KO2001 tips:

1. Unsuspend a fix number of cards everyday, regardless of your reviews. The number depends on your own rhythm. This way you can discipline yourself, and don't burn out.

2. When I find a word too difficult, I add extra cards containing that word taken from yahoo dictionary. That way, I get extra exposure to that word.

3. I copy-paste the definition of the unknown words from edict dictionary in the notes field of the card, as reference. Besides, I put in the notes field extra notes that I consider useful, as the RTK keywords or the difficult kanji, or similar words that confuse me.

4. When I travel, I don't unsuspend new cards, but continue the reviews.

5. Don't devote all of your Japanese time to KO2001. It is better to take a longer time to complete KO2001 than to sacrifice exposure. Anyway, the words learnt in KO2001 will stick in your mind only when you find them in real material (reading-listening).

Reading all your nice recommendations makes me appear like a mental retard a bit.. I mean my brain had more than enough time getting the hang of readings (long/short vowel game etc.), i mean 4 months?!

Ad KO2001 -- You mean the usage in context with Anki or the HTML files? How to treat the HTML eBook correctly f.e.? Plainly learning ("drilling" would be a better word for me) the readings plus vocabulary?

Ad RtK2 -- What's wrong with learning the radicals and their readings working for a few kanji elements (see "Pure Groups" from RtK2)? Would be definitely worth while going my way through the Genki 1 and 2 world (what shall i do after THAT, will be the next excruating question to me, uah) and combining acquired "on yomi reading" knowledge with vocabulary i learn through these books.. (not?)
But how to learn these economic vocabularies completely out of context? 10 minutes after i learnt them they will disappear again (unfortunately) -_- I mean, i get the hang of these "common" words already, as they are repeated everywhere so often. I also understand easy conversations but once it comes about details and longer sentences i'm absolutely lost. Additionally to the fact words are sometimes pronounced like "itch-" and written "ichi" (just an example).

I'm quite irritated by now.. There are many options out there, core2k/6k/kore/KO2001. It's not a matter of doing, but of chosing the RIGHT one for me I do not know which yet.

Please help, it's unbearable -_-

KO2001 gives a sentence in Japanese and English for each item. So I have this sentence, which is not from KO2001:

Trying to learn 僧侶:

この国では「戦士」「魔導師」「僧侶」などさまざまな職業の人材育成こそ重要と位置づけ国を挙げて支援をしている
In this country, "soldier," "mage," and "priest," ...

I already know 戦士 (soldier)
I kind of know 魔導師 (mage, the first character kind of gives it away)
I don't know 僧侶 (priest) at all
...but you do know because the three terms sort of go together. Now all you need to memorize is the reading, souryo.
To do this, just read the three terms together in Japanese. Usually just do it once but if you're having trouble up to three times. This is "memorizing the sentence" and some people say you shouldn't to this. I say whatever works. No idea if I'd recognize 僧侶 outside of the context in which it was found - this word is probably pretty rare; I haven't seen it twice yet.

Tori-kun Wrote:I'm quite irritated by now.. There are many options out there, core2k/6k/kore/KO2001. It's not a matter of doing, but of chosing the RIGHT one for me I do not know which yet.

Please help, it's unbearable -_-

Fail them until you stop failing them. Don't wait for all words to sink in before moving on. If they are really pissing you off, hit hard and try again in 3 days. Looking at my stats, some words i never failed, others i failed upwards of 20 times. Some just won't stick well, don't let it slow you down. Each fail cost me maybe 5 seconds. It just really doesn't matter that much.

Try to pay attention to which kanji is being used in which words and try to remember what other words you have seen that kanji in. Then think about if any primitives seem to have a sound associated with them. Try to make a point of guessing the readings of new words before looking at the answer. This will help reinforce the readings. And the exceptions...

As for which is the right option. Any of them or none of them. I personally haven't done any of them, and my vocab is somewhere around 7k words (i also have no trouble separating kanji readings). My primary method was reading + vocab deck of words i encountered. If you prefer the sentence method, any of those will be an adequate source of sentences. Any of them will get the basic and intermediate vocab into your head. Doing it yourself based on what you read will be faster at getting you able to read what you're trying to read though, as you'll focus on the words that are common in what you're reading.

Tori-kun Wrote:I'm quite irritated by now.. There are many options out there, core2k/6k/kore/KO2001. It's not a matter of doing, but of chosing the RIGHT one for me I do not know which yet.

Adding on to what zigmonty said, the right method is the one you stick with. At this point, efficiency differences are so minuscule that the amount of time you spend debating on which one is better is nowhere near as important as just studying one method.

@kainzero: You seem to be right. It took already quite a bit of time deciding on the "expensive" Genki 1 and 2 textbook, but hey, they work pretty well plus i write sidenotes additionally into it from DoBJG, being useful as well in its very own way getting some more rules of usage into my mind.. Grammar is something I understand by writing my own sentenes with limited vocabulary (except the ha vs. ga kind of thing.. i just don't get it, not yet, perhaps. I suppose it's something that comes like my feeling for writing english more or less fluently, also speaking, without even thinking about what i'm talking in, namely a foreign language I taught myself over almost 7 years.). Additionally to the fact I like writing in Japanese as it looks.. nice

Concerning vocabulary, my question regarding the method of revising (Recall or Recognition or even both?). It seems achieving almost-fluency in japanese requires both, doesn't it?

Also the question how to preceed the "best" (what a stupid question isn't it? I just like to listen to some experiences on that) way after Genki 2 ("An Approach to Intermediate Japanese" by TheJapanTimes maybe?)..

9 days till christmas left, so enjoy winter