I think language learning is effectively a multidimensional function, where the input of this function is your knowledge of the language (vocab, grammar, nuance, etc) output of this function is your ability to use the language in a variety of contexts.
In addition to learning hiragana and katakana, I really feel that learning grammar would be beneficial to help you understand basic sentences in the wild (which can be a very good source of motivation when you realize you’re actually reading Japanese). Otherwise you’ll just be identifying things in the world around you without being able to really express or understand anything.
puts another coin in the complaining about the level 10 thing jar
I really disagree with this, as covering basic grammar is going to be more beneficial to you at these stages than learning up to 200 or so kanji (or however many you learn by level 10). If you want to start your grammar studies now, absolutely go ahead. The only case where I recommend waiting until level 10 is if kanji is crucial for you to understand quickly, which I think would apply to hardly anyone since how many people are going to need to be able to read 200 or so kanji within 3 months, but also not need to actually understand any Japanese sentences. I’ve used this analogy before, but it’s like building a house by starting with decorating the rooms before you’ve built the walls.
Thank you everyone for all your input!! Such fascinating insights into everyone’s learning habits. I think I’ll stick with WaniKani until level 5, and then start folding in a couple of other resources that have been mentioned here one at a time. I might even get my first textbook/workbook!
