Catching up

(Written earlier)

It’s been a week since I’ve taken the JLPT N5 exam.  After a couple months of intense studying and cramming I’ve only had maybe 3 classes since.  I also just returned from a short vacation in Hawaii.  There’s definitely some topics I feel like I just crammed in and didn’t fully master so I’ll have to go back and review all of those.  I finished the Genki I book but not the workbook.  I’ve also purchased the Genki II and Genki II workbook in preparation for the next few months of studying.

I’m a bit scatter brained with Japanese when I’m not studying by the book.  I jump from topic to topic, reading and watching videos.  So when studying from a book, in a sense there’s some kind of structure but that is defined by the authors of the book.  I’m not sure if there’s an official text book that will teach in order of JLPT objectives or grade level objectives.  Two different guidelines, for kanji anyway, referenced here:  http://tangorin.com/common_kanji

During “free study” I’m kind of all over the place – looking up different topics and resources.  I’ll create a page with links that I’ve personally found as great resources and then the ones that are probably best suited for learning the culture.  In addition, there are a few things I’ve come across online that are probably more entertainment than anything.

At what point of learning Japanese, are you past the beginner stage? Is it after 2 years of studying? After passing the JLPT N5 and N4 tests? Each book series, starts and ends at different subjects, grammar points, etc. That’s one thing I”ll need to research. .