I’m a 2. semester college student majoring in East Asian studies (focusing Japan) and we have so far used Minna no nihongo 1+2 and some self-made material from the teachers, will start Tobira next semester. A teacher said we are at about JLPT N4 but the words and Kanji are all over the place regarding the levels.
So we learn roughly 80-150 new words each week and I struggle very hard to keep all of them as many are never used again in exercises or the workbooks (not obligatory but I use them) but they do appear again in the exams at the end of the year and I guess that’s what had me fail the last one.
The resources I can find online (like Duolingo, videos etc.) are all either way below our study level or cost money. I tried making Anki cards for all the words but kept falling behind because of work and other courses. Does anyone have advice on how to learn and keep that much vocabulary in so little time?
additionally, I’d also appreciate input on the pace of the course. is 80-150 words/week and finishing Minna no nihongo 1+2 in 1year a lot, medium, little? I know of some universities that go slower but idk. I have no reference point.
12 comments
80-150 words/week is reasonable imo
If you don’t already, I suggest you write them down on paper instead of just drilling flash cards, that’ll imprint them in your brain for a long time
For retention, consume any media
>I tried making Anki cards for all the words but kept falling behind because of work and other courses.
An SRS like Anki, while not very exciting, is really the most time efficient way to retain vocab. If you don’t have time to do Anki then you won’t have time for any of the alternatives. Especially since you are studying for an exam and need to know exactly the words from your course, I think you should give it another try.
As for how many new words, the recommendation is generally 10-15/day, so 80-150 in a week seems alright.
80-150 new words per week is reasonable if you only focus on the words. If you learn the kanji in each word, spend time making flashcards, learn grammar, and have other commitments on top of that, then 80-150 is quite a lot.
I only manage 35 new words a week doing all of that while trying to balance it with uni.
I suggest sticking with Anki. Get Yomichan installed along with the plugin. Add your new words daily and set a sensible amount of new words per day. There’s no other way to ensure all words are covered that’s as quick and efficient.
Using an SRS is definitely good, but one reason I prefer JPDB to Anki is that I can then immediately see what sorts of things I can immerse in that I have high coverage on with the vocabulary that I know. Makes it much easier to read things and retain words that way. Looks like a vocab list for the first MNN is up on JPDB as well, though not MNN2.
Whichever path you end up choosing, best of luck! 80-150 a week sounds super exciting and admittedly not something I was expecting from a college course! Sounds really neat ^^
I recently moved to Tokyo and I’m studying Japanese at a language school, we usually learn ~100 words give or take per week including kanji
What I found out is the most effective way (for me) to create new Anki cards has been downloading the entire core 6k decks, grouping them all in a giant deck, suspending all of the cards, and unsuspending them as soon as they pop up in school (I also tag the words with specific tags that help me sort out my cards better.)
I also write the words on paper while I drill my cards because I feel like it helps me remembering them better, but that may not be the case for everyone
Anyway this seems the way with the better result/effort ratio for me, you might give it a try 🙂
You mentioned that some of the vocabulary is used more often in the textbook and exercises, so you’re probably absorbing and remembering those words more naturally. In your mind, try subtracting those words from the overall number of words that you have to drill each week. That could make things seem a little less daunting number-wise.
Perhaps you’d learn the words that don’t show up anywhere other than on a list more easily if you use them in context. Find or write straightforward sentences that will help reinforce the words’ meanings in context. Include the sentences on whatever flash card system you decide to use. While that definitely does add more work up front, it might help you retain the vocabulary more quickly.
I suggest sticking to Anki. Anki is something you can do anywhere and everywhere. Waiting for the bus? Anki. Your professor is trying to figure out technical issues? Anki. You’re eating? Instead of scrolling social media use anki. You’re on the toilet? Anki. On the break on your work? Anki. Hell any second you can. Anki. I promise you, you have more free time than you think. Also, analyze how you are using your time. That is really important
It takes some figuring out on how it works (like 15-30 minutes), but use a giant existing anki deck that is very complete (includes audio and stuff, not simple back and front of card). Then when you learn a new word, just copy it from the big deck to a custom personal deck.
This is quicker than making your own cards in my experience, and the cards will be more detailed, with audio, etc.
This is the part where I burnt straight out of my Japanese courses. I would drill for vocab quizzes and tests and once that was over if they ever showed up again I wouldn’t have the first clue, so I was constantly failing my cumulative tests.
If setting up Anki takes a lot of time, you can still do it the way we old folks did and use index cards. Keep the pile around, put words you’ve got down at the back, put words you’re struggling with back near the front, and just grab a few and go through them during spare moments.
It helps a lot of you are studying material you care about. Like is the context in which you see these vocabulary material that you would engage with in any way beyond the classroom learning? Another reason I dropped out is because reading financial news was sending me into a coma.
I can’t offer advice because, again, I dropped out over it. But I can commiserate. Do you have any other memory or retention issues? ADHD played a significant part in my problems I think.
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I would say reading 25 pages a day in Japanese is extremely useful on keeping lots of vocabulary and not get too stressed