Hey all, thanks for reading this post in advance.
TL;DR, I have strong speaking and listening comprehension skills, but weak reading and writing skills. I thought I’d be placed in N4 (I only know about 150 kanji), but I was placed in N3 and the school has thus far refused to transfer me down unless I go all the way down to the basic N5 course.
I don’t want to waste 3 months intoning the basics I already know by heart, especially since I’m paying to improve. That being said, N3 is beyond my current reading abilities. I have bombed every single practice test so far, I struggle reading my homework and in class presentations, and the teachers don’t really seem all that sympathetic.
My own homeroom teacher keeps telling me kanji isn’t that important in Japan these days but that seems like empty reassurances. While I appreciate her preparing N4 kanji sheets and practice tests, the reality is that it’s been extremely frustrating.
I’m swiftly losing confidence in my Japanese abilities and I’m starting to not even feel confident speaking in class. I’ve tried grappling with N4 on my own, but averaging 6 hours of study everyday while having to essentially teach N4 to myself AND learning N3 is melting my brain. It’s also keeping me from doing things besides hitting the books and I’m even starting to cut my sleep short.
Does anyone have any tips or suggestions? Thank you very much in advance.
by jokerstyle00
