Hello. This is my first time asking the community and thanks in advance!
I just want to know if I'm on the right track with the resources I'm planning to tackle for the next months.
For background:
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I finished Genki 1 and 2 textbook & workbook, Kanzen Master N4 (Kanji, Vocabulary, Grammar & Reading), Sou Matome N4 (Grammar, Reading & Listening), Speed Master N4 (Reading & Grammar) and N4 audio materials in Youtube. I usually get 85-90% score in N4 mock exams.
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Passed N5 exam
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Taking N4 exam this coming July 2025
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I'm a self-learner
I'm planning to take N3 exam on December 2026, as you can see, I have a relax and lofty goals 😅 I'm not really pressuring myself to take any certification. My own personal goal is: learn well, learn to converse & immerse in real media.
Question #1: I still have 2 months left before the exam – should I review my N4 books or proceed to Tobira?
Question #2: Are these textbooks enough for my self-study for N3?
- Tobira advanced (1 chapter for 3 weeks, 10 months in total)
- Kanzen Master N3 Kanji, Vocabulary (1-2 months)
- Kanzen Master N3 Grammar (1 month)
- Kanzen Master N3 Reading, Sou-Matome N3 Reading & Speed Master N3 Reading (1-2 months)
- Sou-Matome Listening (1 month)
I plan not to answer the exercises from Tobira (just read-listen-repeat each chapter) then once I finished that I will review & answer all the quizzes in Kanzen Master/Sou-Matome/Speed Master.
Also, supplement with daily NHK news and JLPT mock exam every 3 months.
Question #3: Should I be bother to memorize all the kanjis? Right now I can recognize and write the first 300 kanjis. I'm not really fond of re-writing over and over each of them.
Question #4: To improve my conversational skills – should I hire a tutor (just to have someone to talk with) or keep on chatting random japanese in HelloTalk?
Thank you very much for the help.
by cyyyko11