I study bunpro grammar decks as writing them on my notebook and them I try to do reviews. But I feel like I am solving puzzles instead of studying Japanese. I struggle at mock tests and reading. Right now, I don’t read much. How do you study?
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I use Bunpro (vocab + grammar) & Wanikani on a regular basis + I just got UNEXT (a japanese streaming service) by using a VPN and my for you pages are usually filled with japanese cooking and vlogs that’s how I study. Now concerning your feeling about japanese studying tbh I feel the same way as you sometimes, cuz I’m not reading that much but if you’re struggling I’d say try to make your apps look japanese enough (by that I mean you can try to set your app languages in japanese, heck even your system language) and even if it’s kinda frustrating at the start at a certain point your brain will stop trying to “fight” the japanese and instead go along with it, and with that you’ll read more and more and get much better. I’m sorry if my reply can sound kinda weird english is not my first language but if you have questions don’t hesitate
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No problem thanks! English is my second language so maybe my sentences may be weird too!
I also use wanikani and I am level 16, I finished N4 grammar deck here but I can’t say I know everything. I just don’t know how to master them. I lack input a lot, reading, listening all of them. I think I need to focus on them instead just working and doing reviews.
Thanks again!
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I find on during Bunpro reviews I often quickly read the highlighted English word, and then instantly know more or less what to type for the grammar point, without even reading the whole Japanese sentence.
That’s maybe on me, but it’s why I made this (shameless plug). Doing Bunpro helps me internalise the grammar points but having to produce the sentences myself is what helps “master” them for me.
And yes, of course comprehensible input is huge. I use Lengualytics but whatever works for you is fine. It’s funny. I feel like if I sit there watching comprehensible Japanese for long enough my brain gets in a Japanese mode where it feels like I actually want to express my inner thoughts in Japanese. Not that I actually can do that yet, but there’s definitely a switch that flips.
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AIs there any reason why you are not reading books or listening to podcast?
It’s one of the best way to progress, maybe you din’t have time or don’t find interresting material?
I highly recommande JGRPG Sakura for free graded text to do some extensive reading.
There is also the free, and without add, app called Hello stories for small text if you have only 5 to 10 minutes. The stories are voiced and fully transalted with an integrated flashcard system if you want to use it.
And then if you have a bit of money to spare I highly recommand Satori reader, lots of stories for all levels.
Listening wise, you have nihongo con teppei with thousands of episode of around 4 minutes. They are all free and available on youtube, spotify and others.
For comprehensible input you have natural japanase (formerly comprehensible japanese) which has a few hundreds free video but one of their teachers left and created nihongo jikan and put 800 + of her video for free there so go check them out.
I try to at least hit one hour using all of this site a day mostly focusing on reading as what I enjoy most. I do between 60 to 80 review on bunpro with 1 grammar and 5 new vocab a day. Then I use an app called JA sensei for writting kanji and extra vocab from their lessons as you have to writte them too. Also 15 min of duolingo a day as I have a family plan but it’s not useful anymore, just building vocab again there.
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One of the issues that I’ve run into on here that I’ve had to solve externally was around some of the explanations for some of the grammar points.
The strongest example in my case was around the difference between conjugating ichidan versus godan る verbs. When I read over the point, I remember seeing that the point said you can identify based on how the verb gets conjugated, which is fine if you’re looking at a verb that is already conjugated, but isn’t very helpful when you have a verb that you are trying to conjugate for the first time. In those situations, going purely off of the information that was given to me in Bunpro, I was unable to reliably conjugate any verb that ended in る because I was basically just guessing. Then I went and did some searching and found a simple explanation to help identity an ichidan verb (looking for a い or an え sound preceding the る except for the select few exceptions) and that gave me a ton of extra confidence.
So the lesson that I learned from that exercise was pretty simple. In its current state, Bunpro is quite good at giving you some of the rules, and quizzing you to see if you are doing the right thing, but sometimes you’ll still need to reach out for more information on your own to help better understand the “why” or the “how” of a given grammar point. I have a copy of Genki I sitting next to me, but I don’t do well with self-motivating for textbook study, so I haven’t dug into it too much. But I think the point is, if there is something that you feel like you’re just guessing on, or are otherwise unsure why you’re doing something, look around for more explanations, then continue using Bunpro to quiz yourself in more examples.
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I’ll also add, after reading your posts again, that it seems that you are at a level where you can start taking on more input. Once you start reading these points and hearing them I think it helps a ton. I am still working on foundation but I’m also trying to get exposed to more input as time goes on.
Since you’re also on WaniKani, I highly recommend joining in a book club where there is some structure and schedule and you’re able to learn with others as you go through. We just today started on book one of よつばと in the Absolute Beginner Book Club, which may be a good start, or if that is too simple, keep an eye on the Beginner Book Club and join in there. But definitely work on exposing yourself to the language more. Read, listen, etc and you’ll be surprised at how much you’re able to pick up and understand, which massively reinforces the information that the SRS systems are shoving into your brain.
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I realized the only good way to practice grammar is either to write sentences that realistically/naturally would use it or to encounter/recognize those grammar points in reading.
In other words - either by input or output, you need to encouter/use those grammar points in a natural way.
Myself, I practice writing by penpal-ing with Japanese people. As for reading - I read manga (electronic copies bought on BookWalker picking by difficulty by Media decks - Jiten) and synthetic news (same here, choosing difficulty Todaii Japanese – Learn Japanese through real content)
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thank you so much!
That’s why. I use my only time to do reviews. I bought comprehensible japanese but can’t find time to watch them. I’ll force myself. Thank you so much!
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Thank you so much. I would like to join よつばと club!
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Here’s the master thread, where you’ll be able to get the links to each week’s section. This first week is only 6 pages, so it’ll be a nice slow pace to start out, specifically to give people a chance to get familiar with reading. (And just because I feel the need to say it, I’m not the one running this event, I’m just a participant. This will actually be my first time seriously attempting to read native media outside of the little dabbling that I have been doing in graded readers)
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In the simplest terms, just read more.
If you understood just one sentence in a paragraph, that’s a small win. Picked up on a new word, another win. Saw a recently learned kanji in the wild for the first time, add it to the pile.
I think the hardest thing to get over is coming to terms that you won’t know every word and understand every bit of context, and knowing what to skip. That can only come with time, and that’ll take several hundreds of pages to develop. But once you’re there, you’re good.
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I think at the beginning, a good coursebook is the best. Most teaches basic grammar, expressions, vocabulary and if followed consistently, one can gain useful knowledge within reasonable time.
I used minna no nihongo back in the day.
It is very hard to learn a language by learning grammar only. I go futher, it is almost impossible and tiresome. Without listening, vocabulary and output, speaking and writing, it is only one aspect of the langauge.
From my side I started to use bunpro to solidify grammar points with the view of doing the jlpt. If not for the jlpt, I would not use it becuase there are tons of different resources which would deliver what I need to reach my goals with less effort and more fun.
From my side,
I have one language class per week (45 min)
Use anki for words and kanji, becuase fsrs is much better than the srs bunpro offers (30 min daily but I lag behind, usually between sets when I am in the gym)
Do bunpro grammar, now 2 new items per day (this is doable)
Read Japanese daily, mainly light novels, will start news now (aim is 20 min)
Go to the local nomikai, held every week, if I can (this is my “night out”)
Have a chat with a language exchange partner once a week (60 minutes, we cannot always make it, but c’est la vie for working adults)
The Japan Foundation here has a Japanese talk event every month or so, I attend when I have the time (I will try to go more in the future, only they don’t have AC and summer can be brutal here)
Listen to podcasts (while walking, shopping, running)
All I watch is in Japanese, youtube, netflix (30-40 mins, when I have the time).
I work full time and except for the obvious events, like the nomikai on Friday, I squeeze things in whenever I can. Waiting for the bus? Anki. Grocery run? Podcast. Time between sets in the gym? Anki. Lunch time? Reading a bit. Lull in work? Anything.
I would need to add writing as output. This is where I struggle, for that, I simply do not have time left. I will need to review my schedule soon because of this. Maybe I need to spend less time on this forum to make time for writing.
Consistency adds up. Better to have a short amount of time dedicated well and consistently then trying to catch up with your 700 bunpro reviews in one day.
I would recommend considering a more balanced approach using different learning methods and approaches. Ask your choice of AI, give it your goals, your level, your current learning tools, the time you have daily/ weekly and it will give you a schedule. If you do not feel the progress, ask for another one, tweak it until it works.
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Hi, this penpal thing I would be interested in. Is this a webpage or app?
If you feel like you are not parsing the grammar in the context of the sentence, I strongly recommend switching to reading mode.
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Something that helped me was changing the quiz type to Reading mode rather than Input mode.
Input mode, when you’re not far enough into the language, feels more like guessing what the question wants from you. When you use Reading mode you test your understanding of the grammar point and you get the added bonus of obtaining vocab and reinforcing other grammar points by reading the entire sentence.
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any time I learn a new grammar point or feel something needs work, I practice writing sentences to chatGPT. I am generally against AI but it has been a genuine boon when learning Japanese and I’m not above taking any advantage I can get when it comes to learning this language. It’ll correct me if I do something wrong and if I do it correct, it’ll respond in Japanese and try to have a conversation with me. This has greatly helped with both input and output. I will also echo what everyone else is saying about reading. I’m still relatively early in my japanese journey as well (mid teens on WK, still havent finished core 2k anki) but just forcing myself to read some japanese each day is doing wonders even if it feels frustrating at time. I mostly do this through visual novels and I play on the JP server of umamusme and read the stories on that game.
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I’m using slowly and filter recipients by language. Some people from Japan are looking for a language exchange to study/practice English so it’s a good opportunity to practice writing.
It will require some prior knowledge to make it work, because it’s not instant messaging and letter delivery takes time. This way you can spend more time on writing, but do meaningful output.
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Thank you for the information!
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