I would get a textbook like Genki and go through it while doing RTK.  Core will be extremely hard to jump into without some grammar background as well as without having finished RTK.

Also, if you think 6 months is a particularly long time maybe learning a language ain't for you.

How much time do you have per day to study?  Personally, I'd get some sort of grammar book and work on that long with RTK.  That's what I did, actually.

I finished RTK1 in about 8 weeks, but I usually had two hours a day to practice.

Last edited by bertoni (2012 June 21, 12:57 am)

I'll add that a 50% retention rate for 100 kanji a day is pretty normal, especially in the beginning. The rate usually goes up over time. That said, I personnally disliked the concept, since the absurd amount of reviews felt too much like rote memorizing (so I stopped). I think the ideal pace lies between 25 and 50 kanji a day (I did 37), and that gives you 40 to 80 days in total, which isn't bad when you think the Japanese spend all their youth doing it (among other things). With this amount you should be able to study grammar on the side and not get bored.

Last edited by EratiK (2012 June 21, 2:52 am)

I did some very easy sentences right from the beginning, often with some kanji I'd never seen. Then after a good portion of RTK was done with (maybe around half?) I felt like I knew so many characters that there was really a lot I could learn with them.

Even though the real learning kicked off after I finished RTK (which unfortunately took a long time because I wasn't focusing on it), throughout the whole course I'd indulged in Japanese media and reviewed things along the way. It was fun and I definitely acquired a lot.

Genki I [a very popular Japanese textbook] uses Kana for a huge part of it (even when they start to introduce Kanji, they introduce such a small number, it doesn't matter).

So, you could make a Genki I sentences deck and every day add some cards to it. I plan to do Genki I after RTK to get some basic vocab down.

Also, you could try audio lessons. I tried Pimsleur and found it incredibly boring (they basically try to use SRS techniques during the 30 minute session) and I didn't think it would be useful. I have no clue about JapanesePod101 [except that their Word of the Day tihngs are great places to get sentences from].

I'll second japanesepod101.com. You can try the premium feed for free and see if you like it. Generally, it's not hard to find all kinds of discounts for it. But I would definitely endorse "try before you buy."

I got most of my benefit from listening to the podcasts in my car, working around the house, or working out. I tried Pimsleur, and it bored me to tears. Some of it is quirky, some of it is really darn useful. The grammar explanations are pretty useful, although sometimes I wish they'd go into more depth.

Some of the original survival series phrases saved my butt when I first went over there a few years back-- especially the train, bus, taxi, and hotel-related stuff. It made getting around a lot easier.

The premium at jpod101.is only like $10 a month and can be shutdown at any time.  Hardly expensive compared to something like Pimsleur which has far less content.

If you sign up for the premium trial (which really is $1), you get access to a page where you can request to download everything to an iTunes podcast.  You just select all the checkboxes, give the cast a name and everything will start to be sent to your iTunes account.   You will then have everything stored on your iTunes, I'm not sure if Apple's cloud storage works with podcasts.  It's mostly mp3 audio data and pdfs, so it doesn't really take that much space by modern standards.

Note that whatever you choose, jpod101 will take every opportunity to try to sell you premium level.   Personally, I think the premium is worth a look into, they have a LOT of stuff, but the constant nagging gets really annoying.

I like audio because I can multitask with it and it doesn't take away from my actual studying time.

I enjoyed the Michel Thomas audio series (Beginner and "Advanced"). It helps drill basic grammar into your head, has decent explanations, and overall was rather fun to use. The two students can be a bit annoying though, especially the girl, because she messes up her answers constantly. Even better, they emphasize that you don't need to say the subject if it is already known! I don't see many beginner courses that tell you to leave out "watashi." 

I also use the Learn in Your Car series, which is very dry and boring (it's pretty much vocab and sentences thrown at you with no explanations), but is OK to use in the background while I'm working. I find that I am absorbing some useful words and sentence patterns without all that much effort. It's similar to Pimsleur, but much cheaper and with more vocab. I definitely recommend having some grammar under your belt though so the sentence patterns make sense. Doing Michel Thomas first would be helpful.

I suggest going to your library to see if they have any of these audio programs available.