Nihongo#2 - 9 Month Up-date

                                        

I think I have made tons of progress in the last 6 months: I have acquired a surprising amount of N5, N4 (and even N3) vocabulary, but more importantly, it's all beginning to stick and things are beginning to make sense. These smallest improvements I have noticed have really motivated me. I have covered almost all N4 and N5 grammar points which is great.

Vocabulary (Listening): My listening has significantly improved. I cannot rave about Anki enough. There have also been some really useful Youtube Channels that I recently discovered that offer excellent listening practice and allow me to acquire vocabulary in a really organic way. For example, there is もしもしゆうすけ. He just walks around and documents his mini-adventures so we as the viewers are able to witness and, perhaps, even be a part of the everyday conversations he has shop staff, passersby, and other people he meets. I have learned the word for mist/fog (kiri), diabetes, to name a few. It allows me to practice hearing vocabulary I have acquired through Japanesepod101 and elsewhere in a really natural way.

Reading: I have covered about 100 kanji (excluding the 20 odd kanji I have become familiar with, like 私 and 今日) using the Kanji Study app on my phone. I highly recommend the Kanji Study app. Kanji Study was incredibly useful, especially in the early stages. It introduced me to the fundamental N5 and N4 kanji and helped me, like Anki, to transfer the kanji from short to long(ish) memory.  However, I have really neglected my reading of hiragana, katakana, and kanji in general. 

I am trying to get into beginner-friendly texts and children's books, but I will update you on this in another post update.

Speaking & Writing: This is also getting better. I am slowly integrating speaking practice into my daily revision, i.e. Italki, Facebook groups, and the Language Exchange website. Unfortuntately, I haven't had much luck with Facebook groups, Hello Talk, and the Language Exchange website.