hey all! ive officially learned and memorized all of hiragana and katakana! i’ve also learned a handful of very basic vocab from duolingo but i don’t want to use that as my main study resource obviously. what i think i should do next is to get a Genki textbook. is it fine to just dive right into that or should i begin with something else first? also.. as of now should i focus more on kanji/vocab or grammar, or both at once? ありがとう!
3 comments
>is it fine to just dive right into that
Yes, Genki is for complete beginners.
>should i focus more on kanji/vocab or grammar
Just learn what’s in Genki. It is meant as an all-in-one resource and its main purpose is to take the guesswork out of what you should learn.
I think you should check [The Moe Way](https://learnjapanese.moe/) or the starter’s guide in the FAQ of this subreddit.
I’ve been learning for a little less than a year and I’ve been following The Moe Way guide and I’m pretty happy with my progress so far.
I haven’t used textbooks for learning Japanese but it may be a good option too!!
I suggest try the guides or methods that you want and stick to the one you feel it suits the best for you.
頑張って!!!
If you’re self taught with genki I highly recommend going through the chapter thoroughly then watching thst lessons grammar review with the youtuber “Tokini Andi”.
He does better going over it than my college professor did.
Then make sure you’re confident in the grammar usage and at least 90% in the vocabulary from that lesson before going forward.
Being well versed in past grammar and vocabulary helps a ton going forward, because then you can focus more on learning the new content.
As opposed to trying to struggle through words you’ve already learned.
There’s no point in rushing to the next lesson without a firm grasp of what we’ve already learned.
Especially if rushing means you don’t actually learn what the book has shown you. Reading to forget vs studying.
A lot of people make this mistake. Then all of a sudden they are in over their head feeling overburdened because they have too much to work on at once.
It’s easy to get into this habit for college learners because they slack off and feel pressured by deadlines. Cram and forget is the speedbump many fail to advance past.
This is what made the difference between those who graduated with a Japanese degree at N1 or N2 proficiency level vs those who could barely make N3 after spending thousands of dollars and years “learning”.