Unpopular Opinion! Why I Like Heisig's Remembering The Kanji, and How I Use It to Actually Remember the Kanji

Hello, everyone! How have you been lately?

I'm sorry I haven't been updating lately! You know, school, job, life...

*talking to a wall*

But today was the first of my finals for this semester; tomorrow will be my second and final ...final, and then it's Spring Break! Which I've decided to spend revisiting Heisig's Remembering the Kanji (RTK for short). I was actually studying from it when I started this blog (before school violently devoured all of my time), and thought it might be fun to have progress updates and such, along with some of my notes so it's like we can all learn together!
So many tools....

Now, the thing is, it seems like a lot of people dislike RTK, saying that it will not help you learn actual Japanese. I agree that it won't help you learn if it's the only thing you use. For me, I use it mainly as a tool to help me do exactly as the title suggests; remember the kanji- and as a tool, not exactly a method. I mainly use it as a general road map alongside a plethora of several other tools, where said other tools are actually where I get the more useful information.

RTK focuses mainly on producing mnemonics and quirky ways to remember a single keyword that supposedly pertains to the character, but it leaves much to be desired in the way of readings, vocabulary, and context, and unfortunately, at least in my experience, context and readings are so, so important. I find that if I have nothing to stick a character to, I'll forget it, no matter how great of a mnemonic I find or come up with. Nine times out of ten. But I still like the way RTK is laid out... the fact that it starts simple and gives a few chunks to work with at a time, then expands on them and shows you the characters you can make with the chunks you have accumulated before introducing you to new ones just makes a lot of sense to me and actually makes learning some of the characters less intimidating. I mean, I'm not exactly sure when I'll be using the kanji for pig iron (銑), but I sure as heck know what it's character is comprised of (actually, I didn't even know what pig iron was before using RTK...). I already knew about the concept of radicals, but it was difficult to remember them when a bunch were thrown at me at once... Introducing the parts first then a bunch of characters to give the radical context is much more useful and has allowed me to take them more seriously. Context really is everything.

Now, about how I use RTK, here's a secret: I actually don't own the book! I started using it a few months ago when the Android application was on sale for $0.99 in celebration of the new release. The application actually doesn't have any of the famous "stories" included in it, as it's meant to be used as a supplement to the book, but I've found that it's still very useful and I actually like that I have to come up with something myself. Sure, it's more heavy lifting, technically... but it's also more personalized so it sticks better in the context of my mind! It does, however, provide the characters, the keywords, and the "primitive elements" (which are actually shown rather than just listed, so I'm not like "what the heck does 'crown' look like again....?"). Usually I go through each character, writing each one down in my notebook, along with it's primitives and meanings. It looks something like this (note the progression of the characters):

水 water
氷 icicle
永 drop + water = eternity
泉 white + water = spring
腺 flesh + spring = gland
原 cliff + spring = meadow
願 meadow + head = petition

For each one, I come up with a little image to remember. For example, for "spring", I think back to the Fairy Fountains in the Legend of Zelda games; they were always really pretty and glittery and had a "white" feeling, and they were called fountains but they were really more like springs. Bam.

Note that the act of actually writing them down helps to solidify them in your memory! It also gives you a quick cheat sheet when you just want a quick refresher to stave off boredom.

Then I use my handy dandy quiz application of choice (for me, it's Obenkyo), enable that chapter for the study pool, and do a few quick run-throughs with the writing mode while the characters are still fresh in my mind. I take a quick break, grab a snack or something, then come back to my notebook and start looking through vocabulary. Obenkyo actually has a nifty feature where you can open up the kanji's page during a quiz, allowing you to look at readings and vocabulary that use the character. And that's exactly what I do! I then take notes; I write the character, then the readings, then 4-5 of the vocabulary that stand out most to me before moving on to the next character. I like that I can do this during a quiz, so that I can also review older characters simultaneously.

The vocabulary bit is the most important part of my study routine. Because I've been studying Japanese for a long time, there are quite a few words that I know and use but can never seem to remember the characters for. Then when I looked at RTK, there were a lot of characters that weren't really clicking with me. Take for example 的 - RTK says that with a dove (白) and a ladle (勺) you get "bulls eye". Okay, I kind of get it... my story for this is that you can have dove in a soup and it'll hit the spot. But really, what the heck is "bulls eye" supposed to mean...? How would I ever realistically use that?

Then I took a closer look at it with Obenkyo, which states that it can be bulls eye, mark, target, etc. and can be read as テキ for the onyomi or まと for the kunyomi. I peruse the vocabulary that 的 is present in... and viola, I come across things like 目的（もくてき）, a word I'm actually quite familiar with. The word means something like objective, goal etc. - and it would make sense that it's written with an eye and a target! Then, in my class, a bunch of words appear in our readings, like 一般的（いっぱんてき）, 基本的（きほんてき）, 全体的（ぜんたいてき）. Suddenly 的 is much more relevant!

One thing that's important to remember is that you have to take the keywords and primitive elements very loosely. I like to talk about forgetting English in order to learn Japanese, and it's a serious thing. The English keywords can be helpful in conjuring the concepts and ideas that the characters are supposed to represent, but if you cling to them, you'll be thinking about it all wrong. Japanese is not English! So stop using English! When you start looking at the language like a child would, associating words with their concepts rather than more words, you'll start tapping into your brain's natural ability to learn languages, which is critical.

I like to think of it like just adding more words to my arsenal for communication, with the difference being the context under which they're used. Then it's like telling your brain that we already know how to do this; we did it in grade school when we would read novels and look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. It's the exact same process, so don't overthink it!

(Disclaimer: This actually tends to lead me to accidentally throw in some Japanese words when speaking with Americans because they sometimes pop up sooner, but... they know I'm a study maniac, they understand! ...I think (*´▽｀*);; )

Now that I've gone into a rant about how I use RTK to my advantage rather than labeling it as useless/misleading and throwing it out the window, I think I'll actually get back to studying now.

...Or maybe I'll take a nap first... なんてね!ww

 皆さん、頑張ってください!

* Edit: I'm now thinking it might have been good to touch on the fact that it's most effective if you're actually using the kanji and vocabulary you learn on a regular basis after you learn them, but I'll save that for another post. I think Firefox's Furigana Inserter has a feature that lets you ignore known kanji... I'll have to devise a way to use this to my advantage. ...In other words, I haven't gotten to the actual use part, and still have to use the dictionary quite often... which this next two weeks is supposed to help with. I'll see how it goes and report the results! (-' ω '-)ゞ
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Introduction to おやつラン (Oyatsuran) - A mini column about snacks!

Hello, everyone!

A few days ago, I went to the nearby Asian supermarket (Uwajimaya). While toting about $60 worth of snacks and instant ramen, I thought, "Why not make a review column about them?".

Enter Oyatsuran! - a column about my thoughts on different snacks (and sometimes instant ramen). I hope to grade them on taste, appearance, price, etc. and will gladly take requests (as long as they're not spicy or expensive)!

Obviously this won't become the main point of the blog, but I think it would be a fun addition to it. Eventually, when I'm able to go over seas, I would like to start a Conbini Haul column too, featuring the types of things you can get at various convenience stores. Unfortunately, I don't think the ones in the US are very interesting... but at the same time, if there are questions about American convenience stores, I will be happy to scope them out!

That's all I really wanted to say for today.

Stay lovely!♡
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School Has Started!

Hello, everyone!

Because I hope for this to eventually give insight on how I got to Japan as an illustrator (stay positive!), I hope the occasional personal post is not too annoying. I think the thought process is also good to consider when making these kinds of decisions. This time, I'm going to talk about school.

For me, school started last week. Usually, American students start school in September, but in my case, various things have happened, so I had to start with the winter term instead. At any rate, I'm here now, and very happy about it!

One of the things I want to do is attend a specialty school (専門学校 senmon gakkou) for game illustration, but the ones I looked at required a near-fluent level of Japanese speaking and comprehension ability. Because of this, I decided that I would major in Japanese, and possibly minor in art; however, I may also consider the reverse. For now, I just want to focus on taking as many Japanese language and culture classes as possible so that I may be more prepared for the later steps in my plans. I feel like taking a major rather than a minor in Japanese will be more beneficial in the long run.

I was a little concerned about what level courses I should take for Japanese. At my school, once you reach third-year, the classes are actually split up; you have two terms of Speaking and Listening (301/302) and two terms of Reading and Writing (304/305), which overlap during winter term. When I went through the placement screening, my adviser told me that I would be fine in the third-year level classes, but technically the major requires a student to take 301, which I had missed. Additionally, once a student takes 302, they cannot take 301. But, she told me that if I absolutely did not want to wait for next year to start taking Japanese classes, that I could take 302 and fill in 301's slot with a different class. Sounds good to me! So I decided to do that.

This term, I'm taking the two Japanese classes and one General Studies class (here we call them "University Studies"). Unfortunately I transferred in with a credit amount just short of the threshold to only require two University Studies classes this year rather than three, so I'll have to take the remaining two next term alongside the final third-year Japanese class (305). That will make for a slightly boring term, but this one is pretty fun, so I think it balances out!

One thing I'm a little worried about is that everyone says the jump from third-year to fourth-year is pretty high. I have a somewhat strange situation, where unlike most of the students, I've actually been studying Japanese for a very long time; through a mixture of self study, podcasts, and classes in high school, along with some befriending of and chatting with some native speakers online, I've come to a point where I am very comfortable with the language comprehension-wise (though I'm a bit shaky with vocabulary; nothing some flashcards won't fix). Actually speaking, though, is a little different.

For the most part, my writing (er, typing) seems to be understood, though I'm sure there are errors here and there. But for speaking (as in verbal communication), I have very little confidence. Not only do I have a bad habit of completely forgetting how to use keigo (polite speech), especially when conjugating verbs, I also have a habit of speaking much more quickly than I can think, which leads to a lot of grammatical errors and stumbling over words. There are also several grammar points that I remember learning but have forgotten the details of; as a result, I use them incorrectly. I think this is because I haven't actually been in a class since early 2010 (almost 6 years!), so I've mostly been exposed to purely casual settings and conversation (and maaaaaybe a little anime...).

I feel like maybe I shouldn't worry about this as much as I do. After all, many of my classmates seem to also struggle with their speaking ability; but I think they have a better all around stable level and more recent practice using specific grammar points whereas for me it's very hit and miss; I have a tendency to cling to the ones I know best. In the end, I think it will come down to putting forth more effort and making sure to practice often.

とにかく頑張ります!
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[Guide] How to Learn Japanese

皆さん、こんにちは!

Hello, everyone!

If you're here, I'm assuming you're interested in learning Japanese. I don't blame you! Japan's culture is incredibly rich; no matter what you're interested in, be it anime/games, fashion, food, sports or technology, Japan probably has a lot to offer. You might be a little nervous to start learning Japanese. After all, it's considered to be one of the most difficult languages for English speakers to achieve proficiency in. However, I believe that if you approach it with the right mindset, it is definitely an attainable feat. In this post, I'm going to share some tips I've picked up during my language journey.

Stop using Romaji.

Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, stop using Romaji. You don't need it! I can't think of a single practical situation where you would actually use Romaji in Japan. It may help you figure a few things out during the very early stages of learning, but sooner or later you just have to stop using it as a crutch... hopefully sooner rather than later. This means getting rid of your kana charts that use romaji, too! People scream when I tell them that, but I promise you that romaji-free kana charts are easy to read once you figure out the system and know a few characters. After that, the lack of romaji will help you memorize the characters as well; you will be looking for the character itself, not the English letters attached to it. I plan to post a guide on learning kana for the long-term later on... but my short point here is just to get rid of romaji as soon as you can.

In fact, just forget English.

I don't mean cutting English out of your life entirely (although one of the best ways to learn quickly is through immersion); I'm just telling you right away that English and Japanese are two entirely different languages. You might be thinking, "Duh, of course they're different languages. If they weren't, I wouldn't be trying to learn it," but this is a point that is not to be taken lightly. Many people assume that if they just learn the words and alphabet, they'll be set; this is absolutely not the case. At it's most basic, Japanese grammar structure is completely different from English, but look deeper and you'll find that the entire mentality surrounding communication is a world apart. For example, typically Japanese people don't ask "How are you," they ask "Are you well?"; but this is usually only to people they haven't seen in a while. As a basic greeting, making a statement about the weather for example is more common. Additionally, even the style of writing is different; Japanese kana is a syllabry, not an alphabet. There is no 1-to-1 comparison between English letters and kana. When learning Japanese, you can't expect anything to have a perfect English equivalent, because it's just not English.

Take lots of notes.

There's one thing that I will never forget, and that is that memory is never to be trusted. Make a note of everything. Not only can you look back on it as a refresher, but the act of writing actually activates a part of your brain that is likely to help you remember. If you use it to write kanji (or even just kana) over and over, they will be committed to muscle memory. I recommend investing in a cheap notebook, one that you won't be afraid to write in, scribble on, tear out of, destroy. Then, use it to take notes on everything. Practice kana, jot down vocabulary, write sentences you see in books and try to translate them. Don't worry about organizing it perfectly; I find that this makes me more hesitant to take notes. Just do it, you can organize them later. I actually have a few notebooks; one of which is an "everything" notebook that I periodically refer to and then sort information into their respective places when I have the time.

Use as many resources as possible.

There are so many sites and apps out there that are meant to help people learn Japanese. Many of them are even free! I plan to write a few reviews on apps and sites, but for now, check out Erin ga Chousen!. For Android users, Obenkyo is a very good app for flashcard-style memorization of kana, kanji, vocabulary, etc... it even has a particle mode, as well as some lessons in grammar borrowed from Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese (another great free resource). 

Be patient.

It may seem daunting to tackle a language knowing that you'll have to learn to think in an entirely different way, but you shouldn't be put off by it. Think about when you were a baby; you couldn't speak any languages, but you had a very open mind. You were listening, observing, taking mental notes constantly, and slowly, you got to where you are now; reading this post with very little effort, having fluid conversations without a second thought, even able to recognize (most of the time) when a child or foreigner uses the language incorrectly. It doesn't happen immediately or without struggle, but it can happen. It will happen. You just have to be patient; never give up just because it seems difficult. If it feels like a struggle, it means you're learning. Also, pace yourself! Make sure you don't try to tackle too much at once; choose something at your level. If you're playing an RPG and you want to level up your Lv. 15 characters, do you go off and fight Lv. 70 monsters? I didn't think so. So don't do it when you're studying, either! If you go in trying to watch anime without subtitles straight away you won't get very much out of it save for a few overused phrases. Cool for impressing your friends, but if you really want to impress people you'll want to learn more than that.

Just do it!

You heard me. The longer you hesitate, the longer it will take to learn. There is no "better time" to learn anything; any time is the best time. If you have ten minutes on the bus, pull out flashcards, or conceptualize how you would say certain things in your head. You are bound to make mistakes, everyone does, it's part of the learning process. Just take a deep breath and jump in. You'll do just fine. (*^ω^*)b
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New Year, New Start

Hello, everyone! I hope you're enjoying your new year so far. I know I am!

I get the feeling some really great things are going to happen this year. Not only do I have some things lined up for moving forward, but I've also managed to release myself from some things that have been holding me back. It's a really great feeling. I'm hoping to go further and shake off even more things within the coming months; especially my hesitant nature. By the end of the year, even if my goals have not been achieved, I hope that I can at least be more confident and think more positively.

Last night, I had a visit with my father's side of the family. During dinner he told me something very interesting. I told him that I felt like there wasn't enough time to achieve the things I had planned, and that I have already wasted so much time already. He asked me to consider all of the things I've already done within the past 20-or-so years. Everything I've learned, experienced, people I've met, the twelve years of school, good times, bad times, all of it. Then he told me that by the time I reach his age, I'll have had enough time to do it all over again; and even after that point, I'll be able to double the years once more before I reach a considerable age. When I think about it that way, I don't feel so bad. They say that a master is just a beginner who has already failed thousands of times. That is the principle I hope to live by this year. If you are hesitant, doubtful, or otherwise lack confidence, please think about how much more you can accomplish by the time you double your age. 

明けましておめでとうございます!

Happy New Year!
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Hello, welcome, nice to meet you!

Everyone, how are you? Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas, or just a great day if you don't celebrate it. ^-^

I am very new to blogging, I've wanted to start one for many years but have always been too hesitant. Today, I think I will start by just doing it; no more planning, no more worrying, just being myself! ^^

I'm not really sure what kind of things I want to write about yet, so bear with me. I think I would like to write about the Japanese language, as well as reviews for apps, games, and anime. If there's anything you would like to know about, any questions you'd like to ask, please do not hesitate to ask questions or make requests!

My main goal with this blog is to keep track of my life and share it with those who are interested to know about it. I'm hoping that someday, I can look back and see how far I've come. I think that if I keep doing it, I will get better at it. It is the same with everything in life. One of my old friends in the past told me, "好きこそものの上手なれ!"... something like, "if you like something, become good at it".

I have many things I like so it's overwhelming, but the plus is that I never get bored. The larger problem is that I'm often forgetting what I really want to do, and it never gets done. I'm hoping that by keeping a blog, I will have an easier time remembering my goals. And if not, then there's nothing wrong with that. Life is life, and it's different for everyone. We will always just be doing our best, even if we feel we can do better; I've come to believe that no matter what anyone does, it's the best they can be doing at that time. I just need to remember it myself.

Thank you for visiting, I hope to see you again soon!

Take care of yourselves♡

~ Ellie
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