Hello! I will start to study a 4-years degree at a university (east Asian culture and languages) starting in October that will require me to study Korean and Japanese. Luckily I already know Korean so I can focus on Japanese a bit more. Since I have some free time before my studies start I would like to lay some groundwork so I can skip some courses (since I need to work while studying). Any recommendations on what a first semester of Japanese language should know? I already studied Hiragana and Katakana would be next. Along with it I use a Genki book. Thanks!
4 comments
Each university is going to be wildly different. Where I did my undergrad, they do about the first half of Genki in Japanese 101. Where I did my master’s degree, they do up to chapter 9 in the accelerated class.
Plus – do they offer Japanese 101 every semester, or just in the fall?
If I were you, study Genki 1 as much as I can and try a placement exam.
College courses have something called a “syllabus” which is a sort of outline which tells you what will be in the course.
If you can get the syllabus, you will know what is coming up, thus what to prepare for.
If the syllabus is not already online, simply mail the professor and respectfully ask for it, or ask if they have a copy of last semester’s syllabus instead.
Most professors don’t mind being emailed once in a while, anyway you’re just trying to learn.
Random redditors don’t know what is going to be in your course.
Korean should be helpful for your first classes in Japanese.
This summer, you might consider self-study and/or some summer classes at a community college or with a tutor.
Genki has 2 parts. There are also workbooks. A new edition recently was released:
https://genki3.japantimes.co.jp/en/intro/
Here are some practice exercises:
[https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/](https://sethclydesdale.github.io/genki-study-resources/)
Completing Genki 1 & 2 does not get you too far, so you want to blow through a lot of pages each day if you can.
A lot of people use flashcards or SRS software to help remember vocabulary & kanji. Anki is a popular software. This summary provides tips on learning you might find helpful
https://www.supermemo.com/en/archives1990-2015/articles/20rules
I have no idea for sure, but I hear the courses at college tend to take language learning pretty slowly, at least in the US. If you can read the kana well I would personally try to pick up grammar skills like particles. Schools don’t always explain particles well anyway.