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The "I just finished RTK1, please congratulate me" thread.
Index » RtK Volume 1
Should I post here? I reached the last card, but, lagged 1000 in reviews. Vacation mode, I wish we had one here (or prolly, I just don't know how to make my cards here go on vacation too). 
やった！
I have finished RTK1 today! It is over! All the stories are written and learned, all reviews are done for today, and i feel incredible right now!
Time to look back
The last two months and 24 days i devoted my time solely to the task of learning how to write and not to forget the kanji. I had my share of highs and lows on my way to the end. There were some rough patches on the way, but also some incredibly easy ones, which made up for the hard parts. I was enjoying every last bit of my journey.
I started out with some misconceptions as to how the learning process would look like. My thanks got out to EratiK, TaylorSan, Tori-kun, truando, chair, KanjiDevourer. You have been pointing me in the right direction early on. Thanks to you I was able to avoid many mistakes up ahead. Without your invaluable advice i would not have come to where i am today. 
Timetable
October 22nd: My journey began with 34 frames.
November 15th: I hit frame 500
December 07th: I reached the half way
December 29th: I hit the 3/4 mark
January 14th: I finished RTK 1
My learning habits
I was doing 34 frames every day from Monday to Friday. I kept the weekends free doing only reviews with Anki.
In the beginning i was writing the kanji out at least 6 times. I dropped that after around 70 frames. From then on i was only writing them down once upon initial learning. When i was done i was learning the stories.
The next day i was reviewing the kanji learned the previous day. I was reviewing failed kanji first, than all the others, mixed with new kanji due that day. When i was reviewing i was always writing the kanji down.
I was writing all the stories myself. When Heisig left nothing more than Frameworks, and later on only primitive elements, i made a regular habit of writing stories. This was hard and time consuming in the beginning. I was just not used to the process of writing stories, but i soon found out what worked for me. It was only a matter of time to be able to write the stories so, that i would have a strong mental image, that would last long enough to get the information from short into long term memory.
Once i found out how to write good stories, i was taking my time to browse through those i had already written, and began reworking them. This was helping me to create an even stronger connection to recall the kanji, and tie keyword - kanji closer together.
Advice, Fun, Encouragement, Distraction
This forum is a great source for fun, encouragement, invaluable advice, and the best community members on the internet. But it is also the number one source for distraction from adding flashcards. I know what i am talking about here. In the last couple of months there was not one single day, where i haven't been visiting the forum, reading some topic or other, and enjoying my time after learning.
So beware of this forum, ye who cometh after me!
When you are about to start with RTK, if you are in doubt, ask! If you are given advice from those who have gone through the process of finishing RTK 1, RTK 2 or RTK 3, listen to them. They lead you in the right direction. They will be taking you by the hand, guiding you, and encouraging you to finish what you have begun with.
Last Words
I know that i have learned quite many things in those 2 months and 24 days. Among which is that the community members here are helping out each other, not only in terms of encouragement, but also in real life situations. I have found a topic where one member helped another getting a job as ALT. Where else would you find a place on the net that that happens!
I know that my Japanese learning adventure is far from over. There are many things i have yet to learn, but i am determined to master anything, that comes my way.
Credits
ファブリス, thank you for founding this community, thanks to those who have written stories for all those that are still on their way, and special thanks to all the community members that made that part of my journey most enjoyable. You are great!
Even though my RTK1 journey is over, there is still RTK3, which i plan on doing later this year. So i will stay here, even while learning other parts, of the Japanese language.
皆さん、どうもありがとうございます！
流れ星
Last edited by Nagareboshi (2011 January 14, 12:42 pm)
wulfgar wrote:
@ Nagareboshi
Wow, that's a cool story. It seems like your really motivated which is awesome. Just try and find something, anything fun about the Japanese language to keep you going. it's been about 6 months since I finished RTK (it took me 1.5 years) and I have yet to find something more fun than when I learned RTK. So, I'm taking a break to see if i can get the spark back. Don't let the flame get extinguished! That's all i have to say about that.
Good luck on your journey.
ありがとうございます！ Yes, my motivation is high, and i know how to keep it that way.
There are actually many things that keep me motivated to learn and stay at it.
- I have 17 lost years in which i wish i have had the chance, or the time, to learn that language
- There are many things, like playing old games, trying to read and understand things
- I know that the sense of accomplishment* is keeping me going
- I love the challenge but that is not the reason why i learn Japanese
- I buy stuff as reward but mostly this is not necessary
- Sometimes reaching the end of the way is reward enough to keep me going
- Today i know what i will do with that knowledge once i have reached a decent level
* The sense of accomplishment i talk about is something like:
- Being able to read and understand something which i was previously not able to do.
- Being able to conjugate -te forms without a second thought
- Noticing how easy it is to follow a dialogue in native speed and still understand what
has been said
- Solving a difficult problem
It is this feeling to know - *hurray, i did it!* - is what makes it worth all the more to keep learning. But don't think I don't throw up my head in despair thinking "oh no ... i will never be able to memorize this, or solve that problem, never." And then, the other day, i all of a sudden can.
It is not always fun to learn. And not everything is easy, even though i keep telling myself - it is or will be easy. Just for sake of shutting that little voice up that speaks up from time to time: "you can never make it, stop trying." while sitting at a difficult problem. I vs. the voice so far: Glorious Victory!
The only thing that is always a problem, being self learner and all, is to find a good start. Preparing the material at hand so, that i can make the most of it, as has been with Genki. I had my two or three days where i did nothing at all. Where the book was sitting at my desk, i was walking by, but with no intention of opening it to start a learning session. After two to three days i could not hold back any longer, i just had to continue to learn, and in the end it was so well worth it.
For me it does not take much to make me want to learn. It has not been while doing RTK, it has not been when i was finishing Genki 1, and it will not be on the rest of wherever my journey will take me to right now.
My toughest challenge in learning Japanese is not to learn Japanese for a whole week. Doing only the Reviews with Anki, this is must, no way i would skip that! I just thought i deserve a little holiday now, after being done with RTK, but i guess i will not be able to pull that stunt off ... I have the books already waiting here in front of me - they are calling: Learn with us, come on, forget the holiday, we are here, have fun with us ... *yikes*
adoette Thank you very much! Where are you at, when will you be done with the book? I can't wait to see you posting you are done!
itsumo45 Congratulations on finishing the beast!
Last edited by Nagareboshi (2011 January 17, 7:39 pm)
Just finished round 2, 2 years later.
This time took me about 2 months, 90%+ retention until I hit 1500, then it got tough.
Already have 1100 in the 4+ pile
This time I will keep up with my reviews immediately after so they don't build way up on me again ^_^
Time for real Japanese again.....
おめでとう
これからも頑張れ！
Congrats to those who recently completed RTK, I hope to join you before February. Good luck everyone
I finished RTK 1 today
I will take a break and give the other books a try when i have less daily reps :X
Also going to apply for an exchange semester in Japan next week !!
Congratulations!^^
You have inspired me with enough jealousy that I've started adding kanji again. 
Last edited by Splatted (2011 January 20, 5:22 pm)
Congrats to those people who have recently finished!!
Congratulations to realoffspring and dmatsui!! Great job finishing.