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+--- Thread: Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? (/thread-8948.html)
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - blargh88 - 2012-01-22
Hi all,
I just started RtK and finished part 1 (~250 kanji). I haven't gotten to any mature cards yet, but my retention rate for most of the young cards is 90+.
Heisig always harps on creating these vivid pictures in your mind regarding the kanji, and how not doing so is setting oneself up for failure.
However, I generally just say a phrase to go with a keyword without imagining/picturing it. ie. 枯 = wither. I just tell myself "the tree grew old and withered" and move on.
In addition, since i don't usually imagine the pictures unless i'm having trouble, I usually forget my small phrase within the week. However, by then I have the kanji well remembered.
I realize everyone's learning methods are different, but was just wondering if anyone had insight on this matter.
Thanks,
Blargh88
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - lardycake - 2012-01-22
A problem may arise when you get very similar keywords.
For example with wither you may get issues with 苦 suffering. I would have said 凋 wilt but if you get to RTK 3 you will have sorted any issues out, but the issue still stands; it will be hard with keywords that are very similar.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - TwoMoreCharacters - 2012-01-22
blargh88 Wrote:In addition, since i don't usually imagine the pictures unless i'm having trouble, I usually forget my small phrase within the week. However, by then I have the kanji well remembered.I would say that's very temporary, it's just fresh in your memory. We're talking about over 2000 characters, as time passes they're not all going to be well remembered with only a week's worth of reviewing for each one of them.
However, I personally think that the only way you can really fail when it comes to language learning is by giving up. As long as you keep at it, you're improving. If you half-ass all your stories then you're going to have to put a lot more work into reviewing them, but that doesn't mean you can't succeed.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - dizmox - 2012-01-22
Quote:In addition, since i don't usually imagine the pictures unless i'm having trouble, I usually forget my small phrase within the week. However, by then I have the kanji well remembered.That's fine, I mostly stopped bothering with pictures altogether halfway through anyway.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - s0apgun - 2012-01-22
Stop thinking about it. Let the SRS do the work for you. Some cards I really depend on the stories, some I can do just by a keyword or pictograph. It really doesn't matter just keep doing your SRS everyday and it will be impossible not to learn them regardless of your method. The stories help them stick in your head better though for sure.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - zigmonty - 2012-01-22
s0apgun Wrote:Stop thinking about it. Let the SRS do the work for you. Some cards I really depend on the stories, some I can do just by a keyword or pictograph. It really doesn't matter just keep doing your SRS everyday and it will be impossible not to learn them regardless of your method. The stories help them stick in your head better though for sure.Yeah, just watch your failures and come up with a better story if you're annoyed at how many times you fail certain kanji. I mostly made do with crap mnemonics or whatever the highest starred story here was.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - undead_saif - 2012-01-22
I used different ways depending on the Kanji, and mixed more than one in the same Kanji, all that matters is that the keyword will lead "eventually" to the Kanji no matter how crowded is your Kanji pocket, i.e each keyword has its unique position in your mind with an associated mnemonic that leads to the Kanji.
I used: pictographs, just sentences (but usually related to other Kanji, for example wither and suffer are sharp in my memory because I tied them together like this: trees wither when they get old while flowers suffer because they look ugly, so there's a combination here), images, weird events or things that I know and jokes.
To summarize, you have to make a clearly distinct place for each Kanji in your head.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - quark - 2012-01-22
I had the same problem when I tried RTK - I had a hard time coming up with visuals and stories. I ended up quitting somewhere around 750-800.
However, that doesn't necessarily count as a failure. Keep going with RTK - it's worked for a lot of people, and there's a good chance it'll work for you as well.
But even if it doesn't, don't tack the experience up as a 'failure'. If you give it an honest shot, realize it's not for you, and go on to try another method, then it still counts as a learning experience. There can be a lot of trial and error involved in learning something new.
Also, go check out some of the user submitted stories. Maybe a different story will help you get the visualization you're after.
Just Started, Am I Going Towards Failure? - s0apgun - 2012-01-22
For me... I just use the RTK Anki Shared deck that has the top two stories from this site. Making stories for all the kanji is too much work for me, I understand it works for others but I don't see the point. I spend all my valuable time learning new cards by reading through the koohii stories. If I see that I'm failing a card too many times or the stories are too long or stupid, I will edit the card and come up with my own.
This is the best solution IMO, making your own SRS deck, making your own stories, or looking up stories here and putting them into your SRS is a waste of time. There is plenty of resources to be lazy and still learn fast. I've done 50 cards a day this way up to the halfway point, decided to drop it down to 25 new a day though since the reviews started to pile up.