How do you study?

[LPJAPAN]

I've just started my first formal, as in I'm paying, Japanese class. We're using the みなの日本語 book. I've had two classes so far and I've realized I don't really know how to study the language. I have a strong grasp of kana and know some basic kanji, but the more difficult kanji I have serious problems recalling.

At the beginning of each class we have a kanji test. The test is mixed writing kanji as well as writing the reading of the kanji in hiragana. The kanji is from Basic Kanji Book 1 by Bonjinsha. After the kanji test we move into the book. The classes are good and so is the teacher. They're about two hours long and I get a lot of speaking practice in the lesson. Learning the grammar isn't too difficult seeing as there are basic patterns that we follow for each lesson and repeat often, but there is a lot of vocabulary that I don't know.

So my question for all of you is how do you study kanji, vocabulary and a chapter of a Japanese book. Do you use flashcards, do you write the words over and over until they sink into your brain? I realize different things work for different people, I'm just looking for some study advise.

よろしく、
ランす (Lance)

[Sequa]

I don't know if I can help much since I don't attend a Japanese class (there aren't any where I live).

For vocabulary I can recommend you this website: http://www.coling.de/markus/index.php?c ... rds&t=jlpt
It has vocabulary flashcards for all JLPT in PDF files. Just print them and cut them in a copy shop.

As for learning Kanji I read a book which explains for each Kanji why it looks like this and gives the most common pronunciations. Then I look up the Kanji in another book where the writing ordner is described so I can be sure I write it correctly. Then I write it a few times and finally add it to the list of Kanji which I'm supposed to know. Sometimes I go through the list and write each Kanji again and check if I remember its meaning.

To compensate for not going to a class I listen to audio lessons (jpod101 obviously and pimsleur) so I get the right pronunciation.

Additionally I have textbooks for Japanese children. I try to learn with them by looking up all the vocabs I don't know and try to analyze the grammar.

But taking a class is probably much better than anything I an do.

[kinoko]

Hm... Since I don't formally study, I don't really ever need to know any certain vocabulary words. I just look up words that I don't know when I hear them, and they stick well, since they're in context and stuff. I don't know how you could go about this, but finding some way to use/read/hear your vocabulary words used in sentences, conversations and stories would help you a lot. Reread/-listen everything until you don't need to look up anymore words to know what's happening, and you should learn lots of words pretty quickly.

But kanji study is easier for me, since they're really visual, and it's easy to make up a mnemonic device for each of them. In Remembering the Kanji by James Heisig, of which the first 12something pages can be found in this pdf, a lot of nifty techniques for making up mnemonic devices for kanji meanings are used. He assigns each tiny part of each kanji a meaning, and uses the different parts of each kanji to create a little "story" that centers around the meaning. As for their readings, I've found that as long as I know (or learn) a few words with a certain kanji in it, I can recall the readings pretty easily.

Hope I could help.

[LPJAPAN]

Kinoko and Sequa,

Thanks for the replies and links.

Kinoko, I think that you're lucky words stick. For me words don't stick too easily, I think I just have to work harder at memorizing vocabulary, and especially reviewing the vocabulary that I study. I was analyzing my study methods after I posted and I realized that I don't review enough. Reviewing isn't as much fun as learning something new, but granted not being able to use things you've studied isn't a very productive when it comes to learning a language.

While listening to Jpod101 on the train I write down the vocabulary in a notebook that I don't know. And I just flipped through it and realized that I haven't reviewed the vocabulary except a couple of times, yet I keep making the list longer.

So to anyone out there, how do you review vocabulary? Do you just use flashcards? Do you keep a journal? <--I've been thinking about doing that. How do you review and keep yourself motivated?

[penelope]

Hi LPJAPAN
I'm using a couple of websites that let you train vocab and kanji - you see the kanji and have to type in the meaning or hiragana. On some sites (and I think also in the learning center here, which I still haven't tried out ) you can also keep track of which kanji you know already well, and which you are still struggling with.

A collection of these sites is posted in the Forum ->jlpt -> jlpt level 4 discussion. Maybe it can help you. There's just one catch: I'm studying everything on my Mac... I can't write kanji by hand. I mean, I type the hiragana, and then the system converts it to a list of possible kanji, out of which I pick the right one. Works fine, I pick the right one. But I can't draw it by hand, although I know lots of the kanji for the JLPT 4 by now.

Saluti

[ecarliz]

hello

I studied japanese at university so I could probably help you out. First of all, try to listen to japanese everyday. the podcasts are great for this, therefore youll be trianing your ear at all time.. throughout the day practice what you learn in class, if you are in japan than its very easy, but if you're not, just practice with yourself, go through everything youve learned so far in your mind. as your vocabulary starts to increase and grammar knowledge, you can start to transform all your thoughts to japanese.. so everything that goes through your mind, is in japanese. this is very important, because there will be a time when you want to think something but you´re not sure how to say it, than you know you should look it up and study it. (thats what I did and still do) . so not only are you practicing your vocabulary, but also you will be using it in sentences through out the day, and .. you will be know what parts of grammar you are stuck in.. good luck!

[Charles]

Every single day.

That is by far the most important thing.

[LPJAPAN]

Every day is the way to go I agree!

I've noticed many people have looked at this thread but very few people have been leaving their study methods

I guess I'm not the only one looking for tips on how to study

Over the past week I've been reviewing more and not trying to take in as much new stuff. This has been helping me remember things better. And I've been trying to look at something more than one time a day. If I'm trying to study kanji or new vocabulary, I study it and then I try to look at a short time later say 15 minutes, and then I try to look at again before I go to bed. This seems to be helping me remember.

[chloes]

The hardest thing about studying japanese (or anything) is making yourself study the parts that you hate, or find the most difficult.

for that reason i break my study up into 6 10-20 minute sections so that even if i only have 10 minutes a day i can study something new.

1. KANJI
Using flash cards I made myself, I read the ON and KUN readings and try and write the kanji for each one. for the ones I don't get right, I write them out 20 times to get myself used to writing it. the next time round I learn a coupple new Kanji and add them to my flash cards.

2. YESJAPAN.COM
I make my way through the lessons on this site. After I finish one course, I go back and do it again. It costs to use this site, but worth it as it has a great verb conjucation section.

3. VERB FLASH CARDS
Again-my home made flash cards. I write the dictionary form and try and learn them by rote. I also write sentences using different conjugations of the verbs to practise at the end of each session. this is also good for speaking and vocab.

4. VOCAB

Flash cards!!! it's amazing how these wods stick in your head if you read through them all even once a week. some words you remember at once, others take weeks. After 5 months I can finally remember the word for cockroach!!!

the key is studying different parts of the language so that you can make slow progress in different areas....

though the main thing to remember that langage is 80% about speaking. so if you don't get to practise speaking it, you really need to! try going to a japanese resteraunt where you live and asking for water, or the bill. the good thing about japanese people (unlike the french!) is that they are really encouraging when they hear a foreigner trying to speak the language!

[Jason]

The hardest thing about studying japanese (or anything) is making yourself study the parts that you hate, or find the most difficult.

This is one advantage that a traditional class has over self-learning. If you don't do the parts you hate, you fail the class.

[Charles]

The hardest thing about studying japanese (or anything) is making yourself study the parts that you hate, or find the most difficult.

This is one advantage that a traditional class has over self-learning. If you don't do the parts you hate, you fail the class. :wink:

Well, I don't think that's realistic, to be honest. I went through many a German class not learning the genders of nouns and I still passed.

If you're self-teaching, I don't think there's anything wrong with putting off what you think is difficult until you're ready. The most important thing is that you learn something. When you run out of easy things, then, by all means, move on to the harder stuff.

By that time, it may not look so hard at all.

[LittleFishChan]

Supermemo, that's all I need for kanji readings, writing/stroke order, vocab review, etc. I watch TV and read magazines and books in Japanese, so that takes care of reading and listening practice. I use supermemo every day and review usually around 150 flashcards a day. I have more than 6,600 flashcards in supermemo and I show no signs of forgetting them or slowing down.

Although to get to this point I did other things, what's carrying me now is purely Supermemo, plain and simple.

[alfa1]

If you're self-teaching, I don't think there's anything wrong with putting off what you think is difficult until you're ready. The most important thing is that you learn something. When you run out of easy things, then, by all means, move on to the harder stuff.
By that time, it may not look so hard at all.

Agreed. I've noticed for myself that some words just slide easily into my memory the first time I hear them, and others that I first encountered YEARS ago I still havnt been able to remember yet.
Rather than spend hours painfully trying to remember a small number of those those hard to remember words (and kanji), I think its better time spent to learn a larger number of those words (and kanji) that I somehow more easily remember.

Anyway, since this topic is about study methods, I:
- listen to all and any podcasts I can find anywhere on the net as I commute to and from work.
- go back to podcasts I've heard a few weeks back and write lists of words that I didnt remember
- stick up notes all over the house. Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, everywhere.
- continually wonder if I'm actually making any progress at all.