Id like to see some peoples opinion on the RTK Method.
Is this how i should learn kanji?


ありがとう　ございます!

[i got it right this time! yay!]

[ファブリス]

What kind of opinions do you expect ? This website is made by a RtK user, for RtK users.

You can already find plenty of accounts of people completing the book by browsing this forum, in this thread for example The "I just finished RTK1, please congratulate me" thread..

There is no "one" way to learn the Japanese characters.

Whether the method is good for you or not, depends on several factors such as your preferred way of learning (on your own or in class), studying habits, work schedule, environment... you didn't give the slightest detail on this.

I have to second Fabrice's opinion. I as well as many, many others have successfully used Heisig as a tool to learn the kanji successfully. Obviously, the students using this site will give you a resounding vote in favor of it.

There are other ways to learn it, it depends on the person. Only you can know if it is the way to go.

sorry, it was kinda redundant posting here.
thanks for the reply though.

Try going to another forum about japanese language and you will see a lot of people saying things like "RTK does not teach you readings"....Keep in mind that RTK is a book to study and get familiar with KANJI, not with japanese language.

It's going to depend on you and the way your mind works. I like it but then I'm here aren't I? The things I like about it..

-I like studying independently and setting my own goals and pace.
-I liked the low materials approach. I could study with a scrap of paper with my next dozen or so kanji and keywords listed and make up stories all through the day, on the bus, slow moments at work. I didn't need to carry a text or pages of grid paper to practice on or sit down for an hour study block (though I could do that too)
-It was the first method I found that taught me to break the kanji down into parts so they became something I could recognize instead of random collections of squiggles that all look the same. I found that super useful living in Japan - at least I could recognize a town's name on a bus schedule even if I couldn't read it and I felt so successful when I did.
-Even before I finished all 2042, I would start picking up readings and they would be the common readings that I run into the most. I'm not all that interested in 'clearing' a kanji so I know all the possible readings. I'll pick the obscure ones up later.
-Most of all I liked making up stories. It was fun and it was entertainment more than forcing myself to study.

Try it out and see if you enjoy it. If you don't, another method might work better for you.

I would just add that RTK with RevTK is the way to go-- I could never get organized enough to finish the book before I found Fabrice's web site, and this is the only encouraging, nice community of Japanese learners I know of, on or off the internet!

billyclyde Wrote:I could never get organized enough to finish the book before I found Fabrice's web site, and this is the only encouraging, nice community of Japanese learners I know of, on or off the internet!

Group hug

Thanks so much for the feedback guys!
it really helped me make up my mind.

I just ordered RTK 1.

A more fitting question would be, "Is there any other way?"

The method really works, but since there are so many Kanji you need to give it plenty of your time for studying it and reviewing it. I'm just over 900 and progressing at about 30 a day, with 1 hour study + 10 minutes review (although the beginning 500 kanji are faster).

I think I'm progressing at this rate purely thanks to this great website. Without it, it takes me much longer to make up every story. Probably 80% of the stories I use are inspired from other's shared stories.

If it were not for this site, I would caution about getting into RTK after the first 500 since Heisig offers little in way of stories after that. In addition, you'd have to make flash cards which become cumbersome very quickly.

With this site, I think RTK is the best method for the first two parts

1. associating a kanji to some concept in your language
2. writing the kanji in the correct order if asked to do so (from memory based off the keyword or when shown the kanji).

With readings, you have many options. It could be structured, contextual or a mixture of both (or some other method altogether). Not the purpose of RTK1 nor does it claim to be.

Hey, try it out. After the first 250 kanji, you should know if it's right for you.

I've had a hard time convincing people about how great this system is. A few people I know have tried it and soon given up, so it's a very personal thing.
I think it helps to have tried other methods and failed miserably many times before in order to fully apreciate this system.