How I learn Japanese

Today I want to give you an overview of the methods and materials I use to learn Japanese.

1. Genki Textbook
Every weekend I sit down in front of my desk and do one Unit of Genki. Genki is a textbook for Japanese beginners. I use it to acquire a fundamental understandig of the language. Each unit is split up into the following parts: Dialogue , Vocabulary , Grammar and Exercises. I really enjoy using it and feel like my Japanese is rapidly improving

2. Kodanshas Kanji Learners Course
I went with this book because of the large amount of Kanji it contains. Maybe I will get back to Flashcards at some point but I´m quite pleased with the way it presents the Kanji. And it delivers some really helpful memory aids.

3. KKLC Writing Practice Book
It contains all the Kanji you learn in the above mentioned course and gives you space to practice writing them!

4. Essential Japanese Kanji by Tuttle
This book is also a really good to get the Kanji basics into your brain. I use it mainly for practicing compound Kanji. What I like about it is that it tries to incorporate daily situations that you might encounter in a Japanese environment

5. Whiteboard
I plan to practice writing Kanji with it in the future. It saves paper and looks like fun!

Have I given up?

This blog died. ...or so I thought but my desire to learn Japanese hasnt died yet. How much progress did I make in the last few years you might ask. The answer is simple. None. Actually I learned all the Vocabulary that are needed for JLPTN5 last year. The reason why I havent studied Japanese was that I focused on other studies. But now that they are out of the way I can finally concentrate on my Japanese studies again. The big advantage is that I recently have had the money to buy proper learning materials. I will get in detail about them in another post. My goal for this year is to improve my Japanese drastically. I´m considering to take the JLPT N5 at the end of this year. Depending on how far I´ve come with my Japanese studies. Currently I´m studying with a Japanese Textbook , a Kanji book and Anki. And I´m making huge progress. Another application that I use is HelloTalk which is very useful for communication purposes. So to answer the question. No I havent given up! I simply wont. Therefore see you in my next post.