Learning order and some other questions!

[Kaenz]

Hello!

I have recently started using this wonderful site and got a few questions which I couldn't find answers for.

Firstly, I have started with Newbie S2 as suggested in "Where do i start". Is this really the best place to start. ( I am a complete newbie )

Secondly, How should i approach to learning kana and kanji ? from the start or after i get the basics down ?

Thats it for now
Thanks in advance!

[QuackingShoe]

You can probably start from any season or level you find comfortable. Ultimately doesn't really matter much.

Lean Kana from the start. They're easy and necessary. You can learn the read them in the course of an afternoon by simply googling for flashcard programs. You can also mess around with http://www.humanjapanese.com/preview/HumanJapanese.aspx , which will tell you about how to write them, and includes sound files for pronunciation. There is no reason not to learn the kana as quickly as possible; it's easy, and you need them to read anything in Japanese that is not specifically aimed at foreigners.

Kanji will take longer. Everyone has their different ideas about it, but I personally suggest this website http://kanji.koohii.com/ and the book it is designed to work along with. For more information, I would direct you to http://kanji.koohii.com/learnmore.php , http://forum.koohii.com/viewtopic.php?id=1958 , and maybe http://www.japanesepod101.com/forum/vie ... php?t=4075 or some other threads in here about RTK that you can find through a search. In that last link there's also a link for http://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/SHUBUNKEN/pub ... sample.pdf , which is a free sample of the first section of the book.

Good luck and feel free to ask for any clarification...

[Drabant]

I agree about Remembering the Kanji. Actually, if I knew what I do now, I would have started, and finished, RTK before even learning any Japanese at all. I find that the Kanji I already knew before starting RTK, just like Heisig himself says, disturbs the learning process. But I also find that knowing some Japanese disturbs, because I find myself trying to guess how the Kanji should be read.
The problem with that approach is that it would take quite some while before you actually learned any Japanese.

I would say it all depends on what your goals are. If you plan to live in Japan, there is no way around kana/kanji anyway, and you are better off getting started with both early on. If you will go there only for a 2-weeks business trip, you probably don't need to bother.

Kana are indeed fairly simple to learn, and make the rest of the (serious) learning process easier.

[Kaenz]

Heya,

Thanks for the answers and suggestions guys! Those sites and advices helped me greatly and I finally made learning plan for myself. I will be watching this and similar topics for my future questions, till then thanks again

[Javizy]

Just a little note. I completed Remembering the Kanji while steadily learning the language at the same time. If we can study 9-10 individual topics currently at school, then I think we can handle studying Japanese language and kanji individually, as well.