What rules do you have for yourself on Bunpro?

Bunpro
#1

Hi everyone!

When I use Bunpro or any other learning application I have rules I set for myself. For Bunpro my main rules are that I can only add the recommended 3 grammar points per day, If I have over 5 ghosts I can’t add any new grammar points until the number goes back down, and no skipping any grammar points or vocabulary even if I think I already know it.

I set these rules for myself to make sure I’m fully comprehending the material and don’t have any blind spots. However, lately I feel like my progress has been slow compared to other people. I wonder if I’m being too strict on myself. So I wanted to know if anyone else has rules or not, and how is your comprehension? For example if you blast right through everything but find that your comprehension is still good because of the SRS, or if it suffers as a result. Or maybe you have a different set of rules from mine that others might find helpful!

Thanks in advance!

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#2

Man, you made it to the level 82 in less than a year.
It took me 3,5 years to get to the level 91, and I just recently completed N2 grammar.
You’re definitely doing your best. It’s OK to feel sometimes that you’re standing on plateau and don’t have any progress. Do some immersion along with your studies, and you will feel some progress after a month or two.

As for the rules, I’m very strict about using Undo button. I use it only when I’m 100% sure it was a typo. And I have ghosts turned on to maximum.
There’s no any other rules for me, I’m just having a hard time with reviews fun

8 Likes
#3

My only rule is to do my reviews every day.

(to avoid sacrificing my streak … :sweat_smile:)

7 Likes
#4

Well, they’ve changed over the time I’ve been using Bunpro xD.
I used to read a grammar point once and then never read the description of it again and try to answer. But I realised how dumb that was so I started to read the grammar point description each time.

3 Likes
#5

For a large chunk of my Bunpro journey I used to have a shared Word doc on OneDrive where I made sure to explain (in my own words) every new grammar point, especially after reading a few linked articles. I even tried to think up some example sentences on my own, though I quickly realized it’s all too unnatural and I dropped this in favor of typing (by fingers, not just copying) Bunpro example sentences.

So I have a doc for N5, N4 and N3 each. I even categorized grammar points in them by placing each under link-able headers, like particles, verb conjugations and so on. Since it’s in the cloud, I even did it on summer vacations sometimes.

I largely dropped all this since it takes time and these days I’m lazy after a day of work, so I just make sure to read Bunpro descriptions carefully. I still may do this for a particularly hard point.

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#6

Well, what’s “progress” anyway. Blowing through the program or actual fluency? Don’t compare yourself to other people. You’ve started from a different place, your native ability to learn is different, you have different goals, and you have different standards of fluency. And much, much more.

If you are frustrated, it’s because your expectations are high. As my teacher used to say, “Cycle san, Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Take comfort in that you are much better now than you were 6 months ago.

7 Likes
#7

I have elaborated my style in other threads, won’t go to much into it. Generally I just review everyday, If I feel like the next days reviews are not overwhelming I learn more, else I hold off. That is the core.

Speaking to the feeling of plateaus that is just the nature of learning in my opinion. There are times where I feel my progress is rapid, then there are times where I feel like I have not progressed for months. Often I find those times just come and go, as long as you stick to a core routine and change up your secondary study practices you will break through.

I would not worry too much about the perceived fluency of others, many are not nearly as ahead as they seem and others are already on their third, fourth, of fifth language. Some can speak and not read or vice versa. Recognize your strengths and build up your weaknesses.

3 Likes
#8

apparently my rule is to do as much as possible as fast as possible until i burn out and go on a learning break forever to then come back, reset and start again :sweat_smile:

other than that:

  • when learning new items read the description carefully and if that isn’t enough to get a good understanding look up other sources. too often i found out during reviews that i didn’t actually fully understand how the grammar worked.
  • do reviews every day, even if it’s just a single one. keep a streak going. btw, imho the streak badges shouldn’t be one time only but have a count on them, now that i think of it.
  • as grammar gets more complex and difficult reduce your lesson batch size. when i’m caught up again i’ll probably set it to only 1 or 2
  • type in your answer, then read the sentence out aloud. after the audio plays, repeat if correction is needed in speed and pitch accent.
  • have fun. if no fun is had, for a short time just push through but else change something (for me that mostly means: slow down).
  • don’t rush reviews. think carefully and then answer. for wanikani and vocab recognition i like training immediate, fast recognition but that doesn’t work with grammar. i misread or misunderstand what was being asked for too often.
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#9

I try to keep my grammar points no higher than 10 in the beginner stage, though I end up getting it up to 25 right before the weekend starts since I’ll have a lot of free time.

Recently I’ve been making more of an effort to not worry about new lessons if I’m getting older “adept” grammar points consistently wrong. No reason to rush through this site if I’m not learning as much as possible.

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