Getting back on track

[fredrikaugustsson2743]

Hi

I've been studying Japanese on and off for about 10 years now. Between 2005 and 2007 i took university courses in Sweden and I went to Tokyo for a year. After my year in Japan I started doing other things so my Japanese gradually got worse. Since then I have tried several times to get back to studying but I always fail. I've been able to keep the really basic stuff in my head because my wife is Japanese so I get some practice at home, she speaks Swedish and English but if she gets angry or annoyed with me she tends to switch to Japanese. I have totally forgotten kanji and I can only read the really basic ones.

My number one problem with studying is that I can't seem to find the right level to start. If I start with the really basic stuff the grammar and vocabulary does not feel challenging. I've flipped through my old textbooks (Genki 1 & 2) and I feel like I know the grammar pretty good. If I start at an intermediate level I always get stuck with kanji because of my low reading skills. I've tried Heisigs Remembering the Kanji but I found it to be ineffective.

I'm guessing I'm not the first one to end up in a situation like this so I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has any tips on how to get back on track. I guess my ideal thing would be to find a slow but effective system for studying where I can improve my Japanese over time without forgetting. I'm not going for full fluency but I would love to be somewhere around N2 fluency. I'm somewhere in the N3/N4 region now (probably lower for kanji).

I love using a good textbook so if anyone knows of a good textbook that fits my current situation please tell me.

[community.japanese]

fredrikaugustsson2743-san,
kon'nichiwa

I know the dilemma and frustration of that kind...
If you've forgotten a lot over time, it'd be a good idea to start from the real basic
just convincing yourself that it's only for review. Our lessons are about 15 minutes only,
so you can try some lower levels' lessons to see. We have "dialog" audio files too.
How about listening to only dialog(s) first and see if you understand the dialog (more or less),
see if you want to dig deeper; if you know the grammar and vocab, move on to the next one.
When you come accross a lesson with grammar and/or vocab that you didn't remember,
take a bit of time and learn that lesson properly.
While studying with those audios, you can use Lesson Notes for full transcription even with kanji.
So, you can actually learn some kanji "in a context" which is the best way.

As to the textbooks, "genki" would probably be more suitable for younger people.
There's nothing wrong to use those books. The famous lines are "min'na no nihongo", "genki",
"Japanese for Busy People" etc. If you prefer upper level ones for adults, there's also
"Getting Down to Business: Japanese for Business People. I suppose this is more for business matters
in intermediate level than elementary.

Hope this helps!

Natsuko (奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com