Japanese Study Resources

Browsing Coscom's site I noticed that they had current news, weather and even a listing of popular Japanese names (which I use when modifying/constructing sentences). My current endeavor is slowly working through みんなの日本語 (vol 1; currently I have mined 700+ sentences using 468 unique Kanji), and then vol 2. I am planning on finishing this series by the end of 2009. Using Tae Kim's Guide on Japanese grammar to assist me when I have the urge to write/say something that I cannot recall.

After that series I will start on Coscom's excellent series called Kanji Odyssey. I plan to tackle only volume 1 for now since it is loaded and the Coscom site has worksheets. The first volume I have budgeted three months. Following KO, I will start moving into intermediate level works - starting with an old book I found (with audio in mp3 format) entitled "Introduction to Intermediate Japanese: An integrated course" by 水谷信子 (Nobuko Mizutani). Supposedly, the book is derived from Nihongo Journal.

RTK Progress - Nearing two months after completion

Here is a brief update with respect to review counts. I started this process six months ago, and finished two months back (not quite, but off only a week or so). Thus far my reviews are less than 100 per day. I spend more time that I should on reviews, since I interleave them throughout the day. I am planning on doing a huge review in the morning and be done with them. Currently, this is my only impediment to other Japanese studies - not that this is bad, but it still takes time. Looking forward to when I have less than 50 reviews per day, but occasionally I fail a load of old cards that end up coming into roost for a few days.

Tokyo train stations

Here are the top tourist train stations in Tokyo. Need to incorporate these into my sentence studies somehow.

東京駅　Tokyo Stn
上野駅　Ueno Stn
新宿駅 Shinjuku Stn
渋谷駅 Shibuya Stn
銀座駅　Ginza Stn
表参道駅　Omotesando Stn
原宿駅 Harajuku Stn
浅草駅 Asakusa Stn
六本木駅　Roppongi Stn
品川駅 Shinagawa Stn (easy shinkansen access if you stay in Shibuya area)
両国駅　Ryogoku Stn (sumo stables)

Hacking Anki to Add RTK Keywords

Initial work is complete and it works well. Current implementation adds a title over the Kanji in the Question component only. To see the keyword you have to hover over the specific Kanji you are interested in. More later.

EDIT: This is now available in downloadable plugins as rtkize.

New Heisig Tool

I have authored a simple python-based tool that allows one to query with Japanese text and map the text to Heisig (author of Remembering the Kanji, or just RTK) keywords. Some might wonder what value it would be to someone to know the RTK keywords? Anyone who has studied RTK has created a map of the keyword to a story that contains elements that should bring forth the actual Kanji character. Going the other way from the Kanji to keyword is harder and really isn't that important. However, when studying Kanji compounds it is helpful to think of the RTK keyword components. For example: 家族 (かぞく) maps to the RTK keywords [house] and [tribe]. You can see the value in utilizing the keywords to recall the compound - some of course are downright obvious, some funny and others vague. The script is available here and basically runs as a server in the background.

And a bookmarklet for those who want to be able to select random text while reading and have the text mapped to keywords:

javascript:(function(){q=document.getSelection();location.href='http://localhost:8080/?decode='+encodeURI(q)})()

One month following the finishing of RTK

It has been one month since finishing RTK (Remembering the Kanji by Heisig). I still do reviews daily and test some 120 characters everyday. The reviews have been decreasing noticeably weekly, from 180/day when I completed to the current rate.

Was it worth it? Am I fluent yet? Can I read a Japanese newspaper yet?

Yes, it was worth it. No I am not fluent, nor can I read a newspaper. However, the path is clear and my Kanji fears have subsided since there are little characters that I see that I don't have some level of familiarization with and understand the basic meaning.

I have started on みんなの日本語 1 (minna no nihongo 1), which I started last year and made through half way, before stopping. The first half is pretty basic and most of which I am familiar with already, however, there is a drastic difference: the Kanji. As I progress through the text, some of the questions have been already answered - in hiragana only though. Now that I know Kanji, the vocabulary presented with Kanji in the text is easily recalled (e.g., かぞく - family, which is 家族, or in RTK keywords: house, tribe) and more importantly produced when I am answering workbook questions. This text should be finished in early September at my current molasses-like rate.

As far as studying Japanese, my time is still divided up studying RTK and みんなの日本語, however, I see and understand the importance and those can easily justify the required devotion. My sentences that I have been studying in Anki numbers only 130 or so, but should increase steadily as I have more time available and my study patterns normalize.

Finished with 2042+ Kanji

I have officially entered and tested the last of the 2042 (actually 2044 characters are in my Anki deck). Thus I am finished lugging Heisig's book around with me, however, I am not finished studying Kanji so to speak. I still am devoting several hours per day on reviews and don't see that changing anytime in the next month or so.

Since I am finished with adding new Kanji, I can begin my next phase of studies. Already I have changed my plan to match reality. The next three months will be composed of two items: (1) Minna no Nihongo I, and (2) Continue daily reviews of Kanji. I have chosen to focus primarily on Minna no Nihongo (みなあの日本語）as opposed to water down my time with other supplementary materials. More later.

3 Year Plan, revision 1

A plan without revisions is one that dose not reflect reality, and as expected here are my first revisions as I near completion of RTK1, my studies of Jouyou Kanji (2042 characters).

Background prior to this regimen: Basic speaking, hiragana, katakana and about 200 Kanji.

In summary, here is a quick guide to my strategies and resources.

Online Resources
[1] kanji.koohi.com - forums and RTK story sources
[2] lang-8.com

Software
[1] Anki (SRS Implementation)
[2] Kanken 3 (Game)
[3] Nintendo Homebrew SRS - NDSRS

Strategies
[1] All Japanese All the Time (AJATT)
[2] Remembering the Kanji (RTK)
[3] Spaced Repitition System (SRS)
[4] Conqueur My Surroundings (CMS)

Books/Media
[1] Remembering the Kanji 1 (Kanji)
[2] Remembering the Kanji 2 (Kanji On readings)
[3] Remembering the Kanji 3 (Advanced Kanji)
[4] Minna no Nihongo I, II (100-150 hrs each)
[5] Minna no Nihongo Chukyu I
[6] *Kanji Odyssey 2001
[7] *Kanji Book 1/2, Intermediate Kanji Book 1
[8] *Let's Learn Japanese II (Radio Japan)
[9] *Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication
[10] *manga: doraemon, Sgt. Frog
[11] Read Real Japanese Fiction: Short Stories by Contemporary Writers
* Primary sentence sources

Other sentence sources
[1] jlptstudy.com (JLPT 4/3)
[2] Smart.fm core 1-22 (1-10 30 days/each;11-2240 days/each)
[3] Tae Kim

Miscellaneous
[1] Pictures of signs, menus, maps, etc

Year 1, Goal: Jouyou Kanji, Basic Fluency
.........................................

March - April (2 months):
-Study ~1000 Kanji characters; using Anki (an SRS implementation).


May - June (2 months):
-Study ~1000 Kanji characters; using Anki (an SRS implementation).

2009/Q3:
-Minna no Nihongo I (create 3-5 CMS sentences for each pattern)
-Start Anki deck for counters/days of month/etc
-Start Kanji Town (Study/Review)
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Add sentences from jlptstudy tagged jlpt4
-Start writting weekly in lang-8 diary
-Core 1,2,3

2009/Q4:
-Minna no Nihongo II
-Continue Kanji Town (Review)
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Add sentences from jlptstudy tagged jlpt3
-Core 4,5,6

2010/Q1
-Minna no Nihongo Chukyu I
-Start adding new 191 Kanji characters to be added to jouyou.
-Start adding signs, menus to sentence deck
-Continue Kanji Town (Review)
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Core 7,8,9

Year 2, Goals: Intermediate Conversation
........................................

2010/Q2
-Continue Kanji Town (Review)
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Source Kanji Odyssey for sentences/Kanji compounds
-Nihongo Chukyu J301 (intermediate text)
-Core 10,11,12

2010/Q3
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Nihongo Chukyu J501 (intermediate text)
-Core 13,14,15
-JLPT 4/3 exam
-Kanken 10/9 exam
-Start RTK3, slow pace 3-5/day (300-200 days req)

2010/Q4
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Start book: Read Real Japanese Fiction
-Core 16,17,18

2011/Q1
-Continue daily RTK reviews
-Continue book: Read Real Japanese Fiction
-Core 19,20,21

Year 3, Goals: Advanced Conversation, Intermediate Business
...........................................................

TBD; in short: more intermeidate studies, expanded vocabulary in technology, math and business.

1k Kanji

Well, I have hit the milestone of 1k Kanji. Nothing really big about it, other than in my head it is an amazing number. I never believed I would know the meaning and be capable of producing on demand one thousand Kanji characters. I finally have a methodology that will lead me further in my Japanese studies and from my current point of view, seems feasible. Thanks to Heisig's RtK, SRS and my cohort. Below are my Anki stats with respect to Kanji coverage:

The 1004 seen cards in this deck contain:
1004 total unique kanji.
Jouyou: 958 of 1945 (49.3%).
Jinmeiyou: 26 of 287 (9.1%).
20 non-jouyou kanji.

Jouyou levels:
Grade 1: 68 of 80 (85.0%).
Grade 2: 94 of 160 (58.8%).
Grade 3: 101 of 200 (50.5%).
Grade 4: 109 of 200 (54.5%).
Grade 5: 95 of 185 (51.4%).
Grade 6: 89 of 181 (49.2%).
JuniorHS: 402 of 939 (42.8%).

Anki Decks to Construct

In my studies of Japanese over the years, I have learned much vocabulary and try to employ those words in my conversations. Currently, I am using SRS (specifically Anki) to learn Kanji and see many opportunities for using it in other areas of my Japanese studies, specifically to enhance my vocabulary. Here I will elaborate a bit on decks (collections of cards) that I wish to construct:

1. Kana deck, which I have built already, that maps hiragana to katakana. Unfortunately my katakana production sucks, but my recognition is fine. Thus this deck will be started once I finish kanji to perfect my production of katakana.
2. Counter deck; this is a vocabulary oriented deck to finally nail down counters, days of the month, etc.
3. Sentences deck; this will be my primary focus. Basically a high-speed collision of AJATT and CMS.

More probably later as I delve deeper into Japanese.

Anki Kanji Stats

I don't know the value of these statistics, but it is enlightening to see how far I have come after years of trying to learn 200 characters. Just broke 800 characters and feeling quite good about the whole process.

The 801 seen cards in this deck contain:

• 801 total unique kanji.
• Jouyou: 759 of 1945 (39.0%).
• Jinmeiyou: 24 of 287 (8.4%).
• 18 non-jouyou kanji.

Jouyou levels:

• Grade 1: 62 of 80 (77.5%).
• Grade 2: 86 of 160 (53.8%).
• Grade 3: 79 of 200 (39.5%).
• Grade 4: 75 of 200 (37.5%).
• Grade 5: 76 of 185 (41.1%).
• Grade 6: 72 of 181 (39.8%).
• JuniorHS: 309 of 939 (32.9%).

Three Year Plan

Herein lies my First Three Year Plan. Some of you may recall the Ninth Three Year Plan in Orwell's 1984. This plan will detail issues only related to Japanese and will most likely need to be updated since I am sure it will change. A plan is good since it keeps me on my toes and I can't fake progress.

Year 1, 2009
- March: Study RtK1; started March 7 planning 500 characters per month with a final completion date of July 7 (tools: anki, kanji.koohii.com; cohort: Josh)
- Aug (while in Japan for 4 weeks): Start new anki deck containing sentences/ vocabulary/grammar that I want to learn. Basically pieces of AJATT that I am interested in: sentences will be sourced from manga, the patterns and examples from Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication (personalized for me) and also other sources like dramas, signs, etc. Basically, this phase is the contextualization of Kanji, wherein I will learn the readings as commonly used. Reading is the best language teacher.
- Sept: Start Kanji town method to learn the On-yomi readings of the 2042 characters I have mastered. Base this study off of RtK2. Cover in much the same time RtK1, thus four months (sept-dec) but at a lower intensity (0.25-0.5).
- Sept: Investigate wrightak's method of replacing the English keyword with a Japanese keyword.
- Oct: Start studying Tae Kim's guide for Japanese grammar.
- Kanji post RtK1: I am not planning to directly launch into RtK3, but rather keep a journal of Kanji that I wish to learn that are not part of the jōyō kanji and basically learn those characters on my own using the same methodology. Keep track of a rough count of times Kanji was encountered.
- Start: Supplementary studying on my Nintendo DS: Kanken DS 3, Kakitori-kun (the first one, which only covers ~1k kanji).
- Ongoing: Continue reviews of RtK1
- Tools: 漢字そのままDS楽引辞典, Kodansha kanji learner's dictionary, Anki, Kanji.Koohii.com
- Sentence source ideas: (1)Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication: A Self-Study Course and Reference by Taeko Kamiya, (2) JLPT Study site.
Also, a quick note on sentence review: study both (1) kana to kanji sentences and (2) kanji sentences to kana (basically, do both production and recognition in anki terms). When the kana sentence comes up, write it down in kanji. When the kanji sentence comes up, just read it out loud.

Year 2, 2010
- Overall goal: Proficient at basic casual conversation at home with my family.
- RtK3: Study new Kanji to expand my comprehension
- Japanese signs: Create anki deck containing Japanese signs and their readings.
- Further details lacking at this time.

Year 3, 2011
- Proficient at random conversation

After year three, I should draft a new Three Year Plan. The contents of that will most likely be "get better at Japanese"

Kanji Review Method

Herein details my study/review cycle for 24hrs:
[starting in the evening]
- review new/expired cards in Anki
- Study 16-18 new kanji, generate stories for each character, write them up in my journal. Call this set X.
- update RvTK with newly studied Kanji
[sleep]
- Test new cards (set X) in RvTK
- Review expired cards in RvTK, study failed cards.
- Add new cards (set X) that were tested earlier in RvTK to Anki
- Study flash cards of recent Kanji (mostly set X, and some prior ones) at gym while working out, make mental notes if I am having serious issues recalling the story for a particular Kanji.

Important to note that many activities are spread out. You don't want to wear out yourself or make the task too daunting.

RTK Update II

I have just crossed the 500 character boundary and am quite happy with my progress. My progress is tied to several dependent on the following tools:

1. Anki - a python/Qt based SRS system
   
2. Reviewing the Kanji - a site that an SRS system that I use it to derive my stories, lookup characters
   
3. Nintendo DS SRS system - portable SRS system for the DS. Here is a python tool to generate the SRS files for Ninendo DS SRS system, which can be found here.

I have been studying around 2-3 hrs/day and working with a friend to test each other and discuss issues. My goals are 500 characters/month, so we will see how well I can keep up.

Remembering the Kanji

I have begun (re-) studying Kanji (Chinese characters used in the Japanese language). The method that I am using is detailed in a book entitled Remembering the Kanji Vol 1. After the first week, I am at 80 some odd characters. The method entails building an image/story of any particular Kanji based on primitives (radicals). Thus far, I am impressed with the method and have learned several quite complicated characters. Some Kanji that I already knew were easy, but most that I have learned are new to me since the character order of this method does not follow JLPT level or grade level. I will report my progress here.