RobertB
Registered
- 8 Jan 2015
- 4
- 1
- 18
Hi, I'm new here. Still poking around the forum, but I thought I'd introduce myself and ask a question.
Last summer, we decided to plan a Tokyo trip for the summer of 2016 as a graduation present for my daughter (she's been studying Japanese for several years). I decided that I wanted to challenge my aging brain and see if I could learn a useful amount of Japanese in two years. I think my expectations are realistic: I know I won't become fluent in two years (welll, eighteen months now), but I want to reach a basic level of "survival" Japanese that will enable me to read signs and menus, order a meal, that sort of thing.
I signed up for a series of classes that will continue right up until we go. The introductory class, which I finished in December, focused on some basic vocabulary and stock phrases (introductions, greetings, etc.), as well as hiragana. The second class, which starts tonight, will build on that with more vocabulary and katakana. Subsequent classes will add some grammar and kanji.
I'm starting to think that I'd like to supplement the class with some independent study, mainly to learn more kanji. Looking at the course descriptions, it looks to me like the classes will probably only teach me a couple hundred kanji at best, and I suspect I'll want to know more than that. (I know patience is important, but I'm on a time limit here!) With a year and a half to go, I figure I can try to learn a couple every day. I've found some Android apps that are good for teaching stroke order looking up definitions, but I'm looking for a good book that will give me an ordered set of kanji to work my way through.
The two kanji books that I've been looking at are Heisig and Kodansha. I know that some people love Heisig and others don't, and I'm undecided; while I like the idea of his approach, I kinda feel like I'd rather come up with my own mnemonics rather than using his. Kodansha seems more systematic and no-nonsense, and I like the focus on radicals.
I'd also rather focus on learning kanji in terms of vocabulary. From everything I've learned so far, it seems wrong to try to learn each kanji in isolation; I'd rather learn words and how they are written. I haven't found a good way to do that, though, other than just randomly picking words from Japanese text and learning them. What I'd really like is a list of the words I'm most likely to find useful in Tokyo, which I could use as a structure for learning the kanji I need.
Anyway, I said I had a question, but now that I've written this much I'm not even sure what my question is. But I'd welcome any thoughts about my approach, and any opinions about Heisig versus Kodansha. Not to mention any words of encouragement from others who have tackled Japanese later in life!
Last summer, we decided to plan a Tokyo trip for the summer of 2016 as a graduation present for my daughter (she's been studying Japanese for several years). I decided that I wanted to challenge my aging brain and see if I could learn a useful amount of Japanese in two years. I think my expectations are realistic: I know I won't become fluent in two years (welll, eighteen months now), but I want to reach a basic level of "survival" Japanese that will enable me to read signs and menus, order a meal, that sort of thing.
I signed up for a series of classes that will continue right up until we go. The introductory class, which I finished in December, focused on some basic vocabulary and stock phrases (introductions, greetings, etc.), as well as hiragana. The second class, which starts tonight, will build on that with more vocabulary and katakana. Subsequent classes will add some grammar and kanji.
I'm starting to think that I'd like to supplement the class with some independent study, mainly to learn more kanji. Looking at the course descriptions, it looks to me like the classes will probably only teach me a couple hundred kanji at best, and I suspect I'll want to know more than that. (I know patience is important, but I'm on a time limit here!) With a year and a half to go, I figure I can try to learn a couple every day. I've found some Android apps that are good for teaching stroke order looking up definitions, but I'm looking for a good book that will give me an ordered set of kanji to work my way through.
The two kanji books that I've been looking at are Heisig and Kodansha. I know that some people love Heisig and others don't, and I'm undecided; while I like the idea of his approach, I kinda feel like I'd rather come up with my own mnemonics rather than using his. Kodansha seems more systematic and no-nonsense, and I like the focus on radicals.
I'd also rather focus on learning kanji in terms of vocabulary. From everything I've learned so far, it seems wrong to try to learn each kanji in isolation; I'd rather learn words and how they are written. I haven't found a good way to do that, though, other than just randomly picking words from Japanese text and learning them. What I'd really like is a list of the words I'm most likely to find useful in Tokyo, which I could use as a structure for learning the kanji I need.
Anyway, I said I had a question, but now that I've written this much I'm not even sure what my question is. But I'd welcome any thoughts about my approach, and any opinions about Heisig versus Kodansha. Not to mention any words of encouragement from others who have tackled Japanese later in life!