Writing what you hear...

[mgentry]

I have been studying kana for about 2 weeks now using Heisig's book. I am finding that I can remember the pronunciation by sight most of the time, but I am having a more difficult time writing a few of the kana from just hearing the pronunciation and/or seeing the romaji version of the kana. Is this common?:)

[lostinagoodbook]

Ha! I'm the opposite. I can easily write what I hear in Kana, or writing a romaji out in Kana. But when I see a word already in Kana it takes much more effort to decipher it for myself.

Funny how our brains work.

[TrilinguisT]

hmm.... for me, it was pretty easy casue my teacher used flashcards for us to read aloud.

[keatonatron]

That is fairly common, especially when you get to Kanji. For everyone (at any level) there are some kanji they can read but can't write from memory.

I think that's just a step in memorization. It's the same as when you're learning Spanish, and when you hear a word you know the meaning but if you hear the meaning you can't think of the word.

[valerie]

that's me with kanji! i can read MUCH more than i can write. thank god for computers?

[Mukade]

Being able to fluently speak and write a language is always harder than listening and reading the same language. It applies to your native tounge, as well. It's a matter of passive versus active use of knowledge.

To this end, you should always try to study kanji and vocab cards from Japanese to English, as that will always be the harder skillset to master.

Also, as regards kanji in particular, it may be necessary sometimes to come up with some other system beyond rote to remember how to write the characters. Even Japanese people forget how to write kanji, which I think is a testament to the overall inaffectiveness of simple rote memorization.

To that end, systems like Heisig's, Henshall's or the Kanji Picto-graphix (sp?) can come in really handy. I've never seen any one system that everyone praises equally, so I think it's just a matter of looking around to find something that appeals to your individual learning style. Keep in mind, though, that some systems might seem really cool at first, but once you start learning thousands of kanji, they start to become top-heavy. When you are reviewing possible systems to use, think to yourself: 'can I use this to help myself remember 1000+ characters?'

[mgentry]

I suppose once my vocabulary grows I will be able to recognize frequently used words and phrases and be able to write them from context instead of having to worry about individual kana...B)

[keatonatron]

Mukade wrote:
To this end, you should always try to study kanji and vocab cards from Japanese to English, as that will always be the harder skillset to master.'

Did you mean English to Japanese? You meant to say it's harder to read the English word and remember the Japanese than the other way around, right? (because I think that's true )