I’ve spent so much time studying kanji, I’ve reached level 40 of WaniKani. “That’s great!” You might think, but the second anyone speaks to me, it all runs together, I can’t comprehend any of it because it all just sounds like syllables and not words. What are the best apps for improving basic grammar and listening skills?
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Don’t focus specifically on listening practice when you probably need language knowledge in general. Do you read at all? Do you watch Japanese movies or TV or YouTube? How comfortable is it to read?
Basic grammar? Well, Tae Kim. But, I’d imagine that if you’re already level 40 on Wanikani, you’d be reading by now, no? If not, improve your reading skills using native materials like manga, novels, visual novels, or learner material like graded readers and such. If your grammar is as low as you’re implying, start off with any resources like Tae Kim, Cure Dolly, the genki textbooks, etc. Once you get through one of those books, just search up grammar the moment you encounter it while reading something. That’s what I did to build my grammar up while reading visual novels. As for listening, the best thing you can do is to just listen more. One thing I did back then was that I just listened to anything that I liked at the time and I just kept listening. The more I listened and did stuff like improve my grammar and vocab, the more I was able to pick out specific words, and from there, I was able to go on from understanding basic words to understanding random sentences to understanding entire scenes. This was done via input that was mostly incomprehensible as I was able to understand little bits and I built up my understanding from there, but if you want a more streamlined route, listen to comprehensible input videos made for beginners and increase the difficulty as you become more advanced.
You are definitely listening above your level. You need to immerse more in more approachable content that allows you time to process every word.
Kanji won’t help with listening comprehension
To get better at listening you need to listen more
Find some podcasts, youtube channels, video games with Japanese audio, whatever, and work on it
Also a language partner or tutor or live class
Youtube is your first resource for listeninig practice
Podcasts
Netflix series
And songs
Listen with Japanese subtitles and take notes unknown vocab and grammar points. Study and review them. Rewatch what you’ve watched again. It is not an entertaining path but it is a good and efficient path to learn as quicker as possible. If you wanna enjoy while doing this, try to find some favourable subjects rather than random things.