So I've been doing these 3 things daily for years, and I don't think I'm really improving.
Anki (For vocabulary) – Since 2022, almost every day I've tried various flashcards. At first I downloaded a 6,000 deck and did literal 100-300 cards a day, I've switched from that to the "organic" way that Curedolly recommended – now it's only like 10 flashcards a day, which is more manageable, but if I don't see an uncommon word in months; it's not going to stick (unless I do more reading immersion).
Supernative (For listening) – Every day for a little over a year I'd do this as well. It's listening practice where I fill in the blank. It's not perfect, but is a little tough.
– I like it because I can recognize patterns and it's pretty quick, and although I keep track of my score, it doesn't seem like it's helping too much. I'll do this for about 1-2 hours a day, until I felt like I made great progress or until I'm tired.
Don's Japanese Conjugation Drill (For conjugation) – This is a flashcard series that I can customize that is pure conjugation. It's quick and easy, I usually will do this until I get 5 flashcards in a row correct, and I'll continue afterwards until I make a mistake. https://wkdonc.github.io/conjugation/drill.html
I started this back in October 2024, and I find that of the 3 that I do daily this might be the most effective tool.
Other things that I tried (but don't do daily or no longer do daily):
– Reading 1-2 Tadoku books a day. https://tadoku.org/japanese/free-books/ It was okay, but it didn't feel too great.
– Reading https://www.nhk.or.jp/lesson/en/ grammar lessons. I thought it was alright, and still have the PDF provided saved, but I think lack of exposure to a good amount of the particles might've put me off.
– I did try cijapanese, but I guess I'm not sure what I should do. Do I just listen, add words I don't understand, or something else?
– Duolingo – It was more of a "what I know" rather than actually learning anything.
– And yes I tried various YT channels like TokiAndy or CureDolly, RocketJapanese in my early days, Genki books, and I even beat Pokemon Red in Japanese (and added common words I didn't know to my Anki deck).
I guess what I'm asking is: What should be my game plan? I'd say I know about 2000-2500 words, I can read basic kid books like on Tadoku, but I think that's about it. Guess I wanted a strategy that would take me farther.
My goal BTW is literally just to be ready for N4 – this is more something I've always wanted to do and I think N4 is a good milestone.
by geos59