Some graphs to show you my stats with this timer.
Heisig Kanji Deck: 425 Reps in 75 minutes.
5.66667 reps per minutes or 10.588 sec per card.
And my sorry state of a Core2k6k Deck:
Friday, May 6, 2011
Procrasinated from studying for finals
Busted out some Kanji reps. Limiting each card to about 10seconds each got through some reps. I set a 15s timer found at http://www.speedbagforum.com/timer.html and failed the card when the buzzer went out. That timer is incredibly versatile and I suggest you check it out and have it running in the back ground while you do reps. It will repeat as many times as you want and has different sounds and timing settings.
Some graphs to show you my stats with this timer.
Some graphs to show you my stats with this timer.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
It hurts to ignore Anki
I am just watching my reviews pile up. It only slightly bothers me. I want to take care of them so bad but I need to study for my upcoming finals. This is more important than Anki reviews at the moment. By Wednesday (Anki restart date ) I will have 1400+ reviews (500+ Kanji 750+ Core 150+KO)
Fun,,,
Just read 45 pages ( I'm in a timebox right now ) 10 more to go for Econ
Then 73 pages for DMC hopefully before bed.
Friday - Finish reading (47 pages econ 134 Dmc)
Saturday - Example and quiz problems from both subjects
Sunday - Example and quiz problems from both subjects
Monday - Econ most of the day and 1-2 hr of dmc
Tuesday - DMC problems until exam then exam then done (possibly back to japanese on tuesday)
Wednesday- Back to Japanese
Fun,,,
Just read 45 pages ( I'm in a timebox right now ) 10 more to go for Econ
Then 73 pages for DMC hopefully before bed.
Friday - Finish reading (47 pages econ 134 Dmc)
Saturday - Example and quiz problems from both subjects
Sunday - Example and quiz problems from both subjects
Monday - Econ most of the day and 1-2 hr of dmc
Tuesday - DMC problems until exam then exam then done (possibly back to japanese on tuesday)
Wednesday- Back to Japanese
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Finals killed my Anki decks
It's bad. Real bad.
So this thing called college was finally like "Oh btw you need to pass at least 3 of your 5 classes"
Japanese...check OKAY!
Calc 5 ... Cross out
Properties of materials ... ehhh borderline F-D
Design mechanical components ... Pretty good so far. Just need to do well on final easier said then done (300 pages to read and 20+ problems to do by sunday night)
Engineering Economics - 150 pages + 10-15 problems by sunday night.
Because of all this i don't have time to invest in anki. I've been keeping up with reviews until about a week ago. I've done some maintence lowering the numbers by 50-100 on some days. but i just don't have the time.
I'm staring at 250 Kanji and 500+ Core2k6k cards to do oh an 50 KO2001 but that looks like nothing compared to the rest.
It sucks because I won't have the time to invest in the decks until at least tuesday probably wednsday.
I also have paperwork i gotta get out the way before going to japan for the summer. Seems like I'll just be way behind and make up for it in Japan. sucks cuz It puts my goals back by at least a month.
Anyways off to read 45 pages of Eng econ. Should only take me 2-3 hours. I suck at reading textbooks but the slow speed helps me absorb the info better i think.
So this thing called college was finally like "Oh btw you need to pass at least 3 of your 5 classes"
Japanese...check OKAY!
Calc 5 ... Cross out
Properties of materials ... ehhh borderline F-D
Design mechanical components ... Pretty good so far. Just need to do well on final easier said then done (300 pages to read and 20+ problems to do by sunday night)
Engineering Economics - 150 pages + 10-15 problems by sunday night.
Because of all this i don't have time to invest in anki. I've been keeping up with reviews until about a week ago. I've done some maintence lowering the numbers by 50-100 on some days. but i just don't have the time.
I'm staring at 250 Kanji and 500+ Core2k6k cards to do oh an 50 KO2001 but that looks like nothing compared to the rest.
It sucks because I won't have the time to invest in the decks until at least tuesday probably wednsday.
I also have paperwork i gotta get out the way before going to japan for the summer. Seems like I'll just be way behind and make up for it in Japan. sucks cuz It puts my goals back by at least a month.
Anyways off to read 45 pages of Eng econ. Should only take me 2-3 hours. I suck at reading textbooks but the slow speed helps me absorb the info better i think.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Opinions on JMDict sentences?
Anybody have any opinions on JMdict certified example sentences?
The other examples are usually shit. but some of the certified examples don't seem to bad.
例えば：
I wanted to find sentence and readings for the 弓 Kanji because according to Kanji Stats its not in Nukemarine's Core decks or KO2001.
弓
音読：キュウ
訓読：ゆみ
Heisig: 1231
Heisig Keyword: Bow
Using Kotoba for iPhone ( uses JMDict files ) I got these two sentences.
里さんは週間に弓道をします。
Mr Sato practices archery in the weekends.
My interpretation: Sato does Kyuudou weekly. ( not necessarily on the weekend )
この弓は張りが強いです。
This bow has a strong draw.
As I'm using these sentence mainly for readings and vocab I added them already. However, if most of these sentences are awkward I might seek out other sources. for future references.
Opinions?
The other examples are usually shit. but some of the certified examples don't seem to bad.
例えば：
I wanted to find sentence and readings for the 弓 Kanji because according to Kanji Stats its not in Nukemarine's Core decks or KO2001.
弓
音読：キュウ
訓読：ゆみ
Heisig: 1231
Heisig Keyword: Bow
Using Kotoba for iPhone ( uses JMDict files ) I got these two sentences.
里さんは週間に弓道をします。
Mr Sato practices archery in the weekends.
My interpretation: Sato does Kyuudou weekly. ( not necessarily on the weekend )
この弓は張りが強いです。
This bow has a strong draw.
As I'm using these sentence mainly for readings and vocab I added them already. However, if most of these sentences are awkward I might seek out other sources. for future references.
Opinions?
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Lack of improvement
I have had a lack of improvement recently I got through maybe 230 sentences this week. Thats like 2.5 days worth of work. but it took me 8. I'm busy blah blah blah not really an excuse. Getting through KO2001 shot up to be like 3 times as fast Kanji->kana so i will stick with it. Kore are easy and can run through 50+ in an hour taking breaks. and Kore reviews take like 5 per minute. Seriously easy work. or maybe thats just the beginning of the Kore sentences? I doubt it its just pretty easy work. I added some more sentences from my textbook and All about particles. But Japanese is taking a back burner for the next two weeks so i can prepare for :
Calc 5 final ( Probably a fail ),
DMC Final and Design Project (shooting for B status),
Japanese Oral Presentation and Oral exam Japanese Final Japanese test and quizzes etc ( going for B+ in the class, didn't do hw cuz i was doing RTK lol ),
Engineering Economics ( Gimme an A or at least a B+)
Properties of Materials ( Be happy with a C )
Lots of Non Japanese Reading in my immediate future.
Lots of studying needs to get done and Japanese will just have to wait.
I'll probably still add some but not really stressing it.
Calc 5 final ( Probably a fail ),
DMC Final and Design Project (shooting for B status),
Japanese Oral Presentation and Oral exam Japanese Final Japanese test and quizzes etc ( going for B+ in the class, didn't do hw cuz i was doing RTK lol ),
Engineering Economics ( Gimme an A or at least a B+)
Properties of Materials ( Be happy with a C )
Lots of Non Japanese Reading in my immediate future.
Lots of studying needs to get done and Japanese will just have to wait.
I'll probably still add some but not really stressing it.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Something has to change.
Kana -> Kanji = slow
Also I feel my reading isn't improving. As I try to read the sentence I often stumble at the sight of the Kanji.
I'm gonna try it out for a while and go from Kanji -> kana. That was Khatz original method and it did work out for him. was it more effective, maybe not but in the long run it was okay. I have immediate goals that rely on my Japanese abilities If I can get acquainted with more words going Kanji -> kana that is what I need for the immediate future.
In the past 20 days or so I've made it through 400 sentences. Thats cool 400 sentences! but it's like 70 from KO2001 80 from the Intermediate Japanese textbook and then 250 from Kore2k6k. It averages to 20 a day and that's just not gonna cut it for now.
I will still write the words down but it will be more passively I imagine. However my reading ability will be more active so I guess it's a trade off. I really don't write much in English so I don't imagine it changing in Japan when I'm basically on an extended vacation.
I'm gonna try it out for a week and see how it goes and report back results.
Also I feel my reading isn't improving. As I try to read the sentence I often stumble at the sight of the Kanji.
I'm gonna try it out for a while and go from Kanji -> kana. That was Khatz original method and it did work out for him. was it more effective, maybe not but in the long run it was okay. I have immediate goals that rely on my Japanese abilities If I can get acquainted with more words going Kanji -> kana that is what I need for the immediate future.
In the past 20 days or so I've made it through 400 sentences. Thats cool 400 sentences! but it's like 70 from KO2001 80 from the Intermediate Japanese textbook and then 250 from Kore2k6k. It averages to 20 a day and that's just not gonna cut it for now.
I will still write the words down but it will be more passively I imagine. However my reading ability will be more active so I guess it's a trade off. I really don't write much in English so I don't imagine it changing in Japan when I'm basically on an extended vacation.
I'm gonna try it out for a week and see how it goes and report back results.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
What would you do in 150 days?!
So End of March I've been done with RTK1 for a week. Haven't started RTK3 as I still have plenty of reviews from RTK1. I'm not entirely sure I will continue into RTK3 at least maybe not until next September when I'm in Japan and have more immediate use for them. The reason is simple I want to dedicate more time to learning vocabularity with the Kanji I already know. I plan to move through KO2001 ANDD core2k6k.
KO2001: 21 cpd x 150 days = 3150
Core6k : 30 cpd x 150 days = 4500
俺の文：Any amount.
Unsuspend Kanji from RTK3 I have encountered in my sentences.
Add Kanji I encountered outside of RTK.
Total : 7650 cards completely by the first day of school. I plan to take out 3 hours a day besides how long reviews take to do this but not sure how long that will actually take. 3 hours I won't be doing sentences constantly it would be more like 7 cards from KO 10 from Core and w/e from my sentences and the rest of the time I'll be relaxing listening to music or watching TV. The reviews alone will probably take a total of 1-2 hours throughout the day but I don't have to do them all at once. 2 sets in the morning at 15 minutes. 1 set between classes. a couple sets after classes etc.
I will not do Tae Kim guides and here's why. The Anki deck sucks or I just don't get it. It's basic sentences but some of the sentences are for female and then others are for male and then Anki deck has no distinction to make it clear. The english they use to describe it is weird and confusing and requires you to learn how to talk funny to use the deck. I just don't like it after trying it out for a few days and it was the main thing holding me back from getting further. I wanted to blow through it as it was basic and then continue with KO. but what ended up happening is me doing my Kanji reviews and then getting the fuck off my computer because I hate tae kim so bad. So no KO no Tae Kim no Core just Kanji. That isn't going to get me further. So i deleted the deck today and got through 35 core cards and 21 KO cards just like that. Felt great deleting Tae Kim off my computer. Best decision I've made imo. I've taken classes so that basic grammar isn't really needed for me. I know how to form causative passive sentences. I speak mostly casual forms. Moving on.
Secret Goal:
Blow the placement test for my school out the water so they don't know where to put me in classes. They have classes designed to teach you all the JOYO kanji with readings. If I'm past basic conversations and i know a decent amount of JOYO kanji readings then I'll probably end up in their literature class which would be cool to me.
Immediate goals :
Listen to 3000 hours of Japanese.
Get through 8000 cards in Anki
Delete 4000 cards in the end
okay maybe not we'll see
Keep moving forward.
KO2001: 21 cpd x 150 days = 3150
Core6k : 30 cpd x 150 days = 4500
俺の文：Any amount.
Unsuspend Kanji from RTK3 I have encountered in my sentences.
Add Kanji I encountered outside of RTK.
Total : 7650 cards completely by the first day of school. I plan to take out 3 hours a day besides how long reviews take to do this but not sure how long that will actually take. 3 hours I won't be doing sentences constantly it would be more like 7 cards from KO 10 from Core and w/e from my sentences and the rest of the time I'll be relaxing listening to music or watching TV. The reviews alone will probably take a total of 1-2 hours throughout the day but I don't have to do them all at once. 2 sets in the morning at 15 minutes. 1 set between classes. a couple sets after classes etc.
I will not do Tae Kim guides and here's why. The Anki deck sucks or I just don't get it. It's basic sentences but some of the sentences are for female and then others are for male and then Anki deck has no distinction to make it clear. The english they use to describe it is weird and confusing and requires you to learn how to talk funny to use the deck. I just don't like it after trying it out for a few days and it was the main thing holding me back from getting further. I wanted to blow through it as it was basic and then continue with KO. but what ended up happening is me doing my Kanji reviews and then getting the fuck off my computer because I hate tae kim so bad. So no KO no Tae Kim no Core just Kanji. That isn't going to get me further. So i deleted the deck today and got through 35 core cards and 21 KO cards just like that. Felt great deleting Tae Kim off my computer. Best decision I've made imo. I've taken classes so that basic grammar isn't really needed for me. I know how to form causative passive sentences. I speak mostly casual forms. Moving on.
Secret Goal:
Blow the placement test for my school out the water so they don't know where to put me in classes. They have classes designed to teach you all the JOYO kanji with readings. If I'm past basic conversations and i know a decent amount of JOYO kanji readings then I'll probably end up in their literature class which would be cool to me.
Immediate goals :
Listen to 3000 hours of Japanese.
Get through 8000 cards in Anki
Delete 4000 cards in the end
okay maybe not we'll see
Keep moving forward.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Learning readings like it's my job.
So I started sentences I'm working through KO2001. So far I'm only about 15 sentences deep. Depressing eh? Well I'm not just doing KO2001 my free time I have started transcribing Song lyrics with the help of http://www.utamap.com/indexkasi.html and my Kotoba dictionary for iPhone. I write down the Kanji and the readings in a notebook but i don't write down the English translation so far. Mostly looking at the kanji and reading I can remember the meaning but don't pay much attention to the English translation so far. I'm also trying to blow through Tae Kim's guide with Anki. Some of the words are weird and are definitely not clear with what they want you to input to the point where it gets me pretty upset at times. I've been through classes in Japanese so most of Tae Kim isn't new information to me but the way it's presented is definitely worth a look and interesting. One example is the Na-adj polite form - きれいじゃないです。 I've never see this form before I was taught きれいじゃありません。 But according to Tae Kim the former is more common in everyday speech while 「ありません」 is reserved for writing. Good to know it exists and if anything more useful than anything taught in class because that is such a fundamental form. I'd like to finish Tae Kim guide before moving on seriously with KO2001 and native sentences.
Some new words that I got from native sources so far are:
ノリノリで恋したい。ー In high spirits, hoping to fall in love.
希望ーhope; aspiration
季節ーseason ( learned Kanji; I knew the word already there's more of these I won't list)
天使ーangel
堕天使ー fallen angel
真実ーtruth
無邪気ーinnocence; simple-minded
翼-wings
闇の中で- In the darkness
I swear I'm not goth it was just two songs and I forgot the others off the top of my head. ごめん！
When I seriously get into native material for a while I'll start to release the sentences I'm using to learn Japanese. I plan to keep track of the source of the sentences and tag my Anki decks with it. So a tag may say AllAboutParticles or www.example.co.jp So that the source is known and you guys can check it out yourselves. In the future I see most the sentences coming from Lyrics, Random Online Sites, All About Particles, maybe some textbooks, I couple L2 books I have lying around that I have never read but really want to.
Keeping up with Reviews enjoying my break from Kanji but I'll have to get back into the grind soon enough I come across way too many kanji in RTK3 everyday for it not to be worth it.
じゃあね。
。
Some new words that I got from native sources so far are:
ノリノリで恋したい。ー In high spirits, hoping to fall in love.
希望ーhope; aspiration
季節ーseason ( learned Kanji; I knew the word already there's more of these I won't list)
天使ーangel
堕天使ー fallen angel
真実ーtruth
無邪気ーinnocence; simple-minded
翼-wings
闇の中で- In the darkness
I swear I'm not goth it was just two songs and I forgot the others off the top of my head. ごめん！
When I seriously get into native material for a while I'll start to release the sentences I'm using to learn Japanese. I plan to keep track of the source of the sentences and tag my Anki decks with it. So a tag may say AllAboutParticles or www.example.co.jp So that the source is known and you guys can check it out yourselves. In the future I see most the sentences coming from Lyrics, Random Online Sites, All About Particles, maybe some textbooks, I couple L2 books I have lying around that I have never read but really want to.
Keeping up with Reviews enjoying my break from Kanji but I'll have to get back into the grind soon enough I come across way too many kanji in RTK3 everyday for it not to be worth it.
じゃあね。
。
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
終わりV。（RTK１）
Phew! and you thought I wasn't going to make it. 2042 cards down 965 to go to finish RTK3. RTK3 commences probably this weekend of early next week but I'm giving myself a Hard start date of April 1st. First off lets show the graphs.
Deck created: 3.6 years ago
Total number of cards: 3007
Total number of facts: 3007
Card Maturity
Mature cards: 974 (32.4%)
Young cards: 1068 (35.5%)
Unseen cards: 965 (32.1%)
Average interval: 23.5 days
Correct Answers
Mature cards: 89.7% (235 of 262)
Young cards: 84.0% (7298 of 8684)
First-seen cards: 62.0% (1267 of 2042)
Recent Work
Average Daily Reviews
Average Added
Card Ease
Lowest factor: 2.21
Average factor: 2.54
Highest factor: 2.80
Right now with that out the way. I'm so happy to have come this far I'm really not one for completing things so this was pretty nice change and a huge load off my back. I always was thinking about RTK but now after finishing Sign of the Snake I feel instantly relieved. Like any more Kanji i do in RTK3 and on is purely for me and not to fulfill some kind of minimum. I do plan to finish up the JOYO kanji as required Kanji to know but in time. I will look forward to starting Sentences from either Kore or KO2001.
What worked for me:
Keeping the Keyword at the front of the story.
Slightly changing keywords into the tense I used in the story. ( discreet -> discreet(ly) )
Adding a reference definition for English words.
Shorter stories that trigger an image or feeling in my mind.
Reviewing the Kanji website over at kanji.koohii.com
Motivation from people on the forum finishing ahead of me.
Motivation from myself to be better than you.
The belief that Kanji is easy.
The belief that this will all pay off someday.
A notebook and pen. always pen no pencil. makes mistakes clear and doesn't wear away easily.
Spiderman / Spiderpig
MISTER TEE
Bruce Lee
I truely felt during this entire time that my future in Japanese depending on me getting through this book so failure was never an option. I hope I can help people that need it by continuing to move forward and letting anyone interested know about RTK and Reviewing the Kanji forums as they have changed my foreseeable future greatly. Thank you all and please kick my ass if I start to slack in my studies for no reason.
Deck created: 3.6 years agoTotal number of cards: 3007
Total number of facts: 3007
Card Maturity
Mature cards: 974 (32.4%)
Young cards: 1068 (35.5%)
Unseen cards: 965 (32.1%)
Average interval: 23.5 days
Correct Answers
Mature cards: 89.7% (235 of 262)
Young cards: 84.0% (7298 of 8684)
First-seen cards: 62.0% (1267 of 2042)
Recent Work
| In last week | 2639 reps/7 days |
| In last month | 7045 reps/30 days |
| In last 3 months | 10988 reps/58 days |
| In last 6 months | 10988 reps/58 days |
| In last year | 10988 reps/58 days |
| Deck life | 10988 reps/59 days |
Average Daily Reviews
| Deck life | 203.4 cards/day |
| In next week | 119.4 cards/day |
| In next month | 57.5 cards/day |
| In last week | 377.0 cards/day |
| In last month | 234.8 cards/day |
| In last 3 months | 119.4 cards/day |
| In last 6 months | 60.4 cards/day |
| In last year | 30.1 cards/day |
Average Added
| Deck life | 2.3/day, 67.8/mon |
| In last week | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last month | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last 3 months | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last 6 months | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last year | 0 (0.0/day) |
Average New Seen
| In last week | 426 (60.9/day) |
| In last month | 1265 (42.2/day) |
| In last 3 months | 2042 (22.2/day) |
| In last 6 months | 2042 (11.2/day) |
| In last year | 2042 (5.6/day) |
Card Ease
Lowest factor: 2.21
Average factor: 2.54
Highest factor: 2.80
Right now with that out the way. I'm so happy to have come this far I'm really not one for completing things so this was pretty nice change and a huge load off my back. I always was thinking about RTK but now after finishing Sign of the Snake I feel instantly relieved. Like any more Kanji i do in RTK3 and on is purely for me and not to fulfill some kind of minimum. I do plan to finish up the JOYO kanji as required Kanji to know but in time. I will look forward to starting Sentences from either Kore or KO2001.
What worked for me:
Keeping the Keyword at the front of the story.
Slightly changing keywords into the tense I used in the story. ( discreet -> discreet(ly) )
Adding a reference definition for English words.
Shorter stories that trigger an image or feeling in my mind.
Reviewing the Kanji website over at kanji.koohii.com
Motivation from people on the forum finishing ahead of me.
Motivation from myself to be better than you.
The belief that Kanji is easy.
The belief that this will all pay off someday.
A notebook and pen. always pen no pencil. makes mistakes clear and doesn't wear away easily.
Spiderman / Spiderpig
MISTER TEE
Bruce Lee
I truely felt during this entire time that my future in Japanese depending on me getting through this book so failure was never an option. I hope I can help people that need it by continuing to move forward and letting anyone interested know about RTK and Reviewing the Kanji forums as they have changed my foreseeable future greatly. Thank you all and please kick my ass if I start to slack in my studies for no reason.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Countdown to the End ( of RTK1 ) : ?? days to go.
I went climbing again today Soo I did my reviews and I did 14 new cards. but no did not do 51 cards. It's just I don't have time with school and hobbies but I'll work hard and get these out the way this week definetly Just gotta sit and make up stories.
102 to go
Plan for tomorrow: No plans just results.
102 to go
Plan for tomorrow: No plans just results.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Countdown to the End (of RTK1): 4 days to go.
Sucks I missed a day this close to the end (of RTK1) but you know it happens. I did my reviews just no added cards so I guess it could have been worst. Today I did 2 lessons (47 cards). I have 4 lessons to go and 4 days to the finish. We'll see if I can squeeze in more reviews if I feel up for it but I kind of doubt it. Tomorrow's lesson is 51 cards. Right now I'm sitting at 222 reviews for tomorrow down from 290!! According to Anki I should level off around 75 reviews in a week from now but by then I would have started RTK3 so I don't know how that will affect it...yet. Oh and I past 10k reps after reviewing today that's crazy to think about because I probably only wrote Kanji about 2k-4k times in the other year and a half I've been "learning" japanese. I think I would only count the day I started RTK as my the time I've truely been learning Japanese, but to everybody else yes I've been studying for 1.5 years (Started September 2009)
Plan for tomorrow: Lesson 53 (51 cards )
116 to go.
Plan for tomorrow: Lesson 53 (51 cards )
116 to go.
+1 day for my failure
残念ですよ！復習を終わった。でも、新しい漢字を終わらなかった。終わらなくて、ごめん。
Pushed back a day Sorry Goal I have failed you.
Pushed back a day Sorry Goal I have failed you.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Countdown to the End ( of RTK1): 5 days to go
Got through and ended at Midnight instead of like 3 am lol not too bad I guess. But tomorrow is 290 reviews!!! 嫌だね！I'm also going rockclimbing tomorrow but what I'm thinking is I'll bring my laptop with me and do Reps in the car on the way up there since it's at least an hour away. I could always do the reps on 3g while at the rocks themselves...hmm maybe. I'll hold off on adding cards until I get home since I probably won't have internet. But the goal is to finish a large chunk on the way up Have a great day rockclimbing and then finish off everything else when I get home.
Plan for tomorrow: Reps in chunks whenever possible. 55 new cards.
163 to go. It's a good week to finish RTK1.
Plan for tomorrow: Reps in chunks whenever possible. 55 new cards.
163 to go. It's a good week to finish RTK1.
Countdown to the End ( of RTK1): 6 days to go.
Phew that was a mental barrier at it's worst. I literally could not bring myself to even start Anki but I got an e-mail from a comment on my last post. "Keep going." I laughed when I saw it and was like yep he's right I just gotta do it. So i Seperated my review into 3 parts of around 80 cards and it wasn't too bad. I finished all 71 cards and went to check how many I planned to do tomorrow. I was so happy to see the number 五十二 written next to 3/19. Literally made me smile cuz 70+ is too much to sustain over time. Tomorrow is 270+ reviews but I know those will drop off in about a week as I'm adding less cards each day. Excited but not getting ahead of myself and taking it one day at a time.
Plan for tomorrow: 52 cards
215 to go.
Plan for tomorrow: 52 cards
215 to go.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Countdown to the End (of RTK1): 7 days to go
Seriously unmotivated by 200+ reviews tmrw is 260+71 new cards I think I might die.
Tomorrow's plan: 71 cards
286 to go.
Tomorrow's plan: 71 cards
286 to go.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Countdown to the end (of RTK1): 8 days to go
I finished today it wasn't easy and I didn't start until about 8:00 PM. It was easy I just mean I was being lazy. Looking forward to end of this so I can start working through a sentence deck I'm leaning towards doing KO2001 on top of my "In the Wild" Sentence deck. So if I add 10 sentences to my deck and do say 20 or 30 from KO2001 I will get to about 4000-5000 sentences before I start my Study Abroad in September. About 1500 being from the Wild. So I don't really know how effective it will be but I'll try it out if I don't like KO2001 for whatever reason I'll try core or just go to sentences I pick up.
３６１未完 to go
Tomorrow's Plan : End of Lesson 45 (75 cards ) Wish me luck!
For anyone curious about how my reviews are stacking up from this Push to the end of RTK1. Up from about 125 cards a day @ 25 cards a day. Cumulative due shows that if I stopped doing reviews about 775 will accumulate in 7 days. Shows how much you have to keep up the reviews.
３６１未完 to go
Tomorrow's Plan : End of Lesson 45 (75 cards ) Wish me luck!
Countdown to the end (of RTK1 ): 9 days to go.
427 to go.
I like to think this push has helped me actually do one thing better. I can sort out stories faster and decide which ones would work and which ones won't. Also I try out the story and it if it's good it's good I keep going with it so less time thinking of stories.
I know this is marked Wednesday but it Tuesday for me until I go to sleep.
Tomorrow the plan is two more lessons ( 66 cards )
::::TIP:::: 100% keep the keyword within the first 5 words of the story and 98% of the time as the first Significant word aka no Primitives before it. ( most of my MISTER TEE stories start with MISTER TEE ) I have had to go back and switch so many stories around. Sometimes it's just as easy as switching your wording for the sentence English IS incredibly versatile if you use it correct. If you use it correct, English is incredibly versatile. Incredibly versatile, English is, if you use it correctly.
じゃあね。
I like to think this push has helped me actually do one thing better. I can sort out stories faster and decide which ones would work and which ones won't. Also I try out the story and it if it's good it's good I keep going with it so less time thinking of stories.
I know this is marked Wednesday but it Tuesday for me until I go to sleep.
Tomorrow the plan is two more lessons ( 66 cards )
::::TIP:::: 100% keep the keyword within the first 5 words of the story and 98% of the time as the first Significant word aka no Primitives before it. ( most of my MISTER TEE stories start with MISTER TEE ) I have had to go back and switch so many stories around. Sometimes it's just as easy as switching your wording for the sentence English IS incredibly versatile if you use it correct. If you use it correct, English is incredibly versatile. Incredibly versatile, English is, if you use it correctly.
じゃあね。
Monday, March 14, 2011
Finish the last quarter of RTK in 10 days or less.
3/15 - Up to 1615 End of Lesson 41 (77 cards)
3/16 - Up to 1681 End of Lesson 43 (66 cards)
3/17 - Up to 1756 End of Lesson 45 (75 cards)
3/18 - Up to 1827 End of Lesson 48 (71 cards)
3/19 - Up to 1879 End of Lesson 50 (52 cards)
3/20 - Up to 1934 Lesson 53 card 8 (55 cards)
3/21 - Up to 1977 End of Lesson 53 (43 cards) [ Back in School ]
3/22 - Up to 2005 End of Lesson 54 (28 cards)
3/23 - Up to 2025 End of Lesson 55 (20 cards)
3/24 - Up to 2042 End of Lesson 56 (17 cards)
3/25 - REVIEW
...
3/28 - Start RTK3
There is is my ten day Schedule to finishing RTK1 in 10 days. I'm actually shooting for 9 days combining the last two days. That would make my start date January 23rd and end date March 23rd. Which is 60 days total even though it would be more like 53 days studied and 7 missed days but whatever I like even numbers so its 60 days, aka 2 months, aka 8 weeks, aka a moderate but necessary speed.
3/16 - Up to 1681 End of Lesson 43 (66 cards)
3/17 - Up to 1756 End of Lesson 45 (75 cards)
3/18 - Up to 1827 End of Lesson 48 (71 cards)
3/19 - Up to 1879 End of Lesson 50 (52 cards)
3/20 - Up to 1934 Lesson 53 card 8 (55 cards)
3/21 - Up to 1977 End of Lesson 53 (43 cards) [ Back in School ]
3/22 - Up to 2005 End of Lesson 54 (28 cards)
3/23 - Up to 2025 End of Lesson 55 (20 cards)
3/24 - Up to 2042 End of Lesson 56 (17 cards)
3/25 - REVIEW
...
3/28 - Start RTK3
There is is my ten day Schedule to finishing RTK1 in 10 days. I'm actually shooting for 9 days combining the last two days. That would make my start date January 23rd and end date March 23rd. Which is 60 days total even though it would be more like 53 days studied and 7 missed days but whatever I like even numbers so its 60 days, aka 2 months, aka 8 weeks, aka a moderate but necessary speed.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Progress:１４２６完成ー１５８１未完 Started my Spring Break PUSH
Pushing Pushing hard!!! Well .. maybe if this proves to be unsustainable even with the extra time I won't be pushing very long. Today I did 71 cards and yesterday I did 55+ cards. I'm trying to hold a minimum of 55 cards per day. The way that I'm doing it is looking up stories for the first 25 stories like I always have and then reviewing in Anki with the new cards spaced throughout my review. After that I add 10 new cards an Hour with stories. and after that 5 an hour if I feel like it or I really want to finish off the lesson.
So intermediate goals even to complete my daily goal is what I have set up.
I think what I want to do is do RTK 1 then the Supplement to finish off JOYO and then RTK3 just so i get those JOYO out the way and be able to say yeah I can write all the JOYO kanji. But we'll see I change my mind so fast.
My immediate goal is hitting that 3/4 mark of the first book ( 1/2 of my goal!!!) ughh.. 1/2 of my goal this is a long trek indeed but I just gotta keep moving and to be honest it only feels long because as humans we are really sensitive to acceleration. The best part of a flight is take off and landing even though while in the air you're almost hitting the speed of sound. So this Push forward we will really help me get that RUSH i've been needing but haven't had the free time to take part in.
Deceleration is unmotivating so even after I finish with RTK1 I need to continue to push myself forward with the sentences I have waiting for me to just learn how to read. I want to start posting about sentences and what works for me. I want to post which sentences I add to my deck from "the wild."
If I do that:
1. I will have a copy of my sentences right here on this blog and
2. I can contribute to any other people trying to acquire this language
All sentences will be from:
Native sources ( TV/ BOOKS / MOVIES/ MUSIC )
or Native Speakers ( probably girls...sorry. but, most Japanese girls i know don't sound too girly)
Anyways I'm just happy that I'm finally closing in on the end of book 1 so I can adjust my sights farther down the shooting range.
そして、じゃあね。
So intermediate goals even to complete my daily goal is what I have set up.
I think what I want to do is do RTK 1 then the Supplement to finish off JOYO and then RTK3 just so i get those JOYO out the way and be able to say yeah I can write all the JOYO kanji. But we'll see I change my mind so fast.
My immediate goal is hitting that 3/4 mark of the first book ( 1/2 of my goal!!!) ughh.. 1/2 of my goal this is a long trek indeed but I just gotta keep moving and to be honest it only feels long because as humans we are really sensitive to acceleration. The best part of a flight is take off and landing even though while in the air you're almost hitting the speed of sound. So this Push forward we will really help me get that RUSH i've been needing but haven't had the free time to take part in.
Deceleration is unmotivating so even after I finish with RTK1 I need to continue to push myself forward with the sentences I have waiting for me to just learn how to read. I want to start posting about sentences and what works for me. I want to post which sentences I add to my deck from "the wild."
If I do that:
1. I will have a copy of my sentences right here on this blog and
2. I can contribute to any other people trying to acquire this language
All sentences will be from:
Native sources ( TV/ BOOKS / MOVIES/ MUSIC )
or Native Speakers ( probably girls...sorry. but, most Japanese girls i know don't sound too girly)
Anyways I'm just happy that I'm finally closing in on the end of book 1 so I can adjust my sights farther down the shooting range.
そして、じゃあね。
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
First stand still day.
Had a stand still day yesterday. Did all my reviews but no new cards. And really I back tracked a little because the cards I got wrong go back to 1 day intevals... I was super tired when i did them it was 1 am and I was just studying for engineering classes for like 10 hours. I'm still studying now with not as much sleep as I should have. I'm gonna grab some Green tea and get back to studying hopefully today isn't a standstill day but we'll see how tired I am after my exam.
Peace.
Peace.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
１２３６完成ー１７７１未完
Gotta Keep it moving!!! I'm studying for my midterms but have to keep it moving with these Kanji. I'm awarding reading non-japanese textbooks with more new Kanji cards. So today I did 25+27 new cards and after finishing reading another 35 pages (1 chapter from my 工学の経野の教科書：Engineering Economics Textbook ) I will add another 12 Kanji cards for grand total of １２４８完成ー１７５９未完。
With Spring Break coming up I'm mentally preparring myself for an increase in Kanji Input with a goal of doing about 50 a day starting Friday the 11th - Sunday 20th (500 cards; 250 above normal input)
Counting the next 100 cards I'll be doing in the next 4 days that would put me at about 1850 by the end of Spring Break. I want to avoid burning out so Over the course of the days during spring break I would probably do 25 new cards + reviews for the first hour. and then 5 new cards per hour for five hours. So 6 hours a day sitting around doing things in Japanese and practicing my Kanji still gives me about 10 hours to go out and drink or rockclimb as I'm hoping the weather is pretty nice.
Current Projected Finish: March 28th, 2011
Sounds like a good plan to mee..
じゃあね。
。
With Spring Break coming up I'm mentally preparring myself for an increase in Kanji Input with a goal of doing about 50 a day starting Friday the 11th - Sunday 20th (500 cards; 250 above normal input)
Counting the next 100 cards I'll be doing in the next 4 days that would put me at about 1850 by the end of Spring Break. I want to avoid burning out so Over the course of the days during spring break I would probably do 25 new cards + reviews for the first hour. and then 5 new cards per hour for five hours. So 6 hours a day sitting around doing things in Japanese and practicing my Kanji still gives me about 10 hours to go out and drink or rockclimb as I'm hoping the weather is pretty nice.
Current Projected Finish: March 28th, 2011
Sounds like a good plan to mee..
じゃあね。
。
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
半道 HALFWAY!!
CAPITALS MAKES THIS POST MORE EXCITING DON'T YOU THINK!!!!
So uh yeah I'm pretty awesome for getting half way aren't I? Don't you want to be me right now?! Wait what you mean I got to finish the other half?! GREAT!!!
Can't wait to finish the next half of this book I'm slowly making my creep towards the end of this book with a smile on my face. Not many finish and I hear over and over of horror stories from people who quit at the 2041 Kanji just to forget everything. So I will continue on until this and RTK3 are both done and out the way. Pulling sentences and mastering this language in preparation for study abroad next year. If I finish by my ideal date of April 1st I will have 4 months of sentence picking before the first date of my Japanese class.
Everyone wants to be fluent: YES!
But I'm not even really concerned with that and would just be happy when it comes I want to make my life easier everyday by doing my best everyday. I've learned some random readings just from classes and coming across Kanji. While most of my classmates skip by it with Hiragana I take a second to write it if I know it already and register a reading in my mind. I learned 荷物 and 鯨 today! It's great because I can feel the readings for them.
I'm looking forward to my studies after RTK but enjoying the ride until i get there.
TIP: Move fast don't lollygag on the Kanji. YOU KNOW THE STORY YOU KNOW HOW TO WRITE JUST JOT DOWN WHAT YOU FEEL!!
しかし、じゃあね。
。
So uh yeah I'm pretty awesome for getting half way aren't I? Don't you want to be me right now?! Wait what you mean I got to finish the other half?! GREAT!!!
Can't wait to finish the next half of this book I'm slowly making my creep towards the end of this book with a smile on my face. Not many finish and I hear over and over of horror stories from people who quit at the 2041 Kanji just to forget everything. So I will continue on until this and RTK3 are both done and out the way. Pulling sentences and mastering this language in preparation for study abroad next year. If I finish by my ideal date of April 1st I will have 4 months of sentence picking before the first date of my Japanese class.
Everyone wants to be fluent: YES!
But I'm not even really concerned with that and would just be happy when it comes I want to make my life easier everyday by doing my best everyday. I've learned some random readings just from classes and coming across Kanji. While most of my classmates skip by it with Hiragana I take a second to write it if I know it already and register a reading in my mind. I learned 荷物 and 鯨 today! It's great because I can feel the readings for them.
I'm looking forward to my studies after RTK but enjoying the ride until i get there.
TIP: Move fast don't lollygag on the Kanji. YOU KNOW THE STORY YOU KNOW HOW TO WRITE JUST JOT DOWN WHAT YOU FEEL!!
しかし、じゃあね。
。
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Progress: ９２５完成-２０８２未完
Almost half way through RTK1 feels nice but I won't be satisfied until I close the book on RTK 3 and double check to make sure I at least have all the JOYO Kanji, including the new ones, in my arsenal. It's not far away especially when I compare myself to people that aren't doing Heisig ( which I suggest you do whenever you're feeling a little down ) I'm constantly asked about Kanji because some of my classmates know what I'm up to and as time goes on I get more and more of the meanings correct when asked.
I stop my deck on recognition of Kanji a little while ago say 400 Kanji ago. I don't recommend it actually. It just so happened that my two decks started to line up with reviews and new cards so that I would fail a new card in my recognition deck and next day get the keyword in my main deck. So automatically I would know how to write it because I just "learned" it the day before.
I have a calender with smiley faces and black squares. The Smiley faces represent "Good days" where I reached my minimum. and black squares are days I didn't "Bad days" so far I have 5 "Bad days" on some of them I did maybe 10 cards but not my required minimum so it wasn't a good day. I'm still hoping to finish up by April 1st but April 14th seems more and more likely everyday. Only way I can deal with extra cards is on the weekend and I have been pretty lazy on the weekends. Spring Break is coming up starting March 12th, So maybe I'll pull a power week to jumpstart myself to the 1700-1800 range by March 21st. Which would put me on track for an April 1st finish. Theorizing dates is fun and motivating but whats still important is just being consistent.
It takes more time to input stories into Anki than I thought and that is what is taking the most time. I think I review each individual card for too long as well sometimes up to 45-60 seconds. I have stories inputed up to card 1003 which means i still have another 1039 to go lol. I will get there soon enough and it will all be worth it.
I stop my deck on recognition of Kanji a little while ago say 400 Kanji ago. I don't recommend it actually. It just so happened that my two decks started to line up with reviews and new cards so that I would fail a new card in my recognition deck and next day get the keyword in my main deck. So automatically I would know how to write it because I just "learned" it the day before.
I have a calender with smiley faces and black squares. The Smiley faces represent "Good days" where I reached my minimum. and black squares are days I didn't "Bad days" so far I have 5 "Bad days" on some of them I did maybe 10 cards but not my required minimum so it wasn't a good day. I'm still hoping to finish up by April 1st but April 14th seems more and more likely everyday. Only way I can deal with extra cards is on the weekend and I have been pretty lazy on the weekends. Spring Break is coming up starting March 12th, So maybe I'll pull a power week to jumpstart myself to the 1700-1800 range by March 21st. Which would put me on track for an April 1st finish. Theorizing dates is fun and motivating but whats still important is just being consistent.
It takes more time to input stories into Anki than I thought and that is what is taking the most time. I think I review each individual card for too long as well sometimes up to 45-60 seconds. I have stories inputed up to card 1003 which means i still have another 1039 to go lol. I will get there soon enough and it will all be worth it.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Progress: 828 down 2179 to go
Do I really know 828 Kanji already? well I guess it's not really knowing them but becoming familiar with them. I can't read most of them and the combinations are really shaky if you try to use the Heisig keyword. but anyways In about 8 days I will be at the Half way mark!!!! it seems like only yesterday I was at the 1/4 mark. Consistancy is your best friend. My finish date gets shifted every time I slack even a bit but it really is a dynamic deadline in that It doesn't matter when I finish as long I finish. Whats more important is that I'm comfortable with the pace. My reviews are low these couple days at about 100 reps. Looking to the future I can stand to do maybe 5-10 more cards a day in the next couple days but I'm over worked with study Abroad paper work right now. I GOT ACCEPTED TO TOKYO STUDY ABROAD!!! All the more motivation to finish RTK 1 and start learning sentences!
Midterms are coming up in the immediate future as well so I probably won't do more than the 25 cards I promised myself. That number itself may have to go down to about 10 or 15 until Midterms are done. We'll see as always I'll update in about 125 cards.
Deck created: 3.6 years ago
Total number of cards: 3007
Total number of facts: 3007
Card Maturity
Mature cards: 287 (9.5%)
Young cards: 541 (18.0%)
Unseen cards: 2179 (72.5%)
Average interval: 15.5 days
Correct Answers
Mature cards: 100.0% (2 of 2)
Young cards: 82.2% (2754 of 3351)
First-seen cards: 31.3% (259 of 828)
Recent Work
Total number of cards: 3007
Total number of facts: 3007
Card Maturity
Mature cards: 287 (9.5%)
Young cards: 541 (18.0%)
Unseen cards: 2179 (72.5%)
Average interval: 15.5 days
Correct Answers
Mature cards: 100.0% (2 of 2)
Young cards: 82.2% (2754 of 3351)
First-seen cards: 31.3% (259 of 828)
Recent Work
| In last week | 1124 reps/6 days |
| In last month | 4095 reps/28 days |
| In last 3 months | 4181 reps/30 days |
| In last 6 months | 4181 reps/30 days |
| In last year | 4181 reps/30 days |
| Deck life | 4181 reps/31 days |
Average Daily Reviews
| Deck life | 92.6 cards/day |
| In next week | 59.3 cards/day |
| In next month | 26.3 cards/day |
| In last week | 160.6 cards/day |
| In last month | 136.5 cards/day |
| In last 3 months | 45.4 cards/day |
| In last 6 months | 23.0 cards/day |
| In last year | 11.5 cards/day |
Average New Seen
| In last week | 198 (28.3/day) |
| In last month | 783 (26.1/day) |
| In last 3 months | 828 (9.0/day) |
| In last 6 months | 828 (4.5/day) |
| In last year | 828 (2.3/day) |
Card Ease
Lowest factor: 2.39
Average factor: 2.53
Highest factor: 2.80
Monday, February 21, 2011
AWW SHEET Look what I found!
So I just started using Anki to use for reviews and look what I found today
Average Daily Reviews
Average Added
Average New Seen
Card Ease
Lowest factor: 2.39
Average factor: 2.53
Highest factor: 2.80
Deck created: 3.6 years ago
Total number of cards: 3007
Total number of facts: 3007
Card Maturity
Mature cards: 260 (8.6%)
Young cards: 517 (17.2%)
Unseen cards: 2230 (74.2%)
Average interval: 15.3 days
Correct Answers
Mature cards: 0.0% (0 of 0)
Young cards: 81.6% (2584 of 3166)
First-seen cards: 30.2% (235 of 777)
Recent Work
Total number of cards: 3007
Total number of facts: 3007
Card Maturity
Mature cards: 260 (8.6%)
Young cards: 517 (17.2%)
Unseen cards: 2230 (74.2%)
Average interval: 15.3 days
Correct Answers
Mature cards: 0.0% (0 of 0)
Young cards: 81.6% (2584 of 3166)
First-seen cards: 30.2% (235 of 777)
Recent Work
| In last week | 1041 reps/6 days |
| In last month | 3943 reps/28 days |
| In last 3 months | 3943 reps/28 days |
| In last 6 months | 3943 reps/28 days |
| In last year | 3943 reps/28 days |
| Deck life | 3943 reps/29 days |
Average Daily Reviews
| Deck life | 92.4 cards/day |
| In next week | 48.7 cards/day |
| In next month | 24.4 cards/day |
| In last week | 148.7 cards/day |
| In last month | 131.4 cards/day |
| In last 3 months | 42.9 cards/day |
| In last 6 months | 21.7 cards/day |
| In last year | 10.8 cards/day |
Average Added
| Deck life | 2.3/day, 69.4/mon |
| In last week | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last month | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last 3 months | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last 6 months | 0 (0.0/day) |
| In last year | 0 (0.0/day) |
Average New Seen
| In last week | 177 (25.3/day) |
| In last month | 777 (25.9/day) |
| In last 3 months | 777 (8.4/day) |
| In last 6 months | 777 (4.3/day) |
| In last year | 777 (2.1/day) |
Card Ease
Lowest factor: 2.39
Average factor: 2.53
Highest factor: 2.80
End Transmission.
There is no catch up!!
One thing that cannot be done during this journey to literacy is Catch up. This goes for everything you planned to do in L2 but failed to do. It shouldn't be looked down upon but just forgoten. Forget that you were suppose to be at the Half-way mark of RTK by this point. What you need to do is just continue on at the same pace. Don't try to catch up and burn out in the process if you're sitting there twiddling your thumbs and want to do more reps then by all means do it but stop BEFORE it is too much. Always leave wanting more and you will continue to move at the pace you set.
If I am in the mood to do more Kanji What I do is input more stories. So I'm looking ahead to get the stories that I want to use sorted out but I'm not reviewing them. Sometimes I'll review like 5 more or something like that if I really get the urge but I don't allow myself to do this unless I added 1.5 times the number of Cards I want to do to the stories. Currently my stories are up to 825 and I'm at the 777 card (stopped cuz I liked the number ). So I have less than two days accounted for. I Kind of want to move up to 800 because I have only about 60 reviews tomorrow but I won't let myself until I add say 35 stories.
I was suppose to be at a point farther than this but I have missed days or didn't do the double amount of cards on weekends. But I'm not afraid because I'm staying consistent.
If I am in the mood to do more Kanji What I do is input more stories. So I'm looking ahead to get the stories that I want to use sorted out but I'm not reviewing them. Sometimes I'll review like 5 more or something like that if I really get the urge but I don't allow myself to do this unless I added 1.5 times the number of Cards I want to do to the stories. Currently my stories are up to 825 and I'm at the 777 card (stopped cuz I liked the number ). So I have less than two days accounted for. I Kind of want to move up to 800 because I have only about 60 reviews tomorrow but I won't let myself until I add say 35 stories.
I was suppose to be at a point farther than this but I have missed days or didn't do the double amount of cards on weekends. But I'm not afraid because I'm staying consistent.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Progress: 726 down 2281 to go
So I'm 1/3 through the first book with 1316 to go in RtK 1 and then the 965 from Rtk 3. 1/4 didnt seem like much of an accomplishment but 225 kanji after that 1/3 does feel more of an accomplishment. Probably because it's a different feel for the Kanji now that I am making up my own stories. Making up my own stories has slowed me down a bit because I have to spend a substantial amount of time gathering stories I like or making up new ones.
I once again missed another day. in the past 28 days I've been working on this project I missed 3 days. and yesterday was almost a missed day but I did some kanji (like 8) and reviewed some. My cumulative due Graph now doesnt look as even as is a little depressing cuz it shows that I am slowing down a little bit.
Most of my intervals are in the 10-13 day range though which I think is a good thing. And the eases graph of young cards is leaning more on columns 2 and 3 so the stories are probably doing a better job.
also in two days I get my first "Mature" card so this should get a little more interesting.
Tip: If I could go back I would probably make up my own stories or use stories off reviewing the kanji website for all of the Kanji. Heisig meant well but he just has a huge generation gap and his stories are influenced by religions a lot.
そして、じゃあね。
I once again missed another day. in the past 28 days I've been working on this project I missed 3 days. and yesterday was almost a missed day but I did some kanji (like 8) and reviewed some. My cumulative due Graph now doesnt look as even as is a little depressing cuz it shows that I am slowing down a little bit.
Most of my intervals are in the 10-13 day range though which I think is a good thing. And the eases graph of young cards is leaning more on columns 2 and 3 so the stories are probably doing a better job.
also in two days I get my first "Mature" card so this should get a little more interesting.
Tip: If I could go back I would probably make up my own stories or use stories off reviewing the kanji website for all of the Kanji. Heisig meant well but he just has a huge generation gap and his stories are influenced by religions a lot.
そして、じゃあね。
Monday, February 14, 2011
Progress: 600 down 2407 to go.
I will probably only put up progress reports every 100 cards or so now. Some thoughts: Keeping stories distinct is important. in the early 600's there is a lot of STATE OF MIND Kanji that end up turning into boring definitions. I had to look the exact definition of some the english words up before I could make a proper story for them.
The Review time is a lie. It takes longer for me to look up stories and write them down in anki that is not accounted for in these charts. But I find with the new user submitted stories and my own stories the image sticks a hell of a lot better. So review time is down for that aspect. Also the reps are significantly lower. Once through and I'm done if I looked up a story before hand. Twice if that particular story wasn't vivid enough. Very good for reviewing quick. Its definetly good to have more stories filled out than you plan to do the next day. I'm up to my 650th story but only review up to 600. Double the amount in stories is a lot of work. 1.5 times though should be doable. or I guess more like 1.6 times so that the numbers stay easy to calculate. so 40 stories a day and review 25. Not too bad.
Tip: It takes time but if you want to be fluent you need to put in the time eventually. This is a relatively painless way to do it. Just stick with it and I'm sure in the end our troubles will be worth it.
そして、じゃあね。
.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
I'm so LAZYYY!!!
The worst part of this process is sorting through stories from reviewing the kanji or making up new stories myself if none of them suit my taste. It is probably the least enjoyable part for me. I'm not a writer and never will be. I'm definitely not good at creative writing.
This is a necessary part of this process though i know it's working for me. MUCH better than the way we were learning them in class. FUCK CLASSES!!! haha it's so true if you're reading this post then you're most on the right track and sought out a better faster way of learning Kanji.
If you want to learn Japanese then I still suggest classes but mainly as a place to practice with your sensei. Learning on your own and randomly is easier and faster and if you're listening to native material then it is REAL LEARNING! Classes do suck as the textbooks don't sufficiently mix up all the grammar you have learned. Luckily my teacher loves to try and trip us up so he makes all the test really nuanced but its not too bad if your attentive.
Tip: Go ahead of your planned review point everyday and add stories but don't necessary review them.I want to input twice as many stories as I plan to review the next day. This means that I can review first and then go find more stories if and when time permits. It also means that I can miss days and be no problem. It's a quick way to familiarize yourself early with the Kanji but not seem like your forcing a memory. I feel one of the reasons the stories stick so well is because I am taking my time to pick out a good one. It means more time yes. But the time is worth it when it comes to learning a language. If you want to move slower go ahead move slower don't do as much work. AS FOR ME, I want/need to know KANJI before going back to Japan. Can you imagine being in Japan with only 160-300 Kanji under your belt? Not comfortable or err you learn to ignore signs lol.
Riding trains in Japan would be great for Kanji practice. In any one train cart there is probably 50 advertisements trying to get you to drink Sapporo beer or go to Disneyland etc. I Can't wait to go back.
This is a necessary part of this process though i know it's working for me. MUCH better than the way we were learning them in class. FUCK CLASSES!!! haha it's so true if you're reading this post then you're most on the right track and sought out a better faster way of learning Kanji.
If you want to learn Japanese then I still suggest classes but mainly as a place to practice with your sensei. Learning on your own and randomly is easier and faster and if you're listening to native material then it is REAL LEARNING! Classes do suck as the textbooks don't sufficiently mix up all the grammar you have learned. Luckily my teacher loves to try and trip us up so he makes all the test really nuanced but its not too bad if your attentive.
Tip: Go ahead of your planned review point everyday and add stories but don't necessary review them.I want to input twice as many stories as I plan to review the next day. This means that I can review first and then go find more stories if and when time permits. It also means that I can miss days and be no problem. It's a quick way to familiarize yourself early with the Kanji but not seem like your forcing a memory. I feel one of the reasons the stories stick so well is because I am taking my time to pick out a good one. It means more time yes. But the time is worth it when it comes to learning a language. If you want to move slower go ahead move slower don't do as much work. AS FOR ME, I want/need to know KANJI before going back to Japan. Can you imagine being in Japan with only 160-300 Kanji under your belt? Not comfortable or err you learn to ignore signs lol.
Riding trains in Japan would be great for Kanji practice. In any one train cart there is probably 50 advertisements trying to get you to drink Sapporo beer or go to Disneyland etc. I Can't wait to go back.
Friday, February 11, 2011
PART TWO FINISHED 2499 to go! (1534 from RTK1)
The Remembering the Kanji book has 3 parts
Part 1- "Stories" Heisig provides everything you need to remember the Kanji.
Part 2- "Plots" - Shorter stories made up of the primitives to get a general picture and the reader can expand and make the story more vivid to better suit their own personal taste.
Part 3- "Elements"- Now it's up to the reader or the great people at kanji.koohii.com "Reviewing the Kanji" to make up stories for the various elements. Heisig provides a structured ordered but the stories are up to the reader. This is a good thing because some of Heisig's stories do NOT stick well and I have replaced those with either my own stories or stories I got off Reviewing the Kanji.
I guess I should have waitied to post and not have posted earlier. However, I didn't know i was going to bust out another 36 Kanji today. That makes what? Wow like 74 new cards today. Thats a little ridiculous. I wonder how well they will stick by tomorrow. かな〜 This marks the 1/4 mark of RTK1. So roughly 20 days and I'm 1/4 done. The next sections are a bit harder because you need to make a story and stick with it so it may or may not take longer. we'll see...
そして、じゃあね。
。
Part 1- "Stories" Heisig provides everything you need to remember the Kanji.
Part 2- "Plots" - Shorter stories made up of the primitives to get a general picture and the reader can expand and make the story more vivid to better suit their own personal taste.
Part 3- "Elements"- Now it's up to the reader or the great people at kanji.koohii.com "Reviewing the Kanji" to make up stories for the various elements. Heisig provides a structured ordered but the stories are up to the reader. This is a good thing because some of Heisig's stories do NOT stick well and I have replaced those with either my own stories or stories I got off Reviewing the Kanji.
I guess I should have waitied to post and not have posted earlier. However, I didn't know i was going to bust out another 36 Kanji today. That makes what? Wow like 74 new cards today. Thats a little ridiculous. I wonder how well they will stick by tomorrow. かな〜 This marks the 1/4 mark of RTK1. So roughly 20 days and I'm 1/4 done. The next sections are a bit harder because you need to make a story and stick with it so it may or may not take longer. we'll see...
そして、じゃあね。
。
I WANT MORE
I'm starting to feel an urge to do more Kanji. Like doing 41 ish today wasn't enough. I'm sitting here listening to my J-music and watching J-tv. I'm gonna go out later today but right now I could be doing some more J-(sjakdjsdhak) C-characters.
I should be doing more Kanji if I want to so bad.
I should be doing more Kanji if I want to so bad.
Progress: 472 down 2535 to go.
The 472 down isn't really down yet. They are familiarized right now. But they are well on their way to becoming "DOWN". I did more than 25 cards today at first it was because I wanted to even out the number of cards that are "TO GO" but then I saw the next 5 I already knew like 3 of them so I kept going to those 5. 2535 isnt the best number to leave off at 2530 is much better. But that will wait for this weekend.Intervals are spacing out a bit which is VERY NICE.
I also included time this time because I was curious how long have a invested in learning these Kanji so far. It looks to be about 850 minutes (14 hours 10 minutes ) That's about 108 seconds per card. This includes looking at the kanji, reading the story a couple times, as well as all reviews, reviews include re-reading any stories that aren't 100% clear in my mind. 108 seconds is not a lot of time AT ALL. Fuck in class I probably used to spend about 5 minutes per Kanji 300 seconds. Just to learn it for the test and promply forget it the next day.I'm lovin it!! (SUPONJI BOBU!!)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
I think I might be slow.
It seems that everyone learning Kanji right now is moving at a pace much higher than mine. I'm not gonna up the amount of new cards per day but it was kind of an eye opener. I may move up to 25 cards a day. I originally started at 25 cards but went to 20 when I couldn't finish within a 20 minute time box. I found today That I wanted to do more new cards. As I went through my deck I expected to get new cards even though the deck told me I had no new cards. Starting Tomorrow ( Wait no right NOW!!. brb ....) Okay starting today I did 25 cards. This Ups my cards to 25 during the week and 50 on weekends (tentative). Minimum of 225 per week Max of 250.
I leave my time box at 20 minutes. Even though I take longer to finish up all the reviews and new Kanji than 20 minutes. The reason is it tricks me into thinking I want to do a lot more Kanji then I would if it was one long list. Also I take a quick minute break to go grab some water or use the otearai お手洗い. O hand wash i. ( restroom if you didn't know )
The koohii forum is great motivation to get out there and finish these Kanji up. If they can do it so can I !!!
Has anyone noticed katzu updates AJATT every 3 days religiously. And from reading his post I think he has successfully timeboxed his entire life. Don't go too crazy with it but it helps get things done. I work well under pressure.
I leave my time box at 20 minutes. Even though I take longer to finish up all the reviews and new Kanji than 20 minutes. The reason is it tricks me into thinking I want to do a lot more Kanji then I would if it was one long list. Also I take a quick minute break to go grab some water or use the otearai お手洗い. O hand wash i. ( restroom if you didn't know )
The koohii forum is great motivation to get out there and finish these Kanji up. If they can do it so can I !!!
Has anyone noticed katzu updates AJATT every 3 days religiously. And from reading his post I think he has successfully timeboxed his entire life. Don't go too crazy with it but it helps get things done. I work well under pressure.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Why are you studying Japanese?
This is one of those questions you'll hear all the time. You'll hear it from English speaking friends, Japanese friends, even other Japanese learners. This questions really gets at me. Like I need a reason to do something anything. It's like asking why you eat chocolate or go to the gym. Simple answer is because you're doing it. I don't need to justify myself to you because you're not learning Japanese. I don't need to justify my reasons for learning Japanese even when I'm in Japan.
I know a foreigner is an odd sight to see. Shit I was surprised when I saw foreigners in Tokyo. I always had the feeling that I should say Hi or something to acknowledge them. ( Never did though. ) But really you're in japan that is reason enough to learn the damn language. I could roll off easy answers like I have family in Japan or I'm doing it because I wanna work for a Japanese Engineering company.
LIES LIES LIES!!
I don't have a reason to learn Japanese. I've dated almost every other asian type of girl besides a Japanese girl might be one answer depending on the time of day. Another one could be I just took it as an elective in college. That is probably the most accurate actually. All those other classes seemed so boring so it was either Japanese or italian/Spanish/german for me. FUCK IT lets do Japanese and off I was.
I like pushing my boundaries and being uncomfortable. hence Japanese
I like being better than others. hence me secretly competing with all the other Japanese learners around me. They will probably eventually see this blog and call me out on it. I <3 you guys!!!
I've always loved other languages.
Staying in one place does not work me. I need to go somewhere travel accomplish something that most people don't.
Every time you speak in another language around strictly english speakers they are slightly impressed. They may say they don't care but the fact is it's impressive. By learning Japanese I can talk to 131 million people that most people can't.
I am cocky for no reason besides my unsurpassed good looks and natural talent to bring your girlfriend to my bed and I want everyone to know it. I want to be able to be a star in a karaoke room of 5-10 people. I want to be famous. I don't care about money. I spend money as if I had a job. The Yen is so much easier to spend than the dollar. I will never be anything I don't want to be. I will always pretend to be what I want to be. I am me. I study Japanese. It's Awesome. I'm awesome by association.
You should be too.
So, jaane.
じゃあね。
OH!! btw why are you learning Japanese?
.
I know a foreigner is an odd sight to see. Shit I was surprised when I saw foreigners in Tokyo. I always had the feeling that I should say Hi or something to acknowledge them. ( Never did though. ) But really you're in japan that is reason enough to learn the damn language. I could roll off easy answers like I have family in Japan or I'm doing it because I wanna work for a Japanese Engineering company.
LIES LIES LIES!!
I don't have a reason to learn Japanese. I've dated almost every other asian type of girl besides a Japanese girl might be one answer depending on the time of day. Another one could be I just took it as an elective in college. That is probably the most accurate actually. All those other classes seemed so boring so it was either Japanese or italian/Spanish/german for me. FUCK IT lets do Japanese and off I was.
I like pushing my boundaries and being uncomfortable. hence Japanese
I like being better than others. hence me secretly competing with all the other Japanese learners around me. They will probably eventually see this blog and call me out on it. I <3 you guys!!!
I've always loved other languages.
Staying in one place does not work me. I need to go somewhere travel accomplish something that most people don't.
Every time you speak in another language around strictly english speakers they are slightly impressed. They may say they don't care but the fact is it's impressive. By learning Japanese I can talk to 131 million people that most people can't.
I am cocky for no reason besides my unsurpassed good looks and natural talent to bring your girlfriend to my bed and I want everyone to know it. I want to be able to be a star in a karaoke room of 5-10 people. I want to be famous. I don't care about money. I spend money as if I had a job. The Yen is so much easier to spend than the dollar. I will never be anything I don't want to be. I will always pretend to be what I want to be. I am me. I study Japanese. It's Awesome. I'm awesome by association.
You should be too.
So, jaane.
じゃあね。
OH!! btw why are you learning Japanese?
.
389 So close to 400!!
It doesn't take long to reach another 100 cards at all. I know the end is a little ways away but compared to people who have traditionally tried to just remember the Kanji by writing it over and over I think I'm doing really well. The rest of the people in my class kind of think I'm becoming a Kanji King. I try to tell them about Heisig Method and the beneifits I've gained from an SRS but they don't want to put in the time. I told them about it and obviously can't force them to do it. People will put in as much or as little time as they want. I'm taking this language to become fluent not to just for fun. Although it is fun to learn so I guess it's not all true. I haven't even done many Kanji yet but they still are trying to make me feel bad when I forget kanji like for 仕事。I haven't reached those Kanji in Heisig yet so I'm not worried lol. << Missed a day 2 days ago but made up for in the next day.
I'm pretty Harsh on myself when it comes to judging the Kanji I've come across before even multiple times. I only hit 4 for the Kanji I really know. Mostly because of class.
Rolling along but not looking forward to Thursday 100+ reviews ( some will build up as I learn more Kanji).
Tip of the Day::
I'm pretty sure it goes without saying but you should always being writing the Kanji whether you "know" it or not. Writing it again and again is what is gonna make you become a beast at Kanji. I write all the Kanji out and twice if I got it wrong even slightly.
Well that's all for today. jaane.
じゃあね。
.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Progress: 327 down 2680 to go
Eases getting better.
Yesterday I did 57 new Kanji cards. As I went though the cards today I found I forgot about 10 of those. So That's not too bad and after reviewing today they seem to have sticked better. As it should that's why we do reps. On the weekends I might do more than 20 a day if I have time (read: have no social life for the day.) So later today I'll learn 20 more and review them all tomorrow. If i do 40 new cards on saturdays and sundays (20 in the morning 20 at night) then I will be going through 180 cards a week instead of 140. This means I will reduce the time to get to 2047 Kanji by 23 days!! And reduce the time to get to 3007 Kanji by 34 Days!! Thats a little over a month that can now be spent learning Japanese Sentences instead of just pictures.
I will report if there's any negatives to doing more new cards on days that you have extra time later. Until that point I suggest you try it for yourself and see if it helps. The extra time will be much appreciated.
ETA: April 14th - 2047 Kanji
May 22nd - 3007 Kanji
Wish me luck
So, jaane.
じゃあね。
.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Progress: 307 down 2700 to go.
So I'm happy today. Even though I slacked yesterday I picked up the slack and broke 300 Kanji today. 307 Kanji Studied with the Heisig method and I'm pretty confident of all these as far as meanings go. I even have some of the readings down because they come up during my classes. 願ーねが。とか, petition as I remembered it justed onegaishimasu. which means basically "Please" in Japanese. Makes sense that you're petitioning someone when you ask for something. Celebrating small Victories here but One aspect of AJATT I like is thinking of Japanese as series of small winnable games.
Objective: 300 Kanji in under 2 weeks - STAGE CLEAR!
ポーチはもっと可愛くてなっています。
What I'm doing for immersion.
So immersion requires you to be cut off from anything english. I have just started the immersion process and it's pretty hard to get used to. I don't understand any of my songs on my iphone. I can barely understand my iphone ( It speaks Japanese ). All my TV is Japanese via KeyholeTV. (which i suggest to anyone). And finally I slowly make my way through some Japanese websites. NicoNicoDouga (nicovideo.jp )
So in my free time I translate the songs in my iPhone. This is probably the most important thing to me because I like to know what the songs I'm listening to mean. Or at least mostly what it means.
I do Kanji practice everyday for anywhere between 30-60 min. I'm doing extra time today because I cheated yesterday. Never stop always do the minimum you require of yourself. Its sucks to stop even for a day.
I like watching Japanese TV with competitions. I need to somehow find a TVguide for these Japanese channels. I'll search after this. I watched a show called "G wars" today that was pretty cool they had teams against each other.
Other than changing what I do during my lazy time I have started making more Japanese speaking friends. Some study Japanese and others are Japanese. Both equally motivating. Thanks to all them this is becoming a much more enjoyable process.
So in my free time I translate the songs in my iPhone. This is probably the most important thing to me because I like to know what the songs I'm listening to mean. Or at least mostly what it means.
I do Kanji practice everyday for anywhere between 30-60 min. I'm doing extra time today because I cheated yesterday. Never stop always do the minimum you require of yourself. Its sucks to stop even for a day.
I like watching Japanese TV with competitions. I need to somehow find a TVguide for these Japanese channels. I'll search after this. I watched a show called "G wars" today that was pretty cool they had teams against each other.
Other than changing what I do during my lazy time I have started making more Japanese speaking friends. Some study Japanese and others are Japanese. Both equally motivating. Thanks to all them this is becoming a much more enjoyable process.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Heisig Stories FTW
I took those stories for granted in the beginning. Plain and simple i didn't read them. YOU HAVE TO READ THEM. It really can't hurt it just takes longer. So yesterday my numbers sucked with 61 reviews today I had alot on my plate. I decided this won't do so I took more time and read the stories for each Kanji even the ones I "knew." It definetly helped.
Check below.
So even though I had more to do today. Because I read through the stories I got the Kanji correct on the 2nd time though even for new Kanji so my reps are significantly lower. The other two graphs don't show much of change. The time,however, took twice as long today as usual. That was torturous almost but I have myself to blame for not reading the stories as I originally came across them. So instead of 20 short stories to read I had 81 stories to go through today. And For the next (checks graph) 6 or 7 days I will also need to go back and read a bunch of stories to catch up.
START off right and read the stories as you go through.
ALSO I started a deck with the answers and questions flipped so Kanji -> Keyword. This is admittedly easier because it is about 10 days behind the other deck and also the goal of the Kanji writing is to know the meaning. I started this because as I went through my notebook I found a lot of Kanji I didn't know what they meant but given the Keyword I could produce the Kanji. Seems weird to me but I must be keeping them seperate in my brain somehow. If you find you're having this trouble maybe consider keyword drilling as well.
Check below.
So even though I had more to do today. Because I read through the stories I got the Kanji correct on the 2nd time though even for new Kanji so my reps are significantly lower. The other two graphs don't show much of change. The time,however, took twice as long today as usual. That was torturous almost but I have myself to blame for not reading the stories as I originally came across them. So instead of 20 short stories to read I had 81 stories to go through today. And For the next (checks graph) 6 or 7 days I will also need to go back and read a bunch of stories to catch up.
START off right and read the stories as you go through.
ALSO I started a deck with the answers and questions flipped so Kanji -> Keyword. This is admittedly easier because it is about 10 days behind the other deck and also the goal of the Kanji writing is to know the meaning. I started this because as I went through my notebook I found a lot of Kanji I didn't know what they meant but given the Keyword I could produce the Kanji. Seems weird to me but I must be keeping them seperate in my brain somehow. If you find you're having this trouble maybe consider keyword drilling as well.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Progress: 229 down 2778 to go
Let's take a look at the graphs that Anki provides us.
Cards due and Reps: Cards due is a glimpse into what your future holds. Tomorrow I have some work to do. As you get new cards they will always be closer before the next review while more mature cards I won't see for 20+ days. From this graph I can see that maybe I'm not remembering the Kanji as well as I should. I can either take more time to go through at a slower pace or choose to do less cards per day. I'm gonna try the first method as well as go back and fill in Heisig's story's for the Kanji on the back of the cards.
Reps shows how many times you flipped through the cards each day. If you have more you need to review this number will be higher as well as if you go through and miss a card multiple times. My reps seem to slowly be increasing so I should take more time to review.
Reps shows how many times you flipped through the cards each day. If you have more you need to review this number will be higher as well as if you go through and miss a card multiple times. My reps seem to slowly be increasing so I should take more time to review.
Cumulative Due: simply a running total of all the cards you went through this should always steady increase to reflect the constant amount of cards you did. Useless for this blog but kind of makes you feel like your making progress.
The Top graph is "Intervals" it shows how many cards you have completed that have a certain amount of days in between each rep. So If i come across a card in the 4 days pile and I get it correct then it will move to say a 6 days pile and I won't see it for another 6 days.
Eases: Probably the most important graph shown. It tells you how you rated the different type of cards you come across. (For me: 1- Got it even slightly wrong cycle through AGAIN. 2-Got it right but took a while or wasn't confident. 3-95% confidence and I remember only recently having that card be New. 4- Seen multiple times and a F*&^%ing Cake Walk) Light blue is New Cards so naturally you won't do too well. Dark Blue you've seen before and have gotten them correct in the past. Bright Blue you should know these cards.
I expect the New cards to stay relatively the same however I would like to see more in the 2's range. See it once and get it on the 2nd time through.
Dark blue I don't forsee a huge change but would like it to be more level if not skewed right towards good.
Bright Blue Hopefully won't have any 1's but it may happen. 3's and 4's are a must.
I'll come up with a way of judging my retention rate probably based off both the Young and mature Cards. With more emphasis on the Mature cards. Something like 20% for Young 80% for Mature sounds about right. and 3's or 4's count as retention.
So, jaane
じゃあね。
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Ready, Set, GO! : The Beginning
This is the "Who?, What?, Where?, Why?" post for the "How?" blog that is sitting in front of your little 13-21 inch screen. (21 inches? Really man? You need that much room to watch Youtube or ニコニコ動画??)
I'm currently a college student that is quickly discovering that I don't want to take my life slow. I don't want to waste my time while I'm young and I want to get out and see the world. Dreams of every middle aged wife that got knocked up too young and chose not to get the abortion. ( Did I just lose some readers? Okay they're gone now we can continue. ) I study [Your favorite major] at [Your University] as well as Japanese. Now [Your favorite major] is pretty common but ask anybody what they think about Japanese and people are pretty amazed and exclaim that it must be SUPER difficult, like cure cancer and AIDS simultaneously difficult. This can't be true. I have a little brother and sister out in Japan that speak perfect Japanese and as far as I know they haven't cured neither cancer nor AIDS.
I have some immediate family in or around the area of a little city called Tokyo, which if you're reading this I'm assuming you want to be. (Unless of course you don't.) I, however, did not have the benefit of growing up multilingual, even though I'm half Peruvian and half White and have family in Japan. Well I am fixing that as we speak. I recently ( 1 week ago ) adopted a popular method call All Japanese All The Time. If you haven't heard of it head over to www.alljapaneseallthetime.com . Don't forget the address I know it's a hard one to remember. OK cool. This blog is going to be a place to check my progress and my current thoughts about learning this language. You can use it to compare yourself to someone else on your same quest if your the competitive type. Or just take my advice and learn how I learn as I learn it.
Let's Break Down the Steps:
Do you want to learn Japanese? Check. Now wait seriously DO YOU WANT TO LEARN JAPANESE?!! Check. Ok then let's do it. Together 一緒に。 Now you just need to believe that you can do it and if you're unsure I suggest going over to that website with the long name I gave a second ago and read. Khatz is a good motivational speaker.
First you need to quit English. Forget English. It never existed.
Next you need to start doing everything you like doing but this time in Japanese. This includes movies, cartoons, music, websites, friends (ouch! Well it's bound to happen some friends just don't understand when you're committed to learning a language.)
Wait I missed something. Oh yeah during immersion you have some learning to do. This is done in 3 other steps.
Lets Break Down The Steps:
Learn the meanings and how to write them. Don't worry about how to say the words just yet. The book I'm using to do this is Remembering the Kanji 1 and 3 by James Heisig. I also use a program called Anki found at http://ankisrs.net/ . Together It is impossible not to learn. I'm currently learning 20 new Kanji per day. At this rate I will get through the basic 2047 or so Kanji by May 5th. (I started a week ago?) add another 1000 Kanji to this and ill be done with those by end of June. AWESOME!
This first part may seem slow but I have been studying Japanese for roughly 1.5 years and trust me this past week has done wonders for me. Once you know the meanings of the first 2000 Kanji you'll start to learn how to read and use Japanese much faster ( I assume from reading AJATT blog). Really it will and I can tell because from classes you don't really have a great understanding of the language at all. This immersion thing is the best way.
Learn Hiragana and Katakana, 2 other ways to represent the Japanese language. Combine the three Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana and you now have the Japanese writing system. Japanese does not have 3 alphabets. It is just one system.
Now it makes sense that if you already know the meanings of kanji you will be able to write them while learning how to speak. Also I already know both Hiragana and Katakana from my classes. So I guess that's an unfair advantage and will probably knock off about 4 or 6 days off my journey. Yeah It's not hard to learn. But, it is perfected through practice so unless your using it there is no point in learning these until your ready to start learning readings. (After the first 2000 Kanji)
You have now been immersed in the language for about 3-4 months right? Are you going crazy. Idk I guess we'll see together but Step 3 is to start taking sentences from all those books, music, TV shows, and movies you collected over the past few months. You load these sentences up into Anki as well and start learning them the same way as Kanji. The Goal is 10000 sentences in your deck at any time. This will be built up over time don't worry. Kids don't learn from someone drilling into them that this is a door and those are walls. (Well a little) But the grammar part is definitely not explained to them. They pick it up from context and copying those around them. Most Japanese don't know the grammar points we think we know. They do not sit there and convert to て-form switch it to a た or だ and add "blah blah" to it. They just react to what they know and feel is true. Try thinking about how you speak your native language. Yeah it just happens if you had to think so much you wouldn't be able to communicate effectively. This is the goal from sentences. You know the meanings of the sentences and can say it and reproduce it even if you don't know the specifics about every slight change in sound. You develop knowledge of nouns and particles and how things work NATURALLY.
Now this scattered version of a blog is just me letting you know what I'm up to. I suggest you check out AJATT and come visit me to see how I'm doing and let me know how you're doing. I have some more reviews I need to do before bed.
So, jaane.
じゃあね。
I'm currently a college student that is quickly discovering that I don't want to take my life slow. I don't want to waste my time while I'm young and I want to get out and see the world. Dreams of every middle aged wife that got knocked up too young and chose not to get the abortion. ( Did I just lose some readers? Okay they're gone now we can continue. ) I study [Your favorite major] at [Your University] as well as Japanese. Now [Your favorite major] is pretty common but ask anybody what they think about Japanese and people are pretty amazed and exclaim that it must be SUPER difficult, like cure cancer and AIDS simultaneously difficult. This can't be true. I have a little brother and sister out in Japan that speak perfect Japanese and as far as I know they haven't cured neither cancer nor AIDS.
I have some immediate family in or around the area of a little city called Tokyo, which if you're reading this I'm assuming you want to be. (Unless of course you don't.) I, however, did not have the benefit of growing up multilingual, even though I'm half Peruvian and half White and have family in Japan. Well I am fixing that as we speak. I recently ( 1 week ago ) adopted a popular method call All Japanese All The Time. If you haven't heard of it head over to www.alljapaneseallthetime.com . Don't forget the address I know it's a hard one to remember. OK cool. This blog is going to be a place to check my progress and my current thoughts about learning this language. You can use it to compare yourself to someone else on your same quest if your the competitive type. Or just take my advice and learn how I learn as I learn it.
Let's Break Down the Steps:
::::::Step 1. Desire
Do you want to learn Japanese? Check. Now wait seriously DO YOU WANT TO LEARN JAPANESE?!! Check. Ok then let's do it. Together 一緒に。 Now you just need to believe that you can do it and if you're unsure I suggest going over to that website with the long name I gave a second ago and read. Khatz is a good motivational speaker.
::::::Step 2. Immersion and Everything that goes with it.
First you need to quit English. Forget English. It never existed.
Next you need to start doing everything you like doing but this time in Japanese. This includes movies, cartoons, music, websites, friends (ouch! Well it's bound to happen some friends just don't understand when you're committed to learning a language.)
::::::Step 3. You know Japanese
Wait I missed something. Oh yeah during immersion you have some learning to do. This is done in 3 other steps.
Lets Break Down The Steps:
::::::Step 1. Learn Kanji (Chinese characters used in Japanese).
Learn the meanings and how to write them. Don't worry about how to say the words just yet. The book I'm using to do this is Remembering the Kanji 1 and 3 by James Heisig. I also use a program called Anki found at http://ankisrs.net/ . Together It is impossible not to learn. I'm currently learning 20 new Kanji per day. At this rate I will get through the basic 2047 or so Kanji by May 5th. (I started a week ago?) add another 1000 Kanji to this and ill be done with those by end of June. AWESOME!
This first part may seem slow but I have been studying Japanese for roughly 1.5 years and trust me this past week has done wonders for me. Once you know the meanings of the first 2000 Kanji you'll start to learn how to read and use Japanese much faster ( I assume from reading AJATT blog). Really it will and I can tell because from classes you don't really have a great understanding of the language at all. This immersion thing is the best way.
::::::Step 2. Learn the kana.
Learn Hiragana and Katakana, 2 other ways to represent the Japanese language. Combine the three Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana and you now have the Japanese writing system. Japanese does not have 3 alphabets. It is just one system.
Now it makes sense that if you already know the meanings of kanji you will be able to write them while learning how to speak. Also I already know both Hiragana and Katakana from my classes. So I guess that's an unfair advantage and will probably knock off about 4 or 6 days off my journey. Yeah It's not hard to learn. But, it is perfected through practice so unless your using it there is no point in learning these until your ready to start learning readings. (After the first 2000 Kanji)
::::::Step 3. Pick up the language naturally.
You have now been immersed in the language for about 3-4 months right? Are you going crazy. Idk I guess we'll see together but Step 3 is to start taking sentences from all those books, music, TV shows, and movies you collected over the past few months. You load these sentences up into Anki as well and start learning them the same way as Kanji. The Goal is 10000 sentences in your deck at any time. This will be built up over time don't worry. Kids don't learn from someone drilling into them that this is a door and those are walls. (Well a little) But the grammar part is definitely not explained to them. They pick it up from context and copying those around them. Most Japanese don't know the grammar points we think we know. They do not sit there and convert to て-form switch it to a た or だ and add "blah blah" to it. They just react to what they know and feel is true. Try thinking about how you speak your native language. Yeah it just happens if you had to think so much you wouldn't be able to communicate effectively. This is the goal from sentences. You know the meanings of the sentences and can say it and reproduce it even if you don't know the specifics about every slight change in sound. You develop knowledge of nouns and particles and how things work NATURALLY.
Now this scattered version of a blog is just me letting you know what I'm up to. I suggest you check out AJATT and come visit me to see how I'm doing and let me know how you're doing. I have some more reviews I need to do before bed.
So, jaane.
じゃあね。
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