Howdy again, y’all~
SO, I’ll be graduating Level 3 tomorrow. I joined about three months ago, so the average rate I’ve been able to digest these courses is one level per month (including all vocab). I feel like my pacing may be a little slow. I know some of you guys are averaging a level a week, so I don’t feel so great about that, but, honestly, I’m doing what time allows, which is about 5 new lessons a day. I -do- feel good about coming in and making time to check my reviews about three times a day. It’s not as daunting as I would have thought, but then again I’m not doing as much as you are collectively.
Just wanted some feedback from you guys before continuing (and if this needs to be moved to a better sub-forum, let me know). What did you guys do moving forward from your initial investment?
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What membership type do you have and why? Monthly, yearly, or lifetime?
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What did you do during your various phases? By this I mean how the WK Guide suggests supplementing various other supplements during levels 1-10, 11-20, etc. For example, personally, I want to move towards a basic textbook understanding of grammar. So at this time I’m interested in picking up the first series of Genki tests to supplement my learning of the overall language. Grammar was one of the things recommended for this level anyways, but maybe you guys got penpals (via iTalki), watch Japanese YouTubers, or even the meta WK bookclub. I’m interested in your journeys.
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What do you use to keep your pronunciation in check? I find myself consistently correcting my pronunciation. I’ll say it out loud before hitting the submit button on my vocab, and then I’ll correct this after I hear it from the site, saying it out loud again. Having emphASSis / syllABle issues.
Here’s what I’ve been looking at. Maybe you guys could weigh in on whether I should/shouldn’t pursue specific items.
A) Grammar - The aforementioned Genki I books, I’d like both the textbook and workbook with frills. I think they’re on the 2nd edition now. I’ve been looking around and it seems they’re pretty pricey even used! I’m able to find a basic, fundamental, yet highly recommended Practice Makes Perfect workbook for my Spanish studies in new condition around $10.
B) Bi-Dual-Multi-Directional Translation? - I have no idea what the proper term is for being able to translate by looking at either language. I started KaniWani, over the past couple of days though, because I like the idea of being able to recognize English words and transform them into their Japanese counterpart, rather than strictly doing the reverse and hardwiring my brain to only translate into English. I like KW so far, because it’s easy to adopt after being on WK.
C) Listening/Absorbtion - I’d like to either pick up and reading or listening to some more beginner accessible materials, perhaps through movies/books where interests lie via YesAsia/amazon.jp. You may know other, better sources.
As it is now, I don’t feel like I’m going to be able to bite off more than I am now in terms of kanji lessons. So, with the statistics these first few months show I’ll be finished with the WK program in 5 years! It seems so far away that it almost makes me sad. However, I have had a good time with this program. I do like the interface. It’s nice and clean, and I like the Ultimate Toolbar add-on I’ve been using, so I’m going to move forward with it. Just not 100% sure how yet.