I’m learning Japanese language and right now I’m in my last year of university and I really feel like I’m behind the level where I should be, and during classes I tend to get confused and not understand most of what they say in japanese and online too I regularly use dictionaries.
So far we learned from Genki, that I mostly learned, but since we started learning from Tobira (last year) I got stuck and can hardly learn anything, and now we don’t even have a set book which we should learn from, so I’m kind of confused on how should I learn.
My main problem I think is my lacking vocabulary, that I lack the amount of words I should know the meaning of by now (+reading if its written in kanji).
How or what kind of exercises can help me catch up at least a little bit?
Edit: thank you so much for the advices, I’ll definitely try out those which I can try out (sadly not the friends one, since lack of friends).
7 comments
The standard answer is a spaced repetition system (SRS), e.g. [Anki](https://apps.ankiweb.net/). I can’t vouch for it, but [here](https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/877325002) is an Anki deck for Tobira.
Hi,
You are probably looking for the r/learnJapanese subreddit, make sure to check out their wiki resources.
頑張ってください。
Study vocabulary you know you will/would use in conversation.
Use them in sentences to make them easier to remember.
You should get some classmates together and play kanji slap jack. It is a really fun game and helps build vocabulary and speed recognition/recollection.
Basically everyone buys a pack of 3 by 5 cards and writes 1 kanji or vocabulary word per card (without consulting with each other so you get a wide variety of words) on the opposite side you write the meaning in your native language.
Then you meet up with your classmates a few times a week and shuffle the cards together. 1 person flips the cards 1 by 1 and everyone else tries to scream the meaning and/or reading before slapping their hand on the card.
Fastest person gets the card. Person with cards wins. Afterwards shuffle the cards and split them between everyone so you can practice until the next meeting. Add more cards each time
Whatever you end up doing, DO IT EVERY DAY.
I can tell you from experience that formally learning it the way it’s taught in unis is simply not good enough. You’ll have to immerse yourself in the language. Listen to it everyday. And as long as you already understand some basics, you’ll be able to understand the meaning of words and phrases with context. And better gauge what sounds natural to say. And NO ENGLISH SUBTITLES. If you really want to understand what you’re watching, you could watch it in English dub (or sub) once and then after a day or two re-watch without subtitles. Do this as frequently as possible and enjoy the language as you learn it.
And this works for everything BUT Kanji.
Kanji, you just got to keep reading. And practising. If possible get Japanese subs.
Honestly, set up something like yomichan on your PC and start reading. It’s gonna be painful for a while, but I don’t know that there’s a better way to learn vocab and grammar, and eventually you will get good enough to where it’s not painful and you can just enjoy reading things you like to read.