MelonBerry
Member
From: United States
Registered: 2011-12-04
Posts: 74
Hello all. I recently finished Tae Kim's 'complete' guide. (Or, well, atleast as much as he has done.)
What should I do next? I'm doing core 2k/6k atm and am currently thinking about doing Kanzen Master 2Kyuu. Is that a good book to continue, or should I try something else? I'm a little lost on what I should do next. Suggestions?
If I do decide to do Kanzen ; is there any one that would be willing to explain how the book works? First thing I see is no english so it seems a bit over whelming.
On a side note : I also decided to try reading Yotsubato& last night. While there was many words I did not know, I got the jist of the first few chapters quite easily. What can I expect after finishing core2k/6k + kanzen? Will reading things aimed towards kids be even easier?
If anyone has suggestions, thanks, I appreciate it. I also have checked the previous threads about tae-kim but thought it would be easier to get a direct answer for my problem.
Thanks !
Stansfield123
Member
From: Europe
Registered: 2011-04-17
Posts: 799
I think you should continue focusing on the grammar in Tae Kim, for now (re-read the tougher parts, and go back to any given chapter whenever something in it is unclear). You could use another source, of course, to study the same things from a different angle. What's important is to note that just "finishing" Tae Kim doesn't mean you internalized Japanese grammar up to that far.
If you eventually do end up knowing and being able to use everything in Tae Kim, I don't think there will be a need to formally study too much more grammar. Sure, people will mention everyday things Tae Kim left out now, but not anything worth going out of your way for. At least not for the sake of understanding Japanese. Maybe if you want that knowledge for other reasons.
Even if you disagree that you should NEVER bother with any more grammar, if Yotsubato! has a lot of words you don't know, you should focus on fixing that before studying more advanced grammar. In general, I'm a fan of always taking the path of least resistance towards being able to understand your target language, as usually spoken, better. The better you understand the language, the easier it is to continue learning simply by immersion. That path, in your case, seems to be working on internalizing (by internalizing I mean knowing and applying something without having to consciously focus on it - best, and most overused 
analogy is riding a bike) the grammar you learned already, and expanding your vocab.
Last edited by Stansfield123 (2013 June 28, 12:28 pm)
MelonBerry
Member
From: United States
Registered: 2011-12-04
Posts: 74
Ah, alright. I'll probably double check it. There's also an Anki deck as well? ( I think. ). Anki and SRSing in general really aren't my thing, but I might give it a try. Core 2k/6k on Anki isn't too bad. The sentences on there are somewhat useful to me.
I think I'd rather continue to use different sources to learn about grammar. Personally that'll help me greatly, as it would re-enforce it into my mind.
I'm still open for suggestions though. I love hearing the opinions on this site, haha.
MelonBerry
Member
From: United States
Registered: 2011-12-04
Posts: 74
Ah, I see. I think I made a plan for myself? I'm going to go through the genki books once more, then move onto ADoBJG (Inter/Advanced too), and then go for Kanzen Master. I want to be really sturdy on grammar..
I started aDoBJG last week, and I find it very interesting to read. I'm trying to get one ~ 3 grammar points read each time. After that I usually try to make up my own limited sentences using it's own pattern. I'm also doing Core atm, but I guess afterwards learning vocab will come from immersion?
Not sure how long this will all take though. I'm homeschooled so I actually have a lot of time during the day to all of this, which I'm thankful for.
But quick question; At what rate do you think playing Visual Novels will come towards? I'm guessing once I get down grammar a lot and can finally understand manga geared towards teenagers (who knows how long that will take, ) VN's will become natural and easy?
