Learning JLPT level 3 kanji and vocab

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for feedback on a Kanji learning system that I've put together to help me learn the 300 or so kanji plus all the vocab for the JLPT level 3 exam. My plan involves using Heisig's 'Learn the Kanji' which I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with. What I'm going to do is go through Heisig's book and highlight all ~300 kanji that are on JLPT level 3. Then I'm basically going to start from the beginning of the book and learn all the kanji in it from start to finish using Heisig's system. However, every time I come across one of my highlighted JLPT level 3 kanjis I will stop and learn all the Japanese and Chinese sounds that go with is.

On top of that, when I learn a new kanji I will also learn all the level 3 words that contain the current new kanji character and any other kanji that I've ALREADY learnt. That way I won't have to learn words that contain kanji that I don't understand, and by the end I would have covered almost everything required (I say 'almost everything' implying that there will probably be some kanji and vocab on the exam that I didn't know we would be tested on).

So basically by December when the exam comes along I'll know almost all the kanji and vocab I need to know for the exam, plus another 1700 or so kanji with their English meanings.

What do you think?

This is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but... I'll try to be brief.

I'm not a fan of Heisig at all.

I'm not a fan of any method that involves learning large amounts of kanji as nothing but shapes and English "keywords" (calling them 'meanings' is misleading) -- I think this is one of the best ways to completely waste your time as a beginning student of the language, and will do you little or no good in the long run (assuming that your long term goal is to be able to actually read Japanese, and read it the way a native speaker would -- i.e., not just 'decoding.')

You'd be infinitely better off learning a set of 500 kanji or so, but learning them _well_, and by that I mean not just "meanings" and readings, but also learning commonly-used compounds, and learning them in context, so that you're actually building up your vocabulary (in a meaningful, practical way) and reading skills as you learn.

I would recommend Bonjinsha's Basic Kanji Book to start with. I wouldn't be surprised if all of the JLPT 3 kanji are in there, but I couldn't tell you off hand (I never wasted my time with JLPT 3.)

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that learning kanji just to learn kanji is pointless. If you don't connect it with actual reading practice right from the start, you'll just be spinning your wheels.

That's just my two cents.

Bucko,
Putting the merit of Heisig's method aside, I see a big problem in your method. If your goal is to master the kanji for 3kyu, then you will be wasting a lot of your time by covering the nearly 2000 kanji in Heisig's book. The method requires you to work through the kanji specifically in the order he specifies to create the effect that he proposes his sytem offers.

Your first objective should be to create a solid goal. Do you want to master nearly 2000 kanji by the Heisig method? If so, use his book. Do you want to master the 300 kanji for 3kyu? If so, find a 3kyu-specific kanji book and study it. Keep in mind that you don't have to write a single kanji on the test and that kanji-specific questions will be on on and kun yomi.

Your method seems like someone who practices for a marathon by participating in triathalons. Why spend all the extra time on kanji that are not covered in the test (if that is indeed your main goal right now)?

I tried learning kanji in a more traditional way about two-three years ago. Didn't work well at all. Began working with Heisigs books last year, works excellent. So if you feel that it works well for you, then go ahead. If kanji and vocabulary are your main concerns for the test, you should have no problem if you do it the way you suggested