I finished RTK1 back in June and started みんなの日本語 (vol 1) taking my time through each lesson studying the grammar points, doing exercises, etc. Along the way (currently on lesson 19) I have been mining sentences - I have 890 sentences thus far. I use Anki and practice recognition only. My vocabulary is going up, but sometimes I only add 10 cards/day with a good day adding 20 cards.
So, my question is:
how do I know if I am doing ok? Am I on track?
My current problem is that I feel that I have just memorized the sentences and when I see a certain kanji compound out of context - I freeze and draw a blank. I recall others saying this before and hope it passes when I get more cards added.
As a side, my Japanese language studying background: 12 years of start-stopping and before RTK my level was basic. Now I have a plan and my goal is fluency in the next few years.
Gingerninja
Member
From: England
Registered: 2008-08-06
Posts: 382
I feel like that, I know a sentence in my deck, but if I see the word out in the wild sometimes I don't get it straight away (and then kick myself.)
I think the key is reinforcement, Just adding the sentence without seeing or hearing it can cause problems, but if its a word you hear and come across a lot then it should stick well.
Sometimes you don't realise how much you do know, because there is no marker with self studying, saying "you know this, this and that." Just keep pushing forward and you'll surprise yourself with how much you do actually know.
caedmon
New member
From: USA
Registered: 2009-08-30
Posts: 5
My two cents: perhaps, if you fail to recognize a 'learned' kanji or compound "in the wild" (what a great phrase!), the new sentence would make a good addition to your Anki deck. In other words, don't kick yourself but congratulate yourself for finding an authentic sentence to help you retain the character or compound. Sooner or later it will stick.
Evangelo
Member
From: Osaka
Registered: 2008-05-08
Posts: 55
If you're a geek like me, I would highly suggest keeping a log of how many RTK reviews and AJATT reviews you've done as well as the number of hours you've spent immersed, how many new kanji (RTK3 or otherwise) you've added, and how many new sentences you've added.
Mine looks something like this:
It does take some time to setup but seeing this chart on a daily basis is motivating enough. I've been doing mine for about 6 months, and seeing the number of reps go from 0 to over 50,000, the hours go from 0 to over 2000, and see the sentences go from 0 to over 7000 is nothing short of amazing. Nothing can quite motivate you until you see the actual progress you've made written down.
I have a couple other things in there to keep me on the path. I break up each month into total number of hours spent immersed and number of new cards. That makes each month a little challenge for myself. I put notes in the side of columns in case I put in a lot of new cards or neglected to my reps. But most importantly, I have my language goals at the top of chart just so I don't forget why I'm doing all of this.
If you're interested in a form like this, shoot me a message and I can send you one.
woodwojr
Member
From: Boston
Registered: 2008-05-02
Posts: 530
Bah, spreadsheet abuse!
Anyway, I don't want to trivialize the idea of actually measuring your progress, because the more measurable something is the more we can actually take steps to improve it, but my hunch is that effectively measuring your progress in a fine-grained way without novel techniques (publishable-research-level novel) would take so much time and effort, if it's even achievable, that it's not worth doing. Just keep reading and listening, and bask in the feeling of gradually understanding more and more stuff.
~J
Evangelo
Member
From: Osaka
Registered: 2008-05-08
Posts: 55
Draak wrote:
Evangelo wrote:
If you're a geek like me, I would highly suggest keeping a log of how many RTK reviews and AJATT reviews you've done as well as the number of hours you've spent immersed, how many new kanji (RTK3 or otherwise) you've added, and how many new sentences you've added.
Mine looks something like this:
http://i36.tinypic.com/ir2alv.gif
It does take some time to setup but seeing this chart on a daily basis is motivating enough. I've been doing mine for about 6 months, and seeing the number of reps go from 0 to over 50,000, the hours go from 0 to over 2000, and see the sentences go from 0 to over 7000 is nothing short of amazing. Nothing can quite motivate you until you see the actual progress you've made written down.
I have a couple other things in there to keep me on the path. I break up each month into total number of hours spent immersed and number of new cards. That makes each month a little challenge for myself. I put notes in the side of columns in case I put in a lot of new cards or neglected to my reps. But most importantly, I have my language goals at the top of chart just so I don't forget why I'm doing all of this.
If you're interested in a form like this, shoot me a message and I can send you one.
You seem close to what Katz model seems to me.
So are you able to speak and understand most japanese?
Im really curious because within 9 months time i will be at your level sentence wise and want to know exactly what skills you have
So are you skilled in japanese or still struggling?
Thanks man - it is very close to the model that Khatz used, just with my goals added at the top.
Although I've been doing it for nine months, there was about three in there (March, April, and July) when I fell far behind on my reps. March and April because I was writing my thesis, July because I moved to Japan among other things. That said, my Japanese is a absolutely conversational, although not near fluent.
Part of the reason is that I sidetracked from the "pure" TV and book sentence mining to get JLPT sentences in there. Since those are made to drill home certain grammar than to be understood by native speakers, it took me more time to have them really sink in.
Otherwise, I would highly suggest typing into your number of reps per day into a spreadsheet. Abuse or not, it keeps me motivated!
Squintox
Member
From: Toronto, Canada
Registered: 2008-07-27
Posts: 292
Website
I also use a victory calendar like Evangelo does. I also developed a points system, the more dramas I watch/reviews I do/hanja I learn/sentences I do the more points I have. At the end of the week, I count up all the points and buy myself something equal to the points. Last week I got 616 points so I'm buying myselfr something worth $6.16 (hey, hey, I'm a 高校生, lay it easy x_x).
But the best way to keep me motivated is definitely using a journal. I write in it every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, I refuse to write any self-criticizing comments in the diary - it gives me a more positive outlook on my learning and motivates me to do more. Not to mention I can always look back and see how it was like, not in numbers but in words.
