I really desperately want to take the Japanese class I’m aiming for in my last year of university, but my learning so far has led me to be in a weird in between space that won’t let me pass the placement test for that class. Basically, my Japanese teacher and I finished genki one and genki two when I was in high school, and I passed N4, meaning grammar-wise and vocabulary-wise I’m at the level for this class I want to take.
The only problem is I can’t write kanji, my sensei never taught me kanji, and the placement exam for this course requires that I am able to hand write a short paragraph using N4-level kanji. Last time I did the placement test I was placed in a lower level class that would require me to do genki two all over again, so I didn’t take it. I have six months left until the next placement test, but learning to write all the kanji I need to know by hand, and writing an essay in general is pretty daunting for someone who hasn’t had much practice. Six months seems like plenty of time but I also spend hours on school everyday so I’m worried I won’t be able to do it again this time.
The only way I passed N4 was spending months on memrise learning how to read a lot of different kanji, which helped, but I didn’t retain any after the exam and I certainly don’t know how to write any.
The general advice has been to keep a diary — writing everyday. While I see the benefit of this, it also leads me to writing words and kanji way beyond the n4 level and that I don’t retain anyway. I’m at a loss for what to do at this point. I don’t want to spend hours writing out kanji and not retain it especially when I’m busy with school. Is there any structural way I can overcome this?
1 comment
RTK is actually great for learning to write kanji, but it won’t teach in JLPT order. It is definitely the best option for learning to write though. Other than that, maybe ask for an exemption? A lot of universities let people take classes without the pre reqs if they talk with the professor and get a permit