I’ve studied Japanese for a long time and I have a learning disorder (rare) and autism so learning for me can be hard.
Grammar I have studied over and over doesn’t stick or is very difficult in my opinion.
Any websites that can make learning a bit easier or tips? I don’t like getting frustrated.
5 comments
I don’t know what you tried so far. But I really like graded readers. It’s easier for me to see stuff used and not just single sentence.
For better grammar explanation than those in textbooks I like to look up different YT videos.
Try cure dolly, her grammar explanations is what made japanese click for me. Her entire channel is a goldmine, she has a big playlist of lessons
spending a long time studying grammar over and over is pointless. you have to use the language to learn it. insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results etc. spend a small amount of time learning and forgetting grammar, then go learn words and read and listen to stuff using the words. You learn the grammar by encountering it and using it as you go not by doing grammar flashcards or w/e. Imagine trying to learn math by just reading the definitions of stuff and never practicing how to solve them, it doesn’t work. any beginning grammar you see you will see thousands of times as you actually learn the language.
if you are an adult with disposable income get a satorireader account because that site basically got me reading and listening so personally I recommend it. if not theres free stuff but its not as well curated and user friendly. its gonna be hard and not fun a lot of the time no matter what you do, so buckle up if you wanna learn. “I don’t like getting frustrated” well whether you like it or not you’re trying to learn the hardest language in the world for an english speaker so get used to it.
The head teacher at my language school said that westerners should memorise one good sentence for each grammar point. Read and write the sentence several times. The reason is that Japanese language is so different from western languages. This also helps train memory.
She said by early intermediate level, rote memorisation of sentences should not be necessary as the student builds a solid foundation.
For example, I wrote each grammar point and an example sentence in pencil in a paper notebook. Then reviewed that every day (eventually less and less frequently). I also highlighted different points in the notebook (e.g. main grammar point in orange highlighter, blue pen circling particles, etc.)
This is not popular advice at this reddit and unfortunately I don’t have any insight to learning disorders. But hope these ideas help!
I have auditory dyslexia, but it’s not severe. I’m not certain about autism. However, my main advice is to focus on your strengths. For instance, since I struggle with memorizing sounds, I try to pay more attention to memorizing patterns. Sometimes, I can recall the movements of my hands even if I can’t remember the exact shape.
About grammar, I like to explain it to myself like a match equation. For example, genki books tells us to memorize the の equations based on the main idea. I like to think that way. A belongs to B, where A is an additional information and B what I want to say. So is just adding information like + this.
Even if it’s not 100% accurate, it makes it much easier for me to remember. Plus, I can go back and review it if it becomes a problem. It’s okay to make mistakes as long as you grasp the main idea.
Don’t listen to people that tell you what you should do. You have to do what you think is best for you. As long as it is comfortable and is effective for you. Even if that means to make mistakes once in a while.