I did do RTK through the whole way one time...but then I stopped reviewing and forgot a lot of it, so its almost like I didn't do it. That being said, I went on to learning sentences through the core 2000 deck, and then I started using subs2srs to get my sentences. Im at about 5000 now, and no problem. The thing is, you people say RTK helps you recognise Kanji better, but If you just read and memorize the kanji in their compounds as words, you'll recognise them anyway. But, then again I'm now at the point where It would not make a difference even if I went back and did RTK again, And being a person who never really memorized it and used it from beginner up, I cant really say if it would be a more efficient route... Since I'm way past that stage Im kind of blind to see that now.

I'm not using RTK at all I just use the Kanjidamage anki deck. I make up around half the radicals, but I almost always make up my own mnemonics. Also, I've doing meaning and onyomi at the same time. So far, it's been working great; I'm currently at Kanji 1459 after four months or so.

The reason why I use the Kanjidamage deck is because of all the information on there. Onyomi, kunyomi, most commonly used words, information on the kanji. Even though I don't study any of that, I like having it on the card to glance at; it makes me feel like learning this kanji will actually get me somewhere in my studies, as opposed to feeling like I'm just learning a meaning for a picture. Perhaps those of you who have burned out might want to try this?

I'm doing KanjiTown instead. It's a lot more appealing to me because I get to learn onyomi at the same time, so the wait until I can read doesn't seem so far away. Bit of a success story, actually, I had gone to take a Japanese placement test the other day, and I ran across several kanji I had seen before but couldn't remember the meaning or pronunciation of. But this time as soon as I saw the kanji the primitives kind of clicked in my brain and I blurted out the reading in surprise. That was my first validation that KanjiTown was effective. I hadn't experienced anything like this with RTK in the two years I'd been trying to do it (well, I could "recognize" kanji and pick out the primitives, but I could never read them, which was naturally very frustrating). Let's just say that I'm a lot more excited to continue with KanjiTown, now I see how quickly effective it is.

(typed on my iTouch, please excuse any syntax/spelling errors)

I don't use RTK, or SRS, but my goal was never to learn all kanji at once anyway, since I always concentrated on oral. Still, I learn kanji as they come up and as I look them up. It's sometimes a problem when I read, but not when I'm writing electronically. The upside is that I can speak Japanese with Japanese people.

AlexandreC Wrote:I don't use RTK, or SRS, but my goal was never to learn all kanji at once anyway, since I always concentrated on oral. Still, I learn kanji as they come up and as I look them up. It's sometimes a problem when I read, but not when I'm writing electronically. The upside is that I can speak Japanese with Japanese people.

I think it comes down to what people want to do in the language. Some want to speak and will practice speaking, while others will want reading and kanji ability. Nothing wrong with either of them but I have to agree with you that oral skill is very important. One good thing about starting with listening,reading and kanji learning is that: it makes speaking easier than normal(compared to when I started). Overall, let's all keep up the good work.

ta12121 Wrote:

AlexandreC Wrote:I don't use RTK, or SRS, but my goal was never to learn all kanji at once anyway, since I always concentrated on oral. Still, I learn kanji as they come up and as I look them up. It's sometimes a problem when I read, but not when I'm writing electronically. The upside is that I can speak Japanese with Japanese people.

I think it comes down to what people want to do in the language. Some want to speak and will practice speaking, while others will want reading and kanji ability. Nothing wrong with either of them but I have to agree with you that oral skill is very important. One good thing about starting with listening,reading and kanji learning is that: it makes speaking easier than normal(compared to when I started). Overall, let's all keep up the good work.

You are right to say that we that we all come to Japanese with different goals, but my experience learning languages has taught me that it's not a memory game. My stance from the get-go was that I would eventually learn all kanji but that I'd learn them in order of importance based on how often they came up in my use of the language. I can't imagine what I'd do with 2000 kanji if I were unable to speak the language. In turn, I can have fulfilling conversations with natives even if I barely know more than half of the jouyou.

Whatever your goal, I sincerely encourage you not to neglect your speaking skills.

AlexandreC Wrote:

ta12121 Wrote:

AlexandreC Wrote:I don't use RTK, or SRS, but my goal was never to learn all kanji at once anyway, since I always concentrated on oral. Still, I learn kanji as they come up and as I look them up. It's sometimes a problem when I read, but not when I'm writing electronically. The upside is that I can speak Japanese with Japanese people.

I think it comes down to what people want to do in the language. Some want to speak and will practice speaking, while others will want reading and kanji ability. Nothing wrong with either of them but I have to agree with you that oral skill is very important. One good thing about starting with listening,reading and kanji learning is that: it makes speaking easier than normal(compared to when I started). Overall, let's all keep up the good work.

You are right to say that we that we all come to Japanese with different goals, but my experience learning languages has taught me that it's not a memory game. My stance from the get-go was that I would eventually learn all kanji but that I'd learn them in order of importance based on how often they came up in my use of the language. I can't imagine what I'd do with 2000 kanji if I were unable to speak the language. In turn, I can have fulfilling conversations with natives even if I barely know more than half of the jouyou.

Whatever your goal, I sincerely encourage you not to neglect your speaking skills.

I've noticed that over time RTK kanji start to become less and less useful. I've deleted so much of the 3007 kanji I learned during the RTK phase. Although now, I learn by context rather than kanji only. It worked well but I believe people would get the most out of RTK if it was only essential kanji+kanji meanings that make sense towards the kanji(or at least the cloest). I know some of the kanji in RTK don't have good meanings+are not so common. I deleted those and right now I only have around 2300/3007. I'm still deleting whenever it comes up in my SRS Anki reps.

I get where your coming from, I'd say in the beginning I neglected speaking because I just wanted to understand Japanese. Now that's accomplished and I can read. Speaking and writing is on my mind now. Overall I'm in it for the long-run (another 2-3 years)

I am using RTK now, but am coming back to Japanese study after a 3 1/2 or 4 yr. break. I don't know how I would've felt about doing it as my first step towards Japanese study. As some others have said, I think it's the basic concepts of RTK that are important, not necessarily going through the book exactly as Heisig laid it out. I'm using it in combination with Henshell's Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters. For me, this is partially review and partially learning new kanji. I also change Heisig's keyword if I think there is another one that is more useful or appropriate for a certain kanji. At first I thought I would save time later by learning some compounds/readings at the same time, but I got impatient with how much longer it was taking. I'm guessing on this but I think in the end, it takes about the same total amount of time whether you do it all at once or break it down and do it Heisig's way. I've noticed that the kanji I learned to recognize (but not write) in the past are the ones I've forgotton. I am completely sold on the idea of learning to write, not just recognize kanji.

At the same time, I am doing some reading, some listening to Japanese music/watching Japanese shows, and talking with Japanese friends when I get the chance.