I recently imported the Kanji Learner's Course book and I gotta say, as someone who learned kanji via Remembering the Kanji... KLC >>>>>>> RTK. It's not even close. jfc. It's an incredible review for someone like me and I'm sure an even better first introduction to kanji than RTK
I need to go find all the places where I wrote about Japanese self-study recs and replace all the RTK plugs with KLC. This + Chase Colburn's Kanji app are perfect
RTK gives you a single keyword, the kanji stroke order, and the radicals. The earlier entries also have a mnemonic, but later entries you need to make up your own. If you want vocab to see them in context, you gotta get the second volume
KLC gives you simple keywords (not necessarily only one, to give you a fuller context of when these characters are used), several vocab that use the character, and a mnemonic with the radicals in bold. It's so good
If you have the Chase Colburn app, you can get the KLC addon and get the KLC graded readers that give you tons of sentences to see those characters in the context of vocab in sentences
I learned with RTK + Kanji in Context which is okay, but honestly if you want a MUCH smoother experience, get KLC and the readers (or the Chase Colburn app + KLC addon)
@renkotsuban I am in desperate need to learn Japanese for real, and I have no option but to self study. Any experience with Bunpro? I have the core 2K deck on Anki but want something for grammar.
Also, what would be your recommendo for Kanji? I am nearly 40 and I don't want to keep learning "Mary is American and goes to high school" like Genki does for 8793647384 chapters if possible.
@hellerphant I don't have any experience with Bunpro but I've heard very good things about it. I personally use the grammar book in the Shin Kanzen Master N# series, tho those are only in Japanese (i.e. no English explanations) so it can be a pretty steep climb. Otherwise I don't spend a lot of time studying grammar points necessarily, so much as reading lots of stuff and then using these grammar dictionaries to look up stuff that I don't understand
https://www.amazon.com/Dictionary-Basic-Japanese-Grammar/dp/4789004546
@hellerphant As for reading practice, NHK Easy is good for starters, it has furigana that you can toggle plus has audio for each article (and not a robot voice either)
https://news.web.nhk/news/easy/
Manga and light novels are also great reading practice, and they are way more interesting than "Mary is an American" Genki practice ahahaha
Renkon
Joyces๐ต๐๐ธ๐๏ธ๐
Steve Heller