I really would like to learn Japanese since I would like to move there some day. I hate textbook studying since it feels just like school work. My goal is to get just good enough to where I can start learning by reading japanese books and consuming native media. I know that I can’t just jump
into native books and media since I won’t understand anything, but is there a way that I can get there without the drag of studying textbooks and whatnot? Even if it takes much longer I would prefer anything over textbooks.
8 comments
You are associating textbooks with school. If you are like me and went to school in the USA, it was a pretty bad environment to learn anything.
But if you get your own textbook and master it, it will be a different experience entirely. I recommend you give textbooks a second chance. Getting your own book that you pick out yourself and going at your own pace is a great experience.
However if you really are dead-set on not using a textbook, you can try tae-kim’s guide, which is a textbook in website form.
If you don’t want that either, there are other options. Search for “Japanese Ammo with Misa” or “N5 Grammar” on youtube and you can get some info. Also “Cure Dolly”
GL
You need to build a foundation first, you don’t need textbooks but you have to study the foundational basics. YouTube videos, websites, and guide all provide it. Learn kana and the basics then just focus on consumption and immersion. I didn’t really study much after the initial wall and just focused on reading, it was slow at first but I improved over time. Keep in mind this is the slower method, most efficient is active study + immersion into something you enjoy.
>I hate textbook studying since it feels just like school work
Learning a language is an academic pursuit, if it doesn’t feel at least a little bit like schoolwork you’re probably doing it wrong. While learning Japanese can be a lot of fun, it is a lot of work and if you want to see any actual progress you have to come to terms with the fact that it will be a “drag” at times.
I ignored text books after stressing my self out for months and eventually giving up. I just memorized all the Kanji and Vocab separately from Tango anki decks (while relying on Kodensha Kanji Learner Course for mnemonics, much better and more systemic for me than Remembering the Kanji). You can also use Kanji Koohi for quick mnemonics.
I also used Game Gengo and Cure Dolly channels to round up the grammar and got 88% on N5 last year (listening record quality was very bad not just for me but all examinees), and most of N4 is also a breeze in mock online tests also thanks to these two channels I use almost exclusively. (tried tae kim and 80/20 japanese before but also failed to get into them).
I suppose you can but textbooks are like maps. You can wander aimlessly or you can have an idea where you’re going.
You can, I study Japanese like that but don’t get me wrong. I still got a good understanding of the fundamentals and after that I hardly touch a textbook. While most would disagree with my study methods, I would still occasionally read a text book here and there. Since they have some great information and vocabulary I can put in anki
Yes.
Personally, the route I’d recommend would involve at least doing one grammar textbook for basics and then doing one Kanji textbook alongside anki (I recommend kklc, which is more like a dictionary with mnemonics and readings). Kanji is the most tedious in my opinion though it’s unavoidable and I think learning it through exposure would be messy and you won’t have a full understanding of each kanji, unlike doing it through brute memorization of the kanjis readings then applying the reading rules, which almost guarantee you will read the correct reading. Afterward, grammar should be extremely easy to learn intuitively without textbooks. The only problem left then is vocabulary, which should be as hard as Kanji though easier to learn through exposure since it’s less messy. All up to you, though, I think it’s mostly personal preference to your learning methods.