My reviews usually end in 60-80%

If you get something wrong because you couldn’t recall any of the right answer at all, it means you need to go back to the basics with that item. Do some drilling with it immediately after the WK review session, on paper or something. Try to repeat the mnemonic (or whatever method you’re using to recall it) a few times within the hour or so after the session ends. Look at example sentences. I know that if you made a lot of mistakes there’s going to be a temptation to skimp on this, but anything you don’t drill down on is just going to stay in the same place, pretty much.

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Hi! I am rather new to WK but I come from years of Japanese study and had almoat finished RTK a few years ago. I find Wk outstanding but WK doesn’t work for everybody in the same way. I think you should spend more time on the mnemonics, picturing vivid images in your mind. It’s a completely shift of paradigm from how we studied all our life, mostly plain repetition, but is closer to how our mind really works. It takes time adjusting to it and Wk doesn’t really guide you through it too well (it could be improved). Try using YOUR mnemonics as some suggested.

Also i don’t believe that outside study harms WK as long as it uses the same method or doesn’t interfere with thw mnemonics. I really find helpful the WK speed app although I recommend not using it too close to reviews. Ganbatte ne! :smiley:

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60-80% isn’t all that bad as long as you aren’t learning new lessons too quickly. Set yourself a limit on how many apprentice words you have at any time (100 for example). If you have more than that, then no more new lessons. Once you get below that number, then you can learn new things. A key point for success using WaniKani is to not learn too fast. Study ten words and you’ll probably remember 8. Study 50 words and you might not remember any.

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It might be that you have a lot of leeches. When I got to level 20, I started getting worse accuracy and I installed the leech training script - it really helped me out! Other than paying more attention to the items you get wrong, don’t get too discouraged. Easier said than done (I’m quite a perfectionist myself), but the main goal should be that you’re learning :slight_smile:

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yeah I think

(Yeah, I promise I read more instead of watching subbed anime, I never really liked watching anything to be honest-)

I learned about those before I start learning kanji, actually. (rendaku and small tsu)

I mean, I already know a lot about the grammar, since I studied it before, but

maybe I should just check

just to be sure-

Also maybe the problem isn’t your method but rather your focus ? If you can’t concentrate during lessons or reviews, if you’re tired or hungry, not sitting well, there’s too much noise etc… then it’s going to slow you down, so it’s definitely something to look out for.

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Maybe it’s the way I’m sitting, on the couch with my laptop, and I constantly feel the need to stretch,

Sit up like you would in a classroom or library if you were studying, also making sure you’re fully dressed for ‘class’. There’s been research between posture and attire affecting the mentality of students/learning.

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The goal isn’t to get every meaning and reading right on the first try. If that were the case, you wouldn’t need an SRS. You can always take lessons more slowly or try to come up with personalized mnemonics for things that trip you up consistently, but honestly, the entire SRS system is built around the fact that you’re supposed to get some things wrong.

I’d say the most important thing is doing your reviews on time as much as possible since the SRS is scheduled to show you review items when you’re statistically just about to forget them. If you get a bunch of items in your review box in the morning but you don’t do them until later that afternoon or night, your recall will definitely be affected.

Some people say that language learning is a race to see who can make the most mistakes the fastest. It’s pretty much true.

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After reading the thread, I’ll just be straight with you and give my diagnosis. Just actually spend time on the lessons. Going through 30 items in one lessons session isn’t a good idea unless you spend a good amount of time on it. Actually take time to read the entire mnemonic multiple times if you need to, correlate the meaning mnemonic to the visual pieces of the kanji by actually looking at the thing, and before you finish the set of 5 lessons look at the kanji and see if you can remember their readings and meaning before you do the review.

Also, read the example sentences. Just seeing it in an actual sentences and audibly reading it really helps me nail down the meaning. For example, for the vocab with abnormal readings, I used to just not read the example sentences and consistently failed to recall things like あいだ for 間. But then I started reading the example sentences out loud and now I remember very miscellaneous things like たば for 束 without ever having to revisit the vocab after I do the lesson.
Just take your time. It’s tempting the rush through it all, but it’s really important to dedicate your full time and focus to the first exposure of new material.

TL,DR: pay attention

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(Oh then the time thing makes sense, since, like

school affects this a lot, probably, since the reviews pile up to hundreds

(oh man, I feel awkward reading it out loud nononononono!

I’m just used to rushing through ljpv I should stop

I think a good approach is to read manga and watch Japanese TV or anime in Japanese dialogue with the subtitles on (in Japanese, naturally). Hearing people speak the actual words in CONTEXT is vital. Otherwise, you`re only learning to read and not speak. Having more memories associated with each word will only strengthen your Japanese. Again, context is very important.

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Hm, well then

I shall try that

I also try reading japanese game manuals with furigana, I’m guessing that helps

and I try to decipher what my pop’n art book is saying

but yeah, I need to hear more people speaking the language

I’m guessing that listening to japanese music while reading the lyrics (in japanese, not the english translation) helps as well, because I tend to do that-

I still have to disagree. The focus should be on what you get wrong if you want to get it right at some point - preferably sooner rather than later so you can level up and get the next batch. Anything that helps that process such as general reading, watching films/anime is fine but nothing is going to be as good as targeted study in areas of weakness which will ultimately speed up the process by improved knowledge.

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