DeadLugosi Wrote:I haven't learned on readings yet but in my opinion it must be must faster to learn the reading of the kanji in some specific compound if you already have an idea of what it might be, because you've already gotten from two hundreds or so possible readings to 2 or 3 (rarely much more).By "faster" do you mean easier to learn and remember words? I think everyone agrees that having a sound associated with a kanji can be useful. All of the methods, however, will create that sound association. So the question becomes what are the pros and cons of the different approaches?
1. movie method: learn all readings for all kanji while learning kanji a la RTK1 (no extra time, order?, understanding phonetic components plays a key role, cannot use RTK1 stories)
2. complete RTK1, then learn readings for some useful subset of kanji using a memory palace method (more selective). In advance (additional 1-3 weeks) or on an as-needed basis.
3. complete RTK1, then learn readings in Japanese words (useful order, learn nuanced meanings of kanji at same time, increase vocab, takes time).
Katsuo hinted at a 4th approach which seems to combine the best of the above. Imagine RTK1 with readings given for only a useful subset of kanji. For example, for those frequently used kanji that are in RTK2's pured groups ('signal primitive' indicates the reading). Because RTK1 is already ordered by primitive, the order probably wouldn't change much. Even out of order, people have said that placing kanji in their kanji towns individually (not as a complete group) was equally effective. You could add a Japanese word to the answer side so that you reinforcing the reading in context and learning a new vocab. Where the meaning of the Japanese word = English keyword, you could substitute it at any time.
[Nothing I'm saying is new. Folks are already doing their own modified versions of this or that. I'm just trying to summarize a few threads for newcomers].
