Hello everyone, I have just started learning Japanese and I was wondering if it's a good idea to start learning some vocab while doing RTK?

Also, most people I've asked recommend core2k and I gave it a look and I'm not exactly sure how it works. Is there a book or something to learn it then use the anki deck? I'm Kind of confused because every deck I've used in anki is for reviewing what I've learned somewhere else.

How about learning a vocab word that includes the RTK kanji your reviewing? Something along the lines JLevelUp suggests here. You can be as simple as look for any word that includes that kanji, and add it to your reviews for reference.

[s0apgun]

Are you fairly comfortable with Kana? I would recommend starting Core slowly and learning some grammar alongside RTK. I think you'll have a much better rounded understanding this way.

Yes I know the Kana really well. Is Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar a good resource for grammar?

A lot of people have used/are using Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar. It's popular, which means that if there is something you are confused about while using it, you'll probably be able to other people discussing it online (Tae Kim has a related forum, I think?) as well as well documented in the search archive on this website.

Tae Kim has a somewhat steep learning curve and glosses over a lot of the fundamentals, but it is free and has a wide coverage of basic grammar. Enough to use as a crutch to get yourself comfortable with the common patterns in native media (patterns; you're still going to need thousands of words under your belt).

For another free resource, you could try the enhanced version of a Visualizing Japanese Grammar, found here:

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?p...#pid121590
under the heading Visualizing Japanese Grammar
http://www.mediafire.com/?sj7orxnzhohfckm
http://www.mediafire.com/?z2gpcx8zrdmd29n
http://www.mediafire.com/?jqdbexhec74u21r
Source:
http://www.gwu.edu/~eall/vjg/vjghomepage/vjghome.htm

Personally, I think this is superior in many aspects, and it provides native audio.

How to study the Core series decks is a single question with many answers; all right and all wrong depending on who you ask. Nukemarine has a pretty useful outline of at least one approach which has been shown successful. Maybe a read-through could provide you with a practice insight or three:

http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=5110

You're familiar with kana, therefore がんばってねよ

uisukii Wrote:Tae Kim has a related forum, I think?

Tae Kim does have a related forum, and it is better to post Tae Kim guide questions in that forum, as opposed to in the comments at the bottom of each lesson.

The Tae Kim forum is not as active as the RtK forum, but it does have advanced learners and native speakers participating, most of whom are familiar with the Tae Kim Grammar Guide. The Tae Kim 'Complete' Guide is newer, so the more advanced learners didn't go through that because, well, it didn't used to be there.

I really liked the Tae Kim Grammar guide, but I did come to it after going through a textbook (Minna no Nihongo). Since it was filling gaps, it's hard for me to say what it's like for someone's first learning experience.