So I did Wani Kani, japanesepod101, flashcards, etc…
But it all started to become a little bit boring, of course, my goal is to become fluent, not to quit.
Any other recommendations to keep busing, and immersing in the language?
1 Like
Well, you probably already know about it, but here’s a great podcast:
2 Likes
Perhaps the stepping stone is, any native material you enjoy using. There will be some resistance at first, but try to continue at length.
Perhaps Netflix with Language Reactor is a good start. (Use VPN if required.)
5 Likes
Now is a great time to star reading native content like manga. It’ll be tough but you can learn a lot from it
7 Likes
It’s easier to keep up the motivation if it’s something close to your heart. <3
So, maybe focus on your favorite things, hobbies, rather than a doing immersion on a specific platform. If you’re into gardening, you can find native content on Japanese gardening forums, on social media, on YouTube, or by reading books and magazines on the subject. Google and try to find new ways to engage the stuff you love, but in Japanese. 
4 Likes
What is a good non-payable reading website with furigana?
You can try mine : The Tile World Chronicles . For now there are 3 JRPG inspired short stories illustrated with pixel art at about the N4 level (more to come in the next few months).
1 Like
•Well I’m in the same boat so what I’m doing is getting better at reading by finding short stories that are on a beginners level, this is a good website satorireader.com
•Also, I’m starting to play video games in Japanese to force myself to learn new dialogue and grammar points, I’m starting small with Sumire with has very basic Japanese but if you are looking for a game that has all the bells and whistles like pause and furigana, with hiragana and easy Japanese then I recommend looking at this, Top 50 Steam Games for Learning Japanese (TIER LIST) - YouTube . it’s a good list
•Changed my phone to Japanese so now I get to use it a bit more or learn new kanji and since it’s in Japanese I now get those Google new Articles and I try to read them even tho I’m browsing around to get better.
•If you play Apex I know of a PowerPoint where they give a lot of the basic words used in the game a lot so you can practice that. Apex Legends Translations Sheets - English and Japanese - Google Sheets
if you need some more things to get motivated I have a couple more things to try out, like an app that can grab text from games or manga and translate it easily.
3 Likes
try to change something when becomes boring
for me after lvl 10, reading nhk easy news was a huge achievement for me, around lvl 20s I started listening to nihongoconteppei
and then around 30s I started gramamr with bunpro, I has been a year now learning grammar, but some 6 months ago I also started watching anime with japanese subtitles, my reading speed increased and also a way to remember those early level WK kanji.
my next goal is to be able to read news in yomiuri website, they have a very complex vocab, it will be my next challenge.
so try something like this, maybe you get something you like too.
3 Likes
As a general tip, I think you should focus on finding interesting content. That way it will feel less like studying and more like natural media consumption. If you’re reading news stories on NHK, don’t force yourself through articles about things you don’t care about. I assume most language learners have some sort of idea about why they’re learning the language (maybe they want to read certain books or watch certain shows), and you can seek out experiences that emulate this along the way.
4 Likes
I often wonder if the reason that learning fatigue and losing interest occur so frequently have to do with lack of results. If people could get over the beginner hump more quickly, would that improve motivation? There’s no shortcut to fluency, but I’m starting to think there are shortcuts to get over the initial hump.
2 Likes
I think this is definitely the case for a lot of people. Everyone is fired up in the beginning, but at some point they realize just how much there is to know (that they don’t), and it is very daunting. You just need to push through with good study habits until you break into the lower end of native material and can start to truly expand your media consumption.
2 Likes
I’d highly recommend Crystal Hunters. It’s a manga that teaches Japanese and each volume has a free guide so make sure to read the guide first. The guides have a vocabulary list and grammar that is used. Also volume 1 is free as well. Learned quite a bit of grammar including nuances which has been super helpful as Japanese language learning resources typically don’t teach nuances.
They have a total of 6 volumes so if you are looking for fun that’s the way to go! If you have Steam then I recommend wishlisting Nihongo Quest N5 and Shujinkou as this are both Japanese language learning video games in development.
2 Likes
If there was a shortcut to comprehension that allowed new learners to more rapidly consume curated content, do you think that would have a long-term impact on sustainability? Assuming they have kana knowledge, if you could show a Day 1 learner a simple 2 paragraph passage (that contained many kanji) and tell them that with a week of specific study, they would be able to read it without assistance or lookups, would that keep them engaged longer?
I feel like a lot of learning is just people checking other people’s advice and flailing their way through it, struggling to grasp at any comprehension with native material, going through rote drills or looking for the perfect SRS that eases the amount of time and effort they spend daily because SRS promises memory magic.
I mean like japanesepod101 was a pretty good website i used where you could find a complete picture, it had a good stucuture.
What iam looking for right now, i dont know. More exposure towards day to day conversation, so iam prepared for my travel to japan next year to have conversation.
Probably more listening, vocab and shadow talk.
I would advise against subscribing to other services or buying any other books unless you feel like you absolutely want to have them and $$ is burning a hole in your pocket. There are a lot of beginner manga reading threads that everyone is welcome to participate in, and there’s always the option of loading up old school native Japanese video games. Preferably with audio. If you’re an RPG fan, Lunar 1 and 2 for the Mega CD have voiceovers and fairly simple dialogue. Can buy the Japanese version of the Mega Drive Mini 2 that just released last month. I haven’t put it down since I got it.
1 Like
All I really have to go on is my own experience. I personally never bothered with “curated content” outside of textbooks. I also skipped manga and started reading actual books instead since I thought it would be more effective. This was only viable for me because I had completed most of WK and a bunch of higher level textbooks prior. I was also kind of “stuck” on my journey apart from slowly progressing through WK for about 2 years before I pushed through this summer (motivated by the December JLPT). Perhaps there was a timeline where I could have had a more smooth reading curve going through graded readers, but I just never had any interest in it. To restate my earlier point I think the most important thing is finding the learning activities you enjoy, and making it a habit to engage in them. I think the problem with keeping new learners engaged is caused by exposing them to content that is great for learning but is otherwise un-interesting as media.
4 Likes
I would say, try to read without Furigana as well. Native materials are like that. BUT please subvocalize, and look up if you must. If you feel that the Kanji needs looking up, do so too. Omitting subvocalizing shouldn’t be out of inability, but of convenience.
Anyway, reading out of interest is good.
You will need to read at least some materials intensively, to improve (to be able to read extensively later on).
2 Likes
You’ll be hard pressed to find a legit one for free. There’s a lot of magazine websites out there, but you have to pay, no way around it. Unless you do your best One Piece impression of course 
Pixiv/twitter/insta comics, free manga on ebook sites, can have furigana if you search enough.
2 Likes