I feel like I’ve tried all the apps, I’ve tried genki time and time again as well as the other main one (can’t remember the name off the top of my head sorry), and I just can’t seem to stick to it. I just want to make steady and consistent progress to sit the JLPT N5 or N4 in a years time.
Looking for any tips or advice on how to get back into studying and stay engaged, I seem to fall off consistently at the 4 week mark and I’m not sure why.
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The only thing that has worked for me to really stick to it is classes. If you are in Europe there are free online university classes you can take.
I’ve really been enjoying my time going through Japanese from zero! The author makes some incredible YouTube videos going through his entire series explaining every lesson!
make a schedule and stick to it.
you have to be consistent and no matter what make sure to study
one pitfall to avoid: don’t make a really HARD schedule that you can’t possibly stick to! Draft out a schedule for when you should study and when you should do other more fun stuff, and try to stick to that. You can post it here if you want feedback
It’s interesting that you fall off after four weeks, I would think you have a habit by then. Maybe do some thinking/reflecting on why that is.
With regards to having a schedule, start small and get the habit going. Then expand where you can. I’ve found the SRS and ease of WaniKani and BunPro works well for me. The build up of reviews sort of positively pressures me into being active daily. I do some book study when I have time but WaniKani and BunPro are non-negotiable.
I also make sure to include some fun stuff with realistic expectations. I watch anime or Japanese YouTube videos with English subtitles. When I see an English word, I try to listen for it in Japanese. I’m only a few months in, so I feel like it’s a good enough work for me. And I’d be watching anime and YouTube anyways, so I get the added immersion and practice.
Maybe try joining a community so you can be around other learners and get some mutual motivation. You can also look into tutors, classes, and have you tried using Tokini Andy’s Genki Follow Along video series?
If I had to guess why you fall off after 4 weeks is because at the very beginning everything you do is generally not that interesting but you do it to get where you want to be. The best advice I can give is just to find something you love doing and then do it in Japanese. If it’s a game, find a game you love and try it in Japanese and you will naturally just want to learn and use the language as a result.
There is a youtube channel called Tokini Andy that actually has videos going over each lesson in Genki and explains some such in better detail! If you wanna check it out, the playlist for the first Genki book is https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA_RcUI8km1NMhiEebcbqdlcHv_2ngbO2&si=FTJncgOrkFOiPXPj
Would def recommend if you need some extra material to keep at it. He also has tons of other learning stuff on his channel!
There’s a serious problem with the one size fits all approach in most textbooks across many different subjects. For some Genki or other Japanese textbooks may be very helpful, for others not so much.
You may want to try a video explanation of Japanese Grammar. I would suggest giving Cure Dolly a try on YouTube.
There are also some other smaller YouTube channels that tell simple stories. For example https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7LVTjJJuDB_Qo0BAOQ8NFg/videos
Simply jumping into some easy level stories can be a great way to dip your toes into real Japanese.
Everything worth doing is worth doing poorly. That means even on your bad days you do the bare minimum.
Consistency is about forgetting motivation and moving into dedication. If you want to keep using Genki I suggest watching Tokini Andy’s videos on YouTube following the book.
For consistency though I recommend Anki. Go through the Tango N5 deck at 5-15 new words a day, EVERYDAY. You can make time no matter what to fit this in. Anki takes me 15-20 minutes a day and I don’t usually do it all at once. It even has a heat map add-on that helps track your streak. Make a promise to yourself that you will never skip a day and you can finish the N5 deck in 3 months at 10 words a day or 6 months at 5.
https://ankiweb.net/shared/info/419481234
Watch this video by Tokini Andy as well about how to learn. I agree with everything he says in this video except how to learn kanji. I suggest the Migaku Kanji God addon for anki. Stick to ONE PATH and don’t jump around searching for the optimal way to learn. The most optimal path is the one you stick to.
https://youtu.be/L1NQoQivkIY?si=t8FV2knf0KjIpcBP