I've found myself extremely happy with discovering RTK as I think it was the first system that really fit my brains learning system. I'm currently studying for ２級 but I realize no matter what I do, SRS, Anki, Smart.fm, かきとりくん on nintendo DS including all these applications on my iPhone the only thing that works is mnemonics especially for vocab. I am currently now putting in my own words for grammer and vocab on Anki with mnemonics for example // 首相 (しゅしょう) - to become prime minister you must first win first prize at the shoe show (shu shyou) // but I become so reliant on it now that my brain seems to only work with it. Anyone else have this problem? and if so do you have any good suggestions or sites or books?
Thanks

actually, you just spelled しゅしょう＝shushou wrong in ローマ字 i think... after you finish RtK, everything should be fairly easy to remember when you use Anki... just make sure you fail cards often that you have even the slightest doubt about.

Everyone's brain works differently, so I'm not surprised that that's the way that works best for you. Mnemonics have always been a really good method anyhow.

I think you are giving up on other forms of learning too quickly, though. They take some time to get comfortable with before they really start to pay off.

Hashiriya is correct about romanization, btw. It should be shushou.

I do it too. 最初　- The Krusty Clown show starts with saisho Bob introducing Krusty . I think it probably works the same as Heisig- At first you need it, then it falls away, part by part from using/hearing the word. Like the saisho Bob story - I just see 最初 - think "side show Bob - oh - saisho!", not the whole story. The meaning is there too. I certainly don't think " utmost+first time = Side Show Bob = to start off ". I recognize the compound without consciously using Heisig key words. Soon I'm sure I won't even use the mnemonic at all. I really mostly use them to remember how to say the word. I never seem to need the mnemonic when I hear it somewhere.

I think it's a good think, just round out your learning by hearing the words "in the wild" - a lot.... the crutches will come off, and will help you in the process.

One method I and others use for vocab is skip mnemonics and just learn from doing sentences. This is easier if you learn with kanji grouped by relation like the KO books, or by on-yomi groups like the Reibun de Manabu ２級 book.

I also do small amounts of repetition on groups of words to help speed up initial learning (see threads on Iversen), although some people just use their SRS in their initial learning too.

I remember things much better with mnemonics, but I stink at coming up with them! When I did RTK I mostly relied on other people's stories, because I'm just not that creative. Sometimes I have vocab that I forget or get mixed up, and I know mnemonics would help, but I just can't come up with any.

For instance, I'm always confusing the readings of 四日 and 八日. It's the perfect thing for a mnemonic.

[Katsuo]

Zarxrax Wrote:For instance, I'm always confusing the readings of 四日 and 八日. It's the perfect thing for a mnemonic.

四日 vs. 八日 (よっか vs. ようか)
To distinguish, you only need a mnemonic for one of them.

If you are familiar with cricket, imagine someone bowls you a "yorker", and you hit an eight!

Alternatively...
They both contain か, so we need a mnenmonic for either よっ or よう. Choose the latter.
What else sounds like よう? How about "yoga".
Mnemonic: On the eigth day of the month you always attend yoga class and practice putting your body into an "8" shape, (or a 八 shape, if you prefer).

Hey that's pretty good, I think you just saved me on those two words which I've been trying to keep straight for years :p