@Eratik, why don't you give a try to RTK3 ? Maybe with a slower rythmm than RTK1, like that you'll keep yourself motivated without being overflown by reviewing...

@truando: 986 kanji, my god 0__0. For happening to have something like 750 expired kanji, I've done them by 50 kanji packets during two week-end (300 the first, 500 the second one). My retention rate was something like 50%, but with the reviewing, I was up to 65% after 150, and currently, I'm to something like 85%.
Good luck !

breakies Wrote:@Eratik, why don't you give a try to RTK3 ? Maybe with a slower rythmm than RTK1, like that you'll keep yourself motivated without being overflown by reviewing...

I'm not overflowed (50 a day), it's just tedious, and I don't need new kanji right now, I need more Japanese. I plan to do RTK3 this summer, long after I'm done with core 2k and the basic grammar.

@breakies: did them in two days. 8 hours the first day and around 5 the second. believe me, the moment I saw that zero on the bottom I was dancing on the floor!

@Eratik: same for me. 1st of December I'll start with KO2001, 5 漢字 a day.

When I'm finished with Level 1 (after 111 days) I'll start Level 2 and RTK3. For RTK 3 I'll take it slow, maybe 3 or 5 a day, no need to hurry. After a further 111 days I should be done with Level 2 and half / a third of RTK3. Then off to Level 3 and the rest of RTK3.

That should leave me with roughly 2200 漢字 reading and writing, and 3007 漢字 RTK by the end of 2011 / beginning of 2012.

At least, that's the plan. We'll see about reality...

1915. I'm tired. It gets tiresome at the end. Almost over, I can see the end of the tunnel.

@truando: Hey, right at your current point was seeing the end of the tunnel as well, additionally to the.. ~130 Kanjis STILL left.. This word "still" made me a bit upset, as it said you know already so many kanjis and STILL you have to go the road T_T It was troublesome but i made it.. Currently my Japanese learning quota per week is somewhat like 0% as i'm writing exams and have to prepare (and will fail though, that's discouraging.. and not even making real process with japanese i want to study at university later on). Ganbatte on your way, enjoy it, you will really miss it, this red bible!

Yeah, it seems endless. I don't know. I'm at 1926 now. My motivation is really low. I plan to finish on Sunday, before leaving for a concert in Vienna, but right now my retention is really low. Everything's a mess...

Would be stupid to quit now, would it...

Good luck with your exams, I'm sure you'll be fine, and better things are to come after.

Alles Gute!

I got a translation job for a family this week and I was gone all day working. But instead of being giddy to go to work today, I'm feeling almost down. The older Japanese lady who I have to translate is 80 years old and has alzheimer's disease. Not only is her Japanese hard to understand, and I have to repeat a lot of questiosn and deal with general communication difficulties -- My nervousness just eats up my Japanese ability. It's like I go blank when trying to converse.

I just got a wake-up slap to the face.

at 234, gotta review...

Once again, I decided to skip a couple of months for exams etc. Now that exams are over, I'm getting back into it. However:



I'm hoping to set the record for longest time taken to complete RTK; I started in March 2009.

What should I do? I was thinking of doing 100 reviews per day, plus adding any failed cards back into the cycle. Or shall I do more reviews per day, and only add new cards when all reviews are complete?

I'm currently at 662 due cards (yes, I never did the 300 I promised I would). So my advice/method: do 100 cycles (about an hour), and when the failed cards stack reach a hundred, review them (every 500 or so). So for your stack (1228), you can be done in 16 hours (a week studying 2 hours a day).
And yes, you should postpone adding meanwhile.
And don't worry, in the "congratulate me" thread, there's a guy that finished in 7 years, so keep motivated.

Doesn't look too bad to me. Most of them are in stack 4. They should be pretty familiar. Once I did over 900 reviews in two days, it was hard, but very rewarding when it was over.

Go for small chunks of 15 minutes each, spread out throughout the day. Do as many 15 minute sessions a day as possible.

がんばって！

I'm brimming with hot-blooded, manly passion (nekketsu?). Despite my lazy, undisciplined ways, I'll make myself get through this stuff yet. Only 752 reviews left before I can start adding new kanji! I'm on 1805, so the end is in sight. Then on to mastering this language of the moons. I think this enthusiasm comes from U&I playing in my headphones (song from K-ON, the most manly, badass screen drama I've beheld). I don't know whether to fist pump or weep. On second thought, I think I'll make tea and have some cake.

No, wait, I have to study!

To somehow turn this into a deep and thoughtful post with some sort of purpose, remember that doing 9001 reviews a day is really just a sort of trial similar to the ones administered to young samurai preparing for battle against the giant insectoid menace. While they would go into the mountains to break things underneath waterfalls for months on end, we're similarly writing a bunch of kanji. Only by completing this trial will we be able to defend the galaxy from gaijin set on defiling our space dust. Banzai!

I'm sorry. I'm just too giddy right now.

0 reviews due. I was failing a lot toward the end, but I got through it. Now I just have to learn 237 more characters. I'll try doing them all today.

So I am starting over for the 3rd time. The first two times I did not really have a dedicated time that I was studying or reviewing and I had a lot of schoolwork that kept getting in the way. This time I've got a set time and place to study and shouldn't have many distractions. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to move through the first few hundred pretty quickly. After glancing over them they still seem kinda fresh, which is weird because I've been away from them for almost a year. I don't want to go too fast, because I don't want a whole heap of reviews to weed through everyday.
Third time's a charm is what I've been told.

It took me three restarts before I really went through it and stuck to it. Now my average interval is 6.7 months, which feels pretty nice. Keep it up this time and dedicate at least an hour a day until it gets so easy that you finish with plenty of time to dedicate to other study methods.

Hello everyone! I'm currently at 1047. I just hit 1000 2 days ago, and man did that feel great!

Anki is really such an amazing program! Though its a pain to review over a hundred Kanjis every day...

That's great! RTK really is a commitment. I had some problems with that fact, but I think it's something that the longer you keep at it and come to terms with it being something you're going to do every day for a while, the easier it gets.

It most certainly is a commitment! But its much better then sitting around wishing I knew Japanese, because its a step towards my goal of Japanese fluency!

Man, I feel much more alive since starting this process, I really wish I started earlier!

Wei13 Wrote:It most certainly is a commitment! But its much better then sitting around wishing I knew Japanese, because its a step towards my goal of Japanese fluency!

Man, I feel much more alive since starting this process, I really wish I started earlier!

You just reminded me of one of my favourite movie quotes: "There's no point living if you don't feel alive" ;p

This is my first post here but been using rtk for a couple months.
Up to 258 so still a beginner compared to all those who are in the thousands.

Incidently, does anyone know in Mr. Heisig is still in Nagoya? I am living in the city so would love to meet him someday. (perhaps wait till the Spring by which time I am scheduled to have completed rtk!)

Really enjoying creating a rather whacky new world in my mind where anything and everything can happen...

Michael

Ps. I use the site on iPhone and it works so well. Thank you!

michaeltrew Wrote:Really enjoying creating a rather whacky new world in my mind where anything and everything can happen...

This.

That's the best thing I've heard in a long time when it comes to encouragement.

It wasn't so very long ago that I was in the same card range as you, and I remember the excitement. The "Holy Crap! I can actually do this!" feeling that just... suffuses your entire being all of a sudden. Have you started the random bouncing yet, or is that just a girl thing?

Thank you. When people post things like this, I suddenly find myself recapturing that feeling. I want to run with it. I'm bloody exhausted, but I have every intention of finishing lesson 30 today, just because of your post!

59 new kanji added today, and I'm not done yet!

I might make it before Christmas after all!

And just so you know Michael, Lesson 30 starts at 1086. No matter how new or old you are at this, you always have something to offer your fellow learners!

Adoette,
Thank you! Glad to hear your response.
Today I'm not doing any official, but off to onset in mountains with japanese friends.
After all, people is what it's all about.

Let us know how ３０ goes!
M

Just finished chapter 18 and am on 475! Feeling quite good, but 500 would be amazing. When I think about how I know 475 kanji it sounds like loads but it really doesn't feel like I know that many!

I've just started three days ago and I'm on 126 but I'll probably do more today. I'm gonna try to 150 today and then later do 50/40 a day if that's not too much.

Andres Wrote:I've just started three days ago and I'm on 126 but I'll probably do more today. I'm gonna try to 150 today and then later do 50/40 a day if that's not too much.

You'll find the first 500 or so just fly by! Keep that pace as long as you can, you're doing great!