My daughter is in 3rd grade in a Japanese elementary school. We are struggling with how to best help her learn kanji. We came from America with very little Japanese knowledge and she’s been in a Japanese school since May. School is going really well, she’s making friends, and her speaking/listening is coming along great… but we are struggling a bit with how to jump in to kanji.
What we have to work with: a kanji drill book, a reading book, and a copy of the upcoming kanji test. See below:
She really wants to start learning the material and taking/passing the tests. Just wondering if there are any suggested methods for studying… how to make flash cards/what to include, for instance? She made cards with hiragana/English on one side and kanji on the other, but she said it’s not helping her learn the kanji because so many have similar readings and then the English word gives it away… but there’s no English on the test, so she needs another strategy.
Compound this with the fact that I can’t read/speak Japanese either… however, I’m good with Google, with kanji apps, and with helping to study/make flash cards, so I’m ready and willing to help her tackle this!
She has some daily language help from a volunteer at school, but it’s more along the lines of translating for her rather than actual Japanese language instruction. She also is doing italki lessons but it’s more for conversation, not so much helping with kanji/reading.
Thanks for your pointers and study tips/strategies!! Side note: We are here for at least the next few years for work, so suggestions along the lines of “go back to America” or “put her in international school” are not helpful 😆
2 comments
Wanikani helped me the most, it’s a flashcards app focused on kanji but you have to understand the commitment you are making, the beginning is really slow but in a few weeks you’ll be doing 100+ reviews per day + ideally some new lessons, it teaches radicals first (the “building blocks” of kanji, so you’ll have an easier time recognizing similar kanji as you’ll be able to deconstruct them into smaller parts, the first 3 levels are free and will take at least a few weeks to complete.
The only downside is that the kanji they show at the start will probably be too simple, and you can’t skip what you already know, you can view the list [here](https://www.wanikani.com/kanji?difficulty=pleasant)
If she can read/understand the hiragana word, then you could make flashcards in hiragana/kanji, leaving out the english. If more than one reading is required for a certain kanji, practice one reading first. The example you sent focuses on the word “cold”, so use that one in the flash cards first. Try to get her to write the word with kanji every time as well. Writing helps in memorisation.
Hope this helps.