Returning after a long break

みんなさんこんばんわ!I have recently returned to Japanese language learning after a lengthy break. I have totally forgotten most of my kanji, and I am about 500 reviews backlogged. Anyone got any tips on how to get back into WaniKani? ありがとごさいます。

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I recommend going through @jprspereira 's guide, it’s a highly valuable resource for any WaniKani user. It specifically has a chapter on this: “11. I came back to WK and now I have an insane amount of reviews: what should I do?”

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There are basically 2 options: 1) reset to a previous level of your choosing 2) gradually get through the pile of reviews and prepare for failing many of them initially, but eventually getting them right as you get new chances to review them.

You can also assist this process by using the Self-Study Script for example.

Only you can decide which option to go for.

as you’re only at level 3, i think you might be well served just resetting to zero. you’ll be through those levels in a couple of weeks, and it’ll be a great refresher.

for higher levels/large review piles, i recommend using a script which re-orders reviews according to srs level. i’ve been having great success working through a 1500 item pile with that ^^

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Hi, may I ask which script are you using?

i’ve been using Sonarius’ Reorder Buttons for this ^^

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Hi, I’m also returning after a few years break. This is what I’m planning to do to return, if anyone has any ideas/feedback please let me know. I was hoping we could have a best case practice for others returning.

  1. Start working through reviews when I can, stop when I feel overwhelmed.
  2. Look at one level a day (in order, starting at level 1) and reset any individual kanji/vocab* I don’t immediately recognise. (It would be helpful if the answer weren’t written under the kanji!)
  3. If the meaning is recognisable but the reading is not I will consider resetting the appropriate vocab instead (if I know the vocab then the kanji will stay burned).
  4. If more than 70% of an entire level (and the above levels) are unrecognisable then I will consider resetting to that level.
  5. When reviews are back on track and down to 200/day or less I will start doing lessons again.
  6. Alternating with point 2, I’m going to spend a day reviewing each chapter of Genki I which should be reasonably easy for me. I might skip over the first few chapters until I see something I have forgotten. Genki II may need some more work, maybe a week per chapter.
  7. I will continue meeting with my conversation club and Japanese friend (once a week).

*I’m ignoring radicals unless I find problems with them in reviewing kanji/vocab.

I’m guessing it’ll take me 6 months to do all this (if I make it this far). When I complete it all I’ll resume lessons again. I know I’ve got big gaps in my memory with vocab from even level 1 that will be reset but I can’t bring myself to completely reset and go over certain basics again. I’m hoping the scripts I have are still useful and working. -->I’m unsure how this will work out to be honest. In the past I was successful with Wanikani because I used a third party app in between clients at work, but I stopped using it when I saw how much time I was wasting (it’s just so much quicker to use my Mac, but I have limited opportunity to do so throughout the day, and when I do I’m too tired or being badgered by someone). I’m sure there’s more I could be doing but I think this needs to my minimum.

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