paradox
New member
From: california
Registered: 2010-06-24
Posts: 1
hey im new to learning japanese and im kinda looking for help. I just got done with learning hiragana and ill be going to katakana now. I just bought RTK1 from amazon and it should be here in about a week so i should be done with the katakana by then.
so i wanna know how i should go about using this book, sense it dosnt tell me how to pronounce the kanji. does that matter rite now? is that covered in RTK2? i just started smart.fm for the hiragana and katakana should i use RTK1 with the core2000?
as you can see im not really sure what to do (im teaching myself by the way) so im asking you to kind point me in the right direction of what i should be doing and tell me how you started out learning that way i can find the best way that works for me to learn.
No one post really sums up what you should do in order to learn Japanese as a whole; there are so many different ways. However, there is a near consensus here about RTK: don't worry about readings, just keep learning the kanji, and reviewing them. While you're doing this, browse this forum. Most information you need will be here. Use the search bar, read new topics, and start piecing together how you will make your own path. All will become clear in time 
However, if you are looking for an all-in-one post to start of with, I recommend you turn to Nukemarines guide for beginners (use the search bar to find it). That should definitely get you started.
Aijin
Member
From: California
Registered: 2009-05-29
Posts: 648
If you're a complete beginner teaching yourself, without previous experience learning the language, I think a textbook is an invaluable resource, as it will explain both grammar, vocab, and present you with audio for your level and with the material you're familiar with, as well as give you exercises to hone your learned skills with.
The Genki textbooks are a very popular choice, and if you already know hiragana then you're just at the right stage to start them. It's cute, funny, and not at all dry like many people expect textbooks to be. And grammar is explained well enough for someone to learn from themself! Get the workbook and CDs with it though.
