I have been using Wani Kani for the last year or so, maybe a bit more, and i’ve just started implementing Kani Wani as well, I also use iKnow and Anki for vocabulary, but i’ve been struggling to really get better with grammar, despite having read human japanese (2x) and human japanese intermediate. So i want to try implementing bunpro into my studies, but i’m not sure the best way to do that. any suggestions? strategies? tips or tricks?
any help would be much appreciated.
I’ve also used Human Japanese (currently going through the second one again) so I can get an idea of what grammar level you’ll be at.
I would recommend starting off slowly on Bunpro. You may feel the desire to blast through a ton of material, but 1 Bunpro review isn’t just like 1 WaniKani or 1 KaniWani review. (In my experience) Bunpro takes a lot more thought when answering, so it can be quite slow (especially for the stuff you’re struggling on), so having a large pile of reviews can really effect your motivation.
Also taking notes of some kind really helps. Putting your knowledge and understanding of the grammar onto a piece of paper can really help. Especially with examples.
I was thinking about maybe writing down the grammar and all the example sentences into a notebook, maybe practice saying them outloud, i imagine it would be very slow going. But my struggles with grammar are really holding back my studies. My vocabulary level is intermediate, but my grammar level is well below that. Which makes it hard to do full on lessons at my level. Especially when it comes to writing my own sentences off the cuff.
Well first, bunpro is divided by JLPT levels. If you have an idea where you might be in terms of the JLPT, I would start there. However, if you are not sure, I would suggest just looking through some of the grammar points to see what you dont know.
A good point (or bad point depending on how you look at it) is you can start from wherever you want in Bunpro. Its not so much a leveling up as with WK, so I would be careful about biting more off than you can chew considering its at your own pace.
Similar to @UntitledName, as I go through my grammar lessons, I take notes. I also try to make my own sentences, but I have a native Japanese speaker check them before I put them as examples for Bunpro reviews.
Also it depends on your time commitment. So far Ive been doing a chunk of lessons at once and then working on them through the week… but that hasnt boded well for me so dont do that haha
I can relate. I’ve found that I only really have a superficial understanding of a lot of grammar until I write it down in sentences. Making sure you are taking in a lot of Japanese material is also really important for remembering the stuff as well as learning how it can be used.
Coming up with Japanese off the top of your head is largely a separate skill to just knowing the grammar. A lot of people (in fact, I think there may even be a thread dedicated to it) like to write a journal in Japanese to get the practice. You realize very quickly when doing something like this, that the grammar you have isn’t even close to what you need to express yourself, although it will really help with remembering different grammar points (as well as vocab and kanji).
I feel like I’m on the same boat. I started BP a couple weeks ago and am still kind of figuring out how to use it. It takes a lot more time per grammar point than it would take to learn one vocab from WK. I’ve been testing out using Genki (borrowed from the library cause I’m cheap) as a teaching source and picking out the grammar from BP.
Even though I really shouldn’t feel this way, the uber slow the progression really frustrates me. It makes keeping up the motivation hard for me. The grammar also doesn’t really stick that well either.
That’s kind of my issue too. I have studied TONS of grammer, hundreds of lessons on jpod101, both human japanese books/apps, a few text books, even a “complete grammar” book. But it doesn’t appear to stick, i’m hoping that the SRS function of bunpro will be the missing key, on top of writing down the example sentences. But i’m not sure, that’s where i am.
Reading is what’s going to make it stick best. Seeing things frequently and in context.
(Though I’m not saying that Bunpro or other resources will hurt…)
I’m trying to read the book “mioka” (the book the drama was based on), and the attack on Titans manga. But last time I tried to read those my vocabulary held me back, and I was worried my grammar would hurt me so I wouldn’t understand it. It has been a while since I tried, maybe it’s time to try again.
Have you done exercises and other kind of practice while using these resources? You have to use what you learn and recall for stuff to stick. If you don’t have a chance to use it in real conversation, use practice materials. Just reading a grammar book will not make it stick for sure. (BTW, Human Japanese multiple choice “quizzes” are useless because they let you guess answers.)
If the textbooks you’ve used have workbooks, do the exercises. You can try making new sentences from their examples using the vocabulary you know. Definitely try writing short compositions using vocab/grammar you’ve just learned. If you can find someone to speak to, it will help a lot.
Production is key, especially for grammar. You say you have good vocabulary, that will really help. Just use whatever you learn.
I have started genki and situational functional japanese workbooks, haven’t worked through either of them though. I think a mix of writing the example sentences and making my own sentences might be best, maybe leaning heavier on making my own sentences.
I’m kinda in the same boat. Started WK almost a year ago and just got into Kaniwani and Bunpro. I mostly use BP for it’s SRS function, but also as a supplement to Genki, and all other grammar for that matter. What I did was look through all the grammar points that I went over in Genki and then found them in BP and added to my reviews. So I’m kinda keeping a running tab of all the grammar that I know (that they have in BP, anyway) So when I go over a grammar point in class, I throw it in there so that it doesn’t just get forgotten.
Also, it’s kinda nice to have a record of the stuff that I know so I can look back at it. Whenever I’m feeling kinda de-motivated, I just take a look at all the stuff I’ve learned and my progress. It’s nice just to see.
I think this is one of the best ways to use the site.
Take something from a text book that you have “been taught” and then use bunpro to further your understanding of the grammar points, and then drill them periodically so you don’t forget.
As some of the links/explanations on BP aren’t always particularly clear (likewise sometimes textbooks are a bit brief) so having multiple sources really helps make sure you know what you need to.
Also, get ready to hate “looks like/seems like”. I’m working through N3/2 stuff and these still throw me due to how they’re worded! Whoops
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