What is your "Japanese Learning" routine?

Hi all!

I’m wondering what’s your “Japanese Learning” routine. For example, in my case, I try to do this:

  1. Wanikani as much as my schedule permits. For example. when I get up I concentrate most of my reviews there, and during the day, if I don’t have a meeting or so… try to check hourly…
  2. Duolingo: I try to at least do my “daily objective”, and if I can a little bit more. Every day
  3. Lingodear: I try to do a lesson (topic) a day. I’m almost done with it and waiting for the expansion on the 1st of November. I tend to do it on the bus or so…
  4. I bought Yotsubato! Vol1 and I try to read it if I have any spare time (and I have completed steps 1 to 3). I check with the old book club here that read it a year ago
  5. I check a couple of videos of the Beginner Series of Japanese Ammo in YouTube (usually not on the weekend…)
  6. If I’m not dead and destroyed, I try to check 1 point of Tae’s Kim grammar book before going to sleep… although this usually doesn’t happen.
  7. I have joined the super begginer book club here that will start on November first…

Now that I’m writing it, it seems way to much, and I feel why my wife is complaining :stuck_out_tongue: but I can see how each of these points help the others…

What about you?

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I don’t really have a specific routine but here’s basically everything I’m working on.

WaniKani
FloFlo - Vocab/preparation for reading a novel
日本語の森 youtube channel - N3 grammar playlist
Anime - No English subs for listening practice
Visual Novels - Both Reading and listening practice if it happens to also be voiced
Games - pretty much the same as above except there’s usually breaks between all the text to enjoy the gameplay.
Manga - Reading practice

These aren’t really in any particular order, just whatever I feel like doing that day. Every day I do WaniKani lessons and try to completely clear out my reviews at least once, I think that’s the only real consistent bit of my Japanese studies.

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Things I do in a day:

  1. WaniKani (I am going at full speed, so all reviews and lessons)
  2. Bunpro (Finish my reviews then 2 grammar points a day)
  3. 3-4 Anki Decks (Just vocabulary decks of words I encounter while reading)
  4. 2 pages of a Light Novel and adding the new words I find to Anki (This is mainly for reading practice and learning more vocabulary, read Manga too sometimes)

I watch a lot of anime too but I wouldn’t consider that as learning (I do learn some words from time to time)

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Currently I’m just doing wanikani. I try to clear my reviews at least once a day and do 10-20 new lessons depending on how big my apprentice pile ist.
Definitely not the fastest method but staying in the game is what counts currently. ant to pick up Bunpro again or work through Genki when I have more time and focus.
Apart from that, I watch some anime or Japanese Shows, also some Japanese content on youtube, which teaches me a little and makes me more familiar with sentences. (I can sometimes look away from the subtitles when watching Terrace House and not miss anything, then again they don’t say a lot of deep stuff xD)

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I have a very flexible working schedule, since I’m a freelance writer, which gives me a good amount of free time.

On my phone, I have a bunch of apps to do daily lessons, but the ones I use most are Duolingo (to keep my current streak going, which coincides with the days I’ve been learning Japanese - 91); Mondly; LingoDeer and Memrise.

I do WK at least twice a day, morning and night, but usually more, followed by a session on KameSame, and 2 decks from Kitsun.io (10k and N5 Vocab).

  • I practice my kanji writing on a notepad with a brush pen (I usually go to previously unlocked WK levels), which is another way to keep my memory fresh.
  • I read a chapter or two from the book “Learn to Read in Japanese - Vol. 1” - Each chapter has a selection of 10 kanji, and the phrases only use the ones from that chapter or kanji that were introduced in previous chapters.
  • I study a little from Japanese From Zero (currently on book 2) - Or watch a couple of videos from the series on Youtube
  • If I have time, I also study a little from the book “Japanese the Manga way”.

Also, I watch a couple of animes and a drama series on Crunchyroll (Dragon Ball Super, 07 Ghost and Time Taxi). I plan to add more Japanese series to my daily routine in the near future. Slowly exchanging from American series I finish watching and keep the number more balanced.

I may not do all this in one day, though, but I try to keep up as much as I can. Each day I may spend as much as 5 hours, maybe more, immersing myself with Japanese.

I am a little afraid to eventually burn out, but I keep my goal very clear in my head to keep myself motivated. My absolute goal is to be able to read manga without the need to constantly look at a dictionary. I already bought my first manga, which should be arriving any day now: you guessed it: Yotsubato!

I have other resources on a waiting list, just ready to start as I finish others :stuck_out_tongue:
My key to not get bored or burn out so far is to keep it fun, with varied tasks, and to take it slow on the weekends.

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I watch a lot of Japanese youtube these days. The Vtuber scene has really hit it off, so there’s plenty of those to watch if you’re into that. Some of them talk funny more than others, so if you want good practice I’d recommend not trying to imitate some of the crazier ones like Kaguya Luna who slurs her speech and talks in funny voices 90% of the time.
I use Satori Reader sometimes, which is great for reading practice, especially if you’re just starting. They have a lot of resources like audio narration, notes on the grammar if you need it, quick translations of difficult words and adjustable furigana. I also have a novel I got in Japan and some imported manga.
I’m also doing “lessons” on Italki right now, which might be kinda scary depending on where you’re at with your Japanese. (I say “lessons” because we’re basically just having conversations where my tutor is extremely patient with my awkward and slow responses) It’s been helping me a lot with getting more conversational with my speaking. I can understand almost everything that is said, but I still struggle with answering on the spot without making a dozen grammar mistakes or defaulting to my English stress and/or accent halfway through a sentence.
I’m also doing wanikani of course, though very slow at this point. I burned out really bad once before, and ever since I’ve just been going at a pace that’s more comfortable for me.
I don’t do grammar as much unless I need to look something up, though sometimes I browse through entries in A Dictionary of Japanese Grammar or Imabi for fun. (Yes, I’m a nerd). I used to study basic grammar almost every day for years before I started branching out into other aspects of the language, so I have a decent foundation at least for comprehension. I probably should start on more advanced grammar soon though. Overall, I think having some sort of interaction with the language every day is very important.

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  • Vocab & Kanji: mainly WaniKani. I try to use it as regularly as possible.
  • Writing: KaniWani with handwriting recognition (or however you wanna call it :sweat_smile:). I limit new lessons to items that I’ve gurued on WK not to mess too much with WK SRS.
  • Speaking & Grammar: once a week I visit a Japanese class where we speak and learn new grammar.
  • Reading: books, books, boobs :slightly_smiling_face:
  • Listening: I watch a lot of Netflix content. Japanese audio + Japanese subtitles works for me.
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One of these things is not like the others

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  1. Wanikani twice per day. All reviews get finished, but I hold off on new material sometimes if my work schedule is busy.
  2. Kaniwani when I feel like it. Fun and no pressure reviews of things I already know from WK!
  3. Bunpro twice per week now. I will increase, and maybe even reset, when my work schedule lightens up.
  4. Listen to NHK hourly newscasts most days. I have been having time at work where I can listen while I work. I am excited by how much I am learning. I get something from these shows virtually everyday. Today I learned 大統領, because I hear about トランプ 大統領 every day.
  5. Practice writing kanji some days.
  6. Work on creative projects (like my yojijukujo book, or my current grocery book.

To do soon, as my work lightens up during the winter:

  1. Listen and read and decipher Newsweb easy broadcasts.
  2. More kanji writing practice.
  3. More grammer
  4. Find some easy books to read.
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boobs? lol

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:see_no_evil::see_no_evil::see_no_evil:

Well… In the sense of the WK radical! 云! :sweat_smile:

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There has been discussion here about handwriting recognition with kaniwani. Do you think it is worth it? I have been going back and forth about getting a little graphics pad for my computer for that reason.

Absolutely! Learning to write at least basic kanji is important to me. Plus, it really helps to distinguish between similar kanji and strengthens your ability to produce.

I use it on my cell phone, writing with my thumb. Not ideal but it does the job.

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I suspect that I could get away with using my mouse in a half-assed way until I get a tablet input.
I see all these tablet thingies on Amazon, and it is hard to distinguish the junk.

I also do the KaniWani / KameSame + cell handwriting input, limited to vocabulary I burnt in WK. It is doing wonders on my long term retention , as I started WK long ago but stopped several times for long periods.

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I’ll consider this on my routine. How often do you recommend it? Thanks!

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Since I learn Japanese whole day, I do something like this:
-All Wanikani if available
-All KameSame if available
-All Kitsun if available
-Watch some Misa videos, read DOJG and write notes to my grammar doc
-Watch anime with jap subs and add all new words to my kitsun deck
-Read vn and try to translate it to my home language, add new words to my separate kitsun deck as well
-When I want a rest, I play Kancolle to have some more hearing practice and try to translate voicelines by myself
-Never forgot to do some exercises every 1-2 hour to thin out the blood in my head
-If i’m in mood, do some writing practice
Something like this, pretty effective for me

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  1. WaniKani
  2. Genki II
  3. Japanese Learning Discord / HelloTalk

Grammar, Kanji, vocab, reading, writing, speaking practice… All I can handle for me.

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I have been learning Japanese for a few months now (only daily since July of this year). I am lucky enough to work from home and the job is flexible enough I can usually get in some study time throughout the day. My current routine includes:

Daily

  • WaniKani: all reviews first thing in the morning, throughout the day, then the last one at about 11pm.
  • Youtube: I will usually watch a Japanese Ammo or Kemushichan video for either grammar or listening practice.
  • Anime/JDrama: Extremely passive listening practice with english subtitles. Mostly trying to pick out vocab or grammar I know.
  • Bunpro: I am getting more consistent with this, though I do skip a day here or there.

Weekly

  • Genki I: I try to get in a chapter a week, but sometimes take a bit longer than that. I do like the repetition I get working through this and Bunpro.
  • Rosetta Stone: Is it great? Heck no! Do you get immersive listening practice? Kinda. I bought a year subscription on the recommendation of my SO’s polyglot mother but I think the Japanese version is really lacking compared to using it for romantic languages. Still, I have learned quite a bit of vocab so it’s not a total loss.
  • Reading: I will try to read 2-3 times a week, my grammar and vocab knowledge is still being built so it’s more about recognizing and recalling what I know rather than comprehension. I like TangoRisto, and I have a few White Rabbit graded readers which are OK.

To-Do

  • Once I get through Genki I and the N5 grammar on Bunpro I’ll take an N5 practice test to make sure I am at that evel before moving onto Genki II. Hopefully before the new year!
    -Once I’m through Genki II and Bunpro N4, I will really start to consider speaking practice. I almost never practice this and I know the muscle memory would help with recall.
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My study method is something like:

*Go to Japanese evening classes a couple times a week;
*Do WK reviews every day (I paused on lessons, since I was slacking too much last week);
*Carry my Minna no nihongo textbook everywhere, hardly ever opening it outside of class (though I do try to go to the library or a café or someplace for a couple hours at least once a week);
*Spend a lot of time on the forums, sometimes even in the Japanese Only section;
*Constantly translate everything I think into Japanese;
*Listen to Radwimps and ONE OK ROCK everyday;
*Set Netflix to Japanese and try to make sense of the synopses and katakana titles;
*Watch an episode show I already watched without subtitles a couple times a week;
*Try to watch a show I don’t know yet without subtitles, give up and never watch it again/turn on subtitles;
*Read (a couple sentences) in the parallel readers I bought.

That is pretty much it. Also feel the pressure of trying to pass N4 in December. Doing a second J-CAT tomorrow, and a JLPT practice test on Friday morning

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