Heisig method?

[KnightXXI]

I've heard good and bad things about this but its hard for me to get the books in the UK so before I go buying them I'd like some opinions from people here (preferably those who've used it before) so is it good? bad? worse than bad?

[tintinium]

i like them... they're good... but you have to be determined to see them through.

[mikuji]

Hi KightXXI-san

I like the Heisig method. It can be fun and you do get to recognise similar kanji very well as well as understanding some of their ethimology.

I was also directed by another forum participant to the site below (see my post in new features forum). It makes it easier to review the kanji learned with the Heisig method:

http://kanji.koohii.com/

There you can get suggestion on how to make stories up for the kanjis you find difficult.

tintinium -san, I too run out of steam with the book as the kanji got more complex and I could not think of a helpful story so I am finding this site very helpful to revise and get ideas.

Gambatte anatatomo!

mikuji

[Airth]

I am also a supporter of the method, and would recommend the books as a complement to your kanji study routine. Heisig helped me to see kanji in a new way that made learning them enjoyable and stimulating. After I started using the books I realised that the barrier the characters placed between me and the language hiding behind it was in fact scalable and no cause for frustration.

If I was going to start it again I would learn stories that encapsulated both the writing and the reading; I really don't believe that you have to finish book 1 before you can start book 2. I would also take a very flexible approach to the chosen keywords. Too often I found he uses archaic or unfamiliar words that I realised were much better to ignore and substitute for my own, as much as possible doing away with English.

The best endorsement I can give it is that I now read the Joyo kanji without hesitation, and I can write them as long as I know which kanji I need. That last step is perhaps the hardest; knowing how to put the kanji together in context, but that's a whole other story.

One final thing, while the books are important nothing has helped me more than the set of kanji cards that support them. Those cards and my electronic dictionary were two of the best investments I ever made.