N3->N2 in 9 1/2 months

[牛ジュース]

皆さん、こんにちは!

So I am about N3 level: 1500 kanji (way more than I need) 1000-3000 vocabulary (how can you tell anyways?) and I know a little more than 3級 grammar. I have 9 months until December to study for the NJLPT2.
I plan on doing:

1) all core 2000-6000 and putting them into an SRS
2) 完全マスター（文法）and putting that into an SRS
3) どんなときどう使う(collaberation of all of them with a workbook) and putting that into an SRS
4) Finding points in Tae kim I don't understand and putting those examples into SRS
5) review Genki 1 + 2 and put all the sentences and writing into SRS
6) Writing in my lang-8 journal everyday for 8 months
7) Take a JLPT prep class at JOI in November (http://www.japonin.com/) {They are reliable.}
8 ) Figure out how to copy media on the net and run it on a loop (most likely itunes)
9) I imported a Japanese DSi so I plan on buying a few more Japanese games
10) Populate my life with Japanese movies and books (still can't find my 聖書)
11) My room is basically a 3 dimentional newspaper.
12) I will start the highest level (through running-start) college course available but it only covers げんき1 but I will take advantage of being there because I need to for high-school graduation.

I have been told that it takes 2 years to prepare for the 2級 from 3級! I want to earn an 80%, not just pass the requirements! This isn't going to be easy but I was wondering how long did it take you to prepare? Also any reccomendation would be greatly appreciated!

よろしくお願いします！

(追記：皆の勧めをもらいたいのために、英語で書きました。＾＾’）

[tydin]

Greetings! I too am hoping to take N3 in December.
I have been practicing for the past week, I have covered about 68 kanji and I am working on vocabulary. If I keep this pace I should be well prepared by December. Good luck!

[牛ジュース]

You should be done, with kanji anyways, before the end of summer. ^__^
頑張ってくださいね。

[tydin]

I know that I will most definitely be done with the kanji, but vocabulary worries me. I need a new better way to learn new vocabulary. Flash cards are really effective with vocabulary, unfortunately, I do not seem to retain much vocabulary from them. = \ Do you have a goal set for each week/day? Like X-amount of kanji a day?

[牛ジュース]

I have two pointers which will help you tremendously!

1) Don't make flashcards like this:

{front} 犬 {back} dog

OR
{front} dog {back} 犬

Making flashcards with the input being only one word can be helpful for crammng for a quiz but in the long run you will want to have a sentence in the front so you can understand the word in context. (Plus it helps with reading and grammar.)

{front} これは例文です。{back} This is an example sentence.

2) Use an online SRS flash-card system.
An SRS is a flashcard system where it will show you the card at certain intervals to boost retention. You can also add audio, pictures, videos and links. (I don't get the acronymn either.)

Most reconized SRS flash cards are:
Anki
Memosyne
Katsumemo
and the original which I forgot ^__^;

(I think Anki is the overal best. )

I hope that helps!

[yukamina]

Don't be afraid to skip SRSing redundant stuff or stuff you know well already. Also, don't be afraid to delete cards if they become useless(ex. you've gotten to know the info really well since you added the cards).
SRSs don't take into account what happens outside the program; if the card for 水 has appeared 5 times...the program doesn't know that you've seen it 30+ times from other sources and it will keep showing you a card that should probably be deleted.

[牛ジュース]

OK, so I won't add anything I am positive I know. 分かりました。
Do you think typing out my own SRS is more beneficial than copy someone else's and changing it? I think I should type my own out.
Thanks for the response!

[Harisenbon]

1) Don't make flashcards like this:

{front} 犬 {back} dog

OR
{front} dog {back} 犬

Making flashcards with the input being only one word can be helpful for crammng for a quiz but in the long run you will want to have a sentence in the front so you can understand the word in context. (Plus it helps with reading and grammar.)

{front} これは例文です。{back} This is an example sentence.

What I usually do is make a 3rd side of the card for the example sentences.
The reason being that words are much easier to remember in context, but are often harder to remember all on their own.
You might also end of memorizing the sentence pattern, and not the words contained within.

For example if I have a sentence 馬の糞は馬糞と呼ばれています。, and this is the only sentence that starts with 馬 in my flashcards, I'll automatically know the meaning of the entire sentence by only looking at the first character.

One thing I also recommend is to study J->E as well as E->J and Kanji->Kana. All of those require different memorization processes, and just because you know J->E, you should assume that you'd be able to remember E->J as well.

I usually set my cards up like this:
(Study Japanese -> English)
Kanji->Kana->English->Example Sentence

(Study English -> Japanese)
English-> (Kanji and Kana) -> Example Sentences

Good luck!

[yukamina]

OK, so I won't add anything I am positive I know. 分かりました。
Do you think typing out my own SRS is more beneficial than copy someone else's and changing it? I think I should type my own out.
Thanks for the response!

Personally, I type it out myself if it's from a book/pdf, but I tend to copy+paste if it's on the computer. I don't like using other people decks... the content is just random since I don't know where it came from.

[牛ジュース]

"One thing I also recommend is to study J->E as well as E->J and Kanji->Kana. All of those require different memorization processes, and just because you know J->E, you should assume that you'd be able to remember E->J as well."

でも、英語を使いません！翻訳は便利じゃないんです。（ソ＿ソ’）
勧めをありがとうございます〜　（○ひひ○）



(自分で絵文字を考えて作ります。（イ口イ)＞）

[Harisenbon]

でも、英語を使いません！翻訳は便利じゃないんです。

英語を使わないって、どういう意味ですか？
結構ハイレベルになると、日本語の解説を使って、意味を書いてもいいかもしれませんが、Ｎ３ぐらいのレベルなら難しくないんですか？

上記の例をもう一度を出すと、「犬」はどうやって解説するの？
犬＝dogは一番わかりやすいではないか？

犬＝「食肉目イヌ科の哺乳類。オオカミを家畜化した動物と考えられている。よく人になれ、番用・愛玩用・狩猟用・警察用・労役用などとして広く飼育される。品種が多く、大きさ・色・形などもさまざまである。」って、以外に覚え憎いではないか？

まあ、千差万別なので、自分の道を従えば良いと思う。
がんばってな！

[yukamina]

Synonyms pretty much make E->J impossible, doesn't it? I mean, just look at the definitions from Jdic.

[牛ジュース]

ハリセンボンさん、（ハリセンバン？）
僕のレベルに難しいですが、頑張ってみます。
言葉で説明出来ない言葉を書くと、写真を使います。：P
簡単ですね。（笑）

犬
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0521/l107.jpg

「自分の道」って意味を説明してください！どう違いますか？僕の道は駄目だと思いますか？


ユカミナさん、
There are a crap load of synonyms so it would be wise to include a phrase if it is ambiguous. Words such as 「たいよう」aren't really confusing.

[Harisenbon]

「自分の道」って意味を説明してください！どう違いますか？僕の道は駄目だと思いますか？

「自分の道」って、自分のやり方という意味かな？

「どう違いますか」って何と？

「僕の道は駄目だと思いますか」おいおいおい・・誰もその事言ってない（汗
みなは自分のやり方があるから、それを従ったほういいと思っているだけどよ・・

大パニックを起こしたみたい（汗

[牛ジュース]

あっ、ごめんなさい。ちゃんと僕の胸中を示すことがありません。＾＿＾’　大パニックしていません。元気過ぎたそうですね。＾＿＾’　

みなは自分のやり方があるから、それを従ったほういいと思っているだけどよ・・

分かりました。

「！」を使いすぎますね。(ため息〜）

勧めをありがとうございます。
下手な日本語をすみません。まだまだ勉強しているのです。