GOAL: To get to level 6 by the end of December and to finish reading Hikoichi.

CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES: Wanikani, Marugoto, Elementary Japanese, Duolingo, Hikoichi.

  • FAVE: Hikoichi
  • LEAST FAVE: Marugoto, but it’s needed for a class…

TRY A NEW RESOURCE: I want to move on to another children’s story.

JAPANESE ABILITY: Better than the resources make it seem. I lived in Japan and was intermediate at one point. I am trying to review after a long time away from the language.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS: Kanji and remembering grammar.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE: Study :slight_smile:

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE: Be persistent. Don’t give up. Try not to take multi-year breaks away from the language.

3 Likes

PROGRESS Laser #1

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 30

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : 31-32

THIS MONTH’S GOAL:
Just keep going steadily. My speed has decreased considerably during the last weeks due to less time (work, family and so on…) and due to more unfamiliar content as the levels progress. My minimum is to clear out all reviews by the end of the day and do at least one session of lessions, which is 4 lessons for me, a day.
Outside Wanikani, I would like to go back to a daily reading routine. I had such a routine until two months or so back and it was great. Now I just manage to read once or twice a week. Hope to increase the reading time again. If I could do that the slower WaniKani pace wouldn’t bother me at all.
Also, go on with listening podcasts. As that can be done while doing chores or driving or while trying to sleep or whatever it will be no problem :slight_smile:

RESOURCES:
WaniKani of course
Podcasts: Teppei, Noriko, Kevinvin, Miku Real Japanese, YUYU, Heppoko…
Graded Readers: I am currently at the last volume of the ask series (level 4 volume 3, book 2). I also have a bunch of the 10pun de yomeru books lying around, so when I finish ask I will go on with those.

FAVE:
Podcasts, as they are so easy to integrate in my full schedule. Almost everytime I recognize a new word that I learned on wanikani a few days back.

LEAST FAVE:
none, time is too limited to do stuff I don’t like.

TRY NEW RESOURCE:
I just rediscovered an app called “Obenkyo” on my phone where you can write kanji with you finger. It detects if the kanji was written correctly, also taking into account stroke order. I want to try this for some time to see if it helps long term kanji memory.

Also, I found the youtube channel 読売テレビニュース which has some documentaries which I find both interesting and (with the help of the images) comprehensible. If I find a bit of spare time I might watch one of those every now and then.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Speaking, because I don’t do it at all.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE:
Speaking is not a point I want to tackle right now. Maybe next year…

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Keep going, step by step, every day!

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Love this idea, thanks for suggesting it!
PROGRESS Need2Read #1

#WANIKANI
CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 10

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL… heading toward 12 would be nice.

#GOALS
LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT: Made it finally out of level 8, and in and through level 9

THIS MONTH’S GOAL: Keep going with WK at least twice a day. Keep reading the language books I’ve already got.

#RESOURCES
CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES: Duolingo, google translate, 80/20 Japanese by Richard Weber, Japanese in 90 days by someone else, the Tofugu podcast and blog posts (love those!)

  • FAVE: to be honest, I get the biggest kick from DL. It’s the most frustrating but also the most rewarding as a result. But when words I’ve learned at DL show up in WK, or vice versa, it feels SO GOOD.
  • LEAST FAVE: Given I haven’t picked up the Japanese in 90 days book in over 3 months, I have to assume it’s that one.

TRY NEW RESOURCE: How about making full use of the ones I’ve got, for a while. Read the 80/20 book a few times a week? It helps reduce the frustration with DL because it actually explains the grammar etc.

#JAPANESE ABILITY
CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS: omg so many. I still can’t read quickly enough to sound out anime credits, I have not got my head around the past tense for adjectives, and I still ALWAYS confuse long and short sounds.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE: Maybe I should try working on writing. I realized if someone asks me how to write anything in Japanese, my brain goes blank. After over a year of this stuff, I can’t call the symbols to mind; I can only recognize them if someone else puts them up. It’s really weird.

#HELPING OTHERS
TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE: Enjoy the trip. Enjoy the puzzles of the different ways concepts are thought about in different languages. Weave the words like braids to get the ideas across, see how it works out. Enjoy the elegance of the various markers that may not exist in your own language. :grin:

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Progress HaseebYousfani #1

Current WaniKani Level: 13

Next Months Wanikani Level: 15

Previous Goal Achieved: N/A

This Month’s Goal:

  • Level 15 on WaniKani
  • Learn some basics of Grammar

Current Japanese Resources:
WaniKani / Anime / Manga / CureDolly

Favorite Resource:
WaniKani, straightforward and manageable. Kind of a habit now.

Least Favorite Resource:
CureDolly, just lazy to watch the videos.

New Resource:
N/A

Current Japanese Weakness:
Reading

How I Will Improve This Weakness:
Keep doing WaniKani so I can learn the Kanji and the readings.

This Months Advice:
Consistency. Keep your habits, if life is in the way, stop doing your lessons, but do your reviews! You don’t want to come back to 2000 reviews, do you?

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For those who are interested… @VividStrike has posted a race to level 30 and 60 for the years 2022-2023. It’s called Wani-Kani Study Buddy Race - 2022, All Aboard! Please join if you want or watch if you want!

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This is interesting, but since it’s Dec 29 I might just treat this as Jan 1

Progress Post #1

WK Level: 29

Next month’s WK goal level: 33

This month’s goals:

  • Finish “Secret” on SatoriReader
  • Get back into NHK Easy

Current Japanese Resources:

SRS - WaniKani, BunPro
Content - Satori Reader, Vtuber clips and tweets

Current Japanese Weakness:
Experience and vocab

How I will improve this weakness this month:
Increase my reading, primarily extensive. My current focus is to improve recognition and recall of things I’ve “learned” through other resources like WK and BunPro. Assisted consumption of native materials (eg. hover dictionary lookups through Yomichan/rikaikun extension, Kitsun’s reader, and Satori’s built in tools) will help with this. However, I will leave WK as my sole SRS while letting “natural SRS” from exposure do its own thing for improving my vocab right now.

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Big New Year’s resolutions are a trap of temporary motivation. Stick to reasonable levels of effort that can be consistently put in almost every day, even when life gets busy. Big goals are satisfying to achieve, but can usually be broken into smaller monthly, weekly, or daily goals as well.

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Progress AnimeOverlord #2

WANIKANI LEVEL: 12

Next month’s Wanikani Level: 13

Previous Goal Achieved? : Yup :wink:

This Month’s Goal:

  • Become level 13 Wanikani
  • Regularly go through Genki 1 (Get to Lesson 7)
    - Listen to Japanese101 or Other Podcast for 4 hours
    - Listen to Japanese YouTube and Tokini Andy Genki explanations
    - Watch Anime and Finish Current J-Drama

CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES:
Japanese101 / Genki 1 / Wanikani :slight_smile: / Anime / Tokini Andy

FAVOURITE RESOURCE: (Why?)
Anime, I like trying to guess what the characters are talking about (I put in Japanese including subtitles so I have no idea)

LEAST FAVOURITE RESOURCE: (Why?)
Japanese101, because the tests make me anxious and cause to fluster (I don’t think the multiple choice is good for learning Japanese either, just my opinion). WaniKani is starting to make me bored too and my anxiety is not helping.

THIS MONTH’S NEW RESOURCE I WILL TRY:
Japanese Ammo with Misa

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Speaking and Writing

HOW I WILL IMPROVE THIS WEAKNESS THIS MONTH:
Since writing usually bores me, I will type when it gets to be too much. I will also practice speaking by translating some of my thoughts or what I will do into Japanese.

THIS MONTH’S GENERAL TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Just Do It!!

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PROGRESS PetiteChose #2

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 37

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : At least 39, but I aim for level 40

Previous Goal Achieved? : Almost. I could reach level 37 just in time, but I hope to be quicket this month. I did play some game in Japanese, but definitely not enough for my taste. I didn’t start any book, but I was able to keep going on my Italki lessons. I actually had less time during my vacations, haha.

THIS MONTH’S GOAL:
-Do more listening and speaking practice.
-Read more, could it be games or books. But games are easier.
-Start N2 contents
Basically, immerse myself more in the language and practice “real” Japanese.

RESOURCES:
Same as before. I just added more japanese games (if we can call it resources) and gave up on Minna no Nihongo.

FAVE:
Still same as before, but adding games was a good choice. Especially Visual Novels because they are voice acted. So I can practice listening and if there is a word I don’t understand it’s simpler to search for it.

LEAST FAVE:
Still Minna no Nihongo, I kinda stopped though.

TRY NEW RESOURCE:
The Kanzen Master for N2 grammar.
I need to find some listening resources, other than games.
Anki is still on my list, but I want to find some script to write down my answers.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Still speaking and vocab.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE:
Since I am done with N3 grammar and studies, I started to do free talks only with one of my japanese teacher. As expected, I am terrible but that’s why I practice. He also tells me all my mistakes, so I hope I can improve that point.
I need to start Anki soon now. I need to tackle down that vocab problem.

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Games are actually good practice. One of my friend said I shouldn’t cause I wouldn’t be able to understand everything. But, that’s the point. Don’t be afraid of difficult things, as long as you enjoy, you might gain something from it. Don’t refrain yourself because of what others say. Of course, the first book, anime, game, whatsoever is going to be very difficult. But if you are ready for that and highly motivated, just do it !

4 Likes

Progress Hantsuki #1

WANIKANI LEVEL: 11

Next month’s Wanikani Level: 15

Previous Goal Achieved? : Yes

  • Level up to 11
  • Clear 1600 reviews

This Month’s Goal:

  • Level up once a week (reach 15 by the end of the month)
  • Finish なぜ?どうして? for1年生 book
  • Finish Kanji Notebooks for levels 10-15
  • Re-do Kanji Drills for 1年生 and compare to last year’s attempt

CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES:

  • SRS - Wanikani
  • Reading Practice - なぜ?どうして? 1年生 Book
  • Reading Practice - NHK Easy News
  • Writing Practice -1年生Kanji Drill
  • Listening Practice - Friday’s Feature Film (On TV, there’s often a featured film, sometimes a western movie, sometimes a Japanese film. Since it’s Japanese and you can turn on the subtitles, it’s good listening and reading practice.)
  • Listening/Speaking Practice - Interacting with my husband or anyone in the neighborhood, lol

FAVOURITE RESOURCE: (Why?)
Wanikani by far because I can do any time and anywhere. There’s no large prep involved. It feels like a game, so I’m addicted to checking to see if I’ve got any new reviews or when the next items will be coming in to the reviews so I can level up. This SRS is the major motivation for keeping up my studies.

Otherwise, I like reading the なぜ?どうして? series because there’s a bunch of questions for that age range. Each of them are answered in about 4 pages (so it’s a quick and simple read). There’s a lot of questions that I’m curious about the answer to, or if I know the answer, then it’s easier to follow the explanations in Japanese. I would assume this is a popular series for kids because it’s designed in a way to feed their curiosity. (Kids have so many questions after all!)

LEAST FAVOURITE RESOURCE: (Why?)
Out of all the resources I’m currently using, the Kanji Drills. They’re actually quite useful in that you get to practice deciphering the readings and recognizing the kanji. It’s similar to WK but it’s all in Japanese and you get writing practice. (A sentence is provided with either the kanji or hiragana written, and you have to fill in the reading or the kanji.) What I don’t like about it is there’s a lot of words that (according to my husband) I don’t need to know. Since it’s designed for practice for native speakers, there’s gonna be some vocab that’s geared towards its targeted age range, so a lot of the sentences (which are really simple and filled mostly with onomatopoeias) aren’t good for practice for normal conversations. On the flip side, it’s useful for my daughter when she gets to that age, but even for native-speakers, apparently there’s some words that just aren’t used anymore. Some of it is more regional based too, like a lot of terms that you would only use in the countryside.

THIS MONTH’S NEW RESOURCE I WILL TRY:
Technically なぜ?どうして?1年生 book is a new resource for this month (I tried the 10分で読める series before

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Reading

HOW I WILL IMPROVE THIS WEAKNESS THIS MONTH:
Put more focus into my reading materials and keeping up with the read every day challenge.

THIS MONTH’S GENERAL TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Try to do a little bit every day. It can be overwhelming when you create huge lists of things that you know you need to do, but if you just start somewhere then you’ll gradually get the energy to continue and do more. For example, setting your home page to WK so when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you do is your reviews. Then maybe having a book by your bed side so maybe the last thing you do before you go to bed is read.

The other thing is to feed your inner child. No one likes to “study” but kids like learning new things. (That’s why I like the なぜ?どうして? question series.) Maybe find a podcast where they talk about different aspects of Japanese culture if that’s something that interests you. Or survey through some CookPad recipes if you’re interested in cooking Japanese food. There are Youtube videos of video game walkthroughs in Japanese or living in Japan, etc. There’s lots of ways to practice Japanese and fuel your interests if you go searching!

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Progress Post #1

WK Level: 3

Next month’s WK goal level: 7

This month’s goals:

Read and translate 4 news articles on Todai
Explore and figure out how to use Anki

Current Japanese Resources:

SRS - WaniKani
Listening - Netflix: Terrace House and Aggretsuko
I tried Renshuu and it’s fun, but I didn’t feel like I was really learning from it.

Current Japanese Weakness:
Listening and remembering forgotten vocabulary

How I will improve this weakness this month:
Listen to more Japanese podcasts and shows stopping frequently to check my translations.

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Study and learn the grammar and proper ways of speech then listen to a lot of spoken Japanese from natives (not anime so much) so you can pick up how it’s used colloquially.

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CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 6

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : 8

LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT: 5.

THIS MONTH’S GOAL: To get to level 7 by the end of the month…

CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES: Wanikani, Marugoto, Elementary Japanese, Duolingo, Hikoichi.

  • FAVE: Hikoichi, Elementary Japanese

  • LEAST FAVE: Marugoto.

TRY A NEW RESOURCE: I want to move on to another story book that I got for Christmas.

JAPANESE ABILITY: Same as before. Better than the resources make it seem. I lived in Japan and was intermediate at one point. I am trying to review after a long time away from the language.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS: Always kanji and remembering grammar.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE: Be more consistant.

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE: Take a set amount of time a day to do language skills. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day, just keep going.

4 Likes

PROGRESS Laser #2

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 31

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : 32-33

LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT:
As planned, I went slow. Level 30 was my longest level (22 days). I achieved my minimum of 4 lessons a day, never skipped a day. The actual average was 7.5 lessons/day. Especially around Christmas I only did this minimum amount to enjoy more time with family and friends. Here is what I learned:

Reestablishing a reading routine went pretty well. Now I am almost finished with my graded readers.

THIS MONTH’S GOAL:
WK-wise keep going steadily. Maybe up the speed a little bit. Maybe at least 8 lessons for most of the days.
Reading-wise go on with the daily reading routine even now that work has started again.

RESOURCES:
Nothing new: WaniKani, Podcasts, Graded Readers

FAVE:
This last month it was the graded readers. Especially fun was the Sherlock Holmes story.

LEAST FAVE:
none, time is too limited to do stuff I don’t like.

TRY NEW RESOURCE:
Nothing new.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Speaking, because I don’t do it at all.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE:
Speaking is not a point I want to tackle right now. Maybe next year…wait it is already next year :see_no_evil:

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
I really recommend listening to japanese podcasts. I just remembered how I started with Teppei for Beginners and could not understand more than 5 words in a whole episode. Just by listening to these episodes day by day comprehension increased so much.

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PROGRESS POST : 1

WANIKANI
CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 7

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL… 10

GOALS
LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT:

THIS MONTH’S GOAL:

RESOURCES
CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES: Tae Kim’s Guide to learning Japanese, Wani Kani

  • FAVE: Anime, Youtube, Manga
  • LEAST FAVE: Textbooks

TRY NEW RESOURCE: Literature

JAPANESE ABILITY
CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS: Grammar

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE: Learning and reviewing more grammar and more immersion
TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE: Find learning resources that you actually enjoy instead of forcing yourself to do something that you don’t like just because any language gurus tell you to do so. It’s the only way to stay motivated on the language learning journey.

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Progress Post #2

WK level: 33
Previous goal level: 33 :tada:
Next month’s goal level: 35

Last month’s goals:
:white_check_mark: Finish “Secret” on SatoriReader
:x: Get back into NHK Easy

This month’s goals:

  • Clear review backlog on Bunpro
  • Watch a video from Comprehensible Japanese each day
  • Get a bit of extra reading in on weekends

Current Japanese Resources:

SRS - WaniKani, BunPro
Content - Comprehensible Japanese, Vtuber clips and tweets
Bonus Reading - Syosetsu or VNs (debating on VA-11 Hall-A in JP, or maybe an old probably hentai VN that was supposed to be easy/short).

Current Japanese Weakness:
Grammar

How I will improve this weakness this month:
I’ve spent the last few months focusing on just reading in general after hammering in Bunpro’s N5 + N4 grammar. Overall I think it was a good idea that ended up poorly executed on my part because some of the works were on the easier side while the last one I read was in the “advanced” category and used slightly tougher writing. I probably should have skipped to the intermediate + advanced sections after reading the first beginner story. As a result, I feel like the past few weeks have been bringing some grammar points back into memory. Thankfully SRS waits for no one, so all of the reviews piling up from Bunpro being on hold should make for a solid refresher before I continue on with new material.

This month’s main focus is just reinforcing my grammar now that I’ve got more experience with kanji and vocab in general. I think at my current pace it will take about 2 weeks to clear up the backlog and then I’ll start on adding the N3 grammar points to finish in time for my 1 year anniversary of studying Japanese again.

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
You’ll notice I put a big :x: on NHK Easy. If you hate a resource don’t waste your time on it. There’s a lot more resources for learning Japanese these days and NHK Easy is… a little frustrating to read when it isn’t outright depressing (Seriously, I just opened the page and three of the articles start with 新型コロナ). A lot of users here point to pace first when talking about avoiding burnout, but I think finding a healthy balance of fun and serious time is more important. For most of us here studying Japanese is a hobby. Even if it’s a lot of work to learn a language there should be some enjoyable parts too!

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Progress Hantsuki #2

WANIKANI LEVEL: 15

Next month’s Wanikani Level: 19

Previous Goal Achieved? : Yes and no

  • Leveled up to 15 (level up once a week)
  • Did new 1年生 Kanji Drill and improved from last year
  • Didn’t finish なぜ?どうして? for1年生 book
  • Didn’t finish Kanji Notebooks for levels 10-15

February’s Goal:

  • Level up once a week (reach 19 by the end of the month)
  • Do Kanji Drill for 2年生 after reaching level 18
  • Finish Pokemon Special Vol 1
  • Finish 夜カフェ①

CURRENT JAPANESE RESOURCES:

  • SRS - Wanikani
  • Reading Practice - Pokemon Special manga
  • Reading Practice - 夜カフェ book
  • Writing Practice - 2年生Kanji Drill
  • Listening Practice - Rewatching anime without looking at English subtitles (or using Japanese subtitles when possible)
  • Listening/Speaking Practice - Interacting with my husband; Genki 2 study group on Second Life

FAVOURITE RESOURCE: (Why?)
Wanikani is still my favorite resource because it gets the motivation going, but I’ve also been finding myself not checking for reviews every waking moment when I’m consuming native material like Pokemon Special manga or 夜カフェ. Even though it’s time consuming to list out all the vocab I don’t know (either the unknown kanji, the meaning, or just because I don’t use it as part of my everyday vocab even though I hear it), it’s fun to apply my current knowledge instead of “studying.”

LEAST FAVOURITE RESOURCE: (Why?)
I’ve decided to drop なぜ?どうして? for1年生 as a source for now because although interesting, the serious lack of kanji felt more of a hindrance than a helpful source. The nice thing is I can pick it up and read a few pages every now and then (maybe even read it to my daughter), but I don’t think it’s useful to keep slogging away like I was the first few weeks.

THIS MONTH’S NEW RESOURCE I WILL TRY:
2年生Kanji Drill since I should be reaching level 18 in the next few weeks, and that’s when all of the 2nd grade kanji will be revealed.

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
I need to practice writing more. I can write kanji I use constantly like my address, but I’ve gotten out of the habit of writing to help remember the stroke orders and the details of each character.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE THIS WEAKNESS THIS MONTH:
I’ve been meaning to write a letter to my host family, so I think that will be my big project this month. This month’s kanji drill should help a little as well.

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
There’s many kinds of resources on learning Japanese out there, which makes it very convenient as every person learns in different ways. But that can also feel overwhelming because it feels like you have to use everything or try everything or reject stuff that other people found useless to them.

Remember that you can and should try what sounds like would be useful to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad if someone else doesn’t find it useful. It also doesn’t mean you absolutely have to stick with that resource if it becomes less helpful down the road. Adapting during your studies is an important skill. At some point, you’ll need to focus on other areas that you feel need more help. Sometimes, you’ll have to change up your reading if you feel it’s too easy or too difficult. Don’t be afraid to make changes to your study methods.

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PROGRESS PetiteChose #3

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 39

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL : I would like to reach 41/42

Previous Goal Achieved? :
Not exactly. I still haven’t created that Anki deck I was mentioning before haha. But I need to do that ASAP as I need to start my studies toward N2 soon. Like this week. But I started N2 grammar with my Italki teacher.
I also had more conversation with my Asao teacher, which was good practice. I need to do that more.
For listening, I need to search for some good content, but didn’t progress on that much.
THIS MONTH’S GOAL:
-Find listening material and practice on them. I don’t plan to start N2 listening yet, I would like to focus on Youtube or other things like that.
-Practice reading more with more complex content (my current games aren’t easy, but I don’t think they match N2 level either)
-Speaking practice,
RESOURCES:
Still happy with Wanikani, Italki/Asao and Sou Matome.
Games aren’t working resources, but they are still practice resources ?

FAVE:
Still very happy with my current resources. Games are really good to check how much you progress : I can see the difference between what I could understand 3 months ago and now. This is very satisfying :slight_smile: However, I now have stopped reading as it’s way faster to just listen… So, it’s good for listening but for reading… Well.

LEAST FAVE:
Noting I don’t like in my current resources.

TRY NEW RESOURCE:
The Kanzen Master for N2 grammar, yeah, still need to buy that one
I want to try Youtube or podcasts for listening
Still need to create that Anki deck, especially since I passed N3 and will need to work toward N2.
Maybe start a book ?

CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS:
Speaking is definitely my biggest weakness.
Also, my current listening and reading abilities aren’t good for N2.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE:
For speaking, I try do some free talk with one of my teacher, but honestly this is not enough to reach my goals. However, I don’t really have better solution. That would be perfect if I could find a Japanese buddy to talk with :confused:
For listening, I plan to start watching videos, or whatever on simple subjects so I can get used to natural Japanese speaking flow.
For reading, I need to find harder content than my current games (they are more a good N3 level). And I bought Kanzen Master for reading, just need to wait for delivery :slight_smile:

TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE:
Nothing new for this month. Let’s just get going

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#PROGRESS POST #:2

#WANIKANI
CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 11

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL… 12 heading toward 13–11 is taking forEVER

#GOALS
LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT: Well, at the end of December I had hoped to be heading toward 12, so I’m a little slow. But I’m working on verb forms over in Duolingo, and the vocabulary is overlapping nicely with WK, so it’s all good. And Keeping going with WK at least twice a day was my goal last time around, and I’ve done that more often than not, so hey.

THIS MONTH’S GOAL: Finish level 11, figure out how to use a Japanese dictionary, maybe? Oh, and figure out how to type Japanese characters in English language posting… :grin:

#JAPANESE ABILITY
CURRENT JAPANESE WEAKNESS: well, let’s start with not being able to type the characters in regular keyboard mode. I can’t even explain the errors I’m making in WK, at this rate.

HOW I WILL IMPROVE ABOVE: Dictionary use, and keyboard use–let’s figure out those out before the end of February. That seems realistic?

#HELPING OTHERS
TIP/ADVICE FOR LEARNING JAPANESE: Heck, if I can durtle through it, so can you. :grin: Though others’ approaches to being serious about it, reading and grammar and listening to native speakers, are all good advice.

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PROGRESS POST: 2

CURRENT WANIKANI LEVEL: 10

IN ONE MONTH I HOPE TO BE LEVEL… 13

LAST MONTH’S GOAL REPORT: Fullfilled

THIS MONTH’S GOAL: Keeping up with reviews during exam season

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Current WK level 4 (at start of Feb)

In one month I hope to be level 7

Current resources:
Japanese From Zero (book 3, ch 4); Japanese for busy people (book 2, ch9); basic kanji book 1; wanikani

Current weakness / opportunity to improve
Listening and speaking

  • I’ve started listening to learnJapanesePod, and trying to repeat the dialogues
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