Need some Tips

[Variand]

Hey guys. I'm pretty new here and just started learning Japanese, and i'm having issues with memorization.

Not necessarily the words and such. I'm doing fine remembering Romanji... right now, im having a truely difficult time memorizing the K-S-T-N lines of Hiragana (oddly enough the vowels came real easy to me... go fig). Flash cards have worked well in the past, but are failing me now, even repeated writing and associative learning are still falling short of helping me completely...

Does anyone have any tips or pointers, or am i just one of the hopelessly doomed to take years to remember the very begining of japanese literacy?

[Spaztick]

It doesn't take years, just learn it as you go, eventually you can do it without thinking about it. It took me about 3 weeks to learn both hiragana and katakana, but I didn't know them by heart. I still have trouble reading it sometimes, the katakana more than most because I don't read it that often.

Use the mnemonics that Clay gives, or if you can make some up that are just as silly.

Remember that it has to be funny, it has to be silly, and it has to be impossible.

Just keep at it and you'll get it. So (as my penpal says) fight!

[Qbe]

If you work through James Heisig's "Remembering the Kana", you can get both sets into your head in 6-8 hours total.

Of course, you'll need to practice, practice, practice (reading and writing) to cement them. I did pretty well with the hiragana, but didn't practice with the katakana and forgot about half until I reread that part of the book.

[Variand]

Arigato.

I appreciate the tips!

[Step]

Try using the Dragon Media Kana Trainer.

http://www.dragonmedia.us/programs/kana ... swfde_243s

Other people swear by other flash card programs but this one is different. You can selectively chose to only get trained in the vowels, or the K's etc. Then as one group get s familiar, and another, you can add both and keep testing. I usually watch the clock and go for about 5-10 minutes doing this.

I tried learning hirigana with other methods that didn't work as well as this program. You can save the website on your hard drive too and practice even when offline. (if you don't have 24/7 access)

I'm also finding it isn't enough just to recognize the kana. Write out some romanji words using the kana you think you know, then test yourself. See if you can write them down in hirigana.

Other than that you can use the typical flash cads etc. But I find drilling over and over is the best.

[mxtheory]

Qbe wrote:
If you work through James Heisig's "Remembering the Kana", you can get both sets into your head in 6-8 hours total.

Of course, you'll need to practice, practice, practice (reading and writing) to cement them. I did pretty well with the hiragana, but didn't practice with the katakana and forgot about half until I reread that part of the book.

I second "Remembering the Kana." Studying a few each day, it took about two weeks for both kana.

[Schattenjedi]

Step wrote:I'm also finding it isn't enough just to recognize the kana. Write out some romanji words using the kana you think you know, then test yourself. See if you can write them down in hirigana.

I second that suggestion. For Kanji as well you can test yourself through writing compounds which help you remember the individual Kanji as well because they have a concrete meaning and aren't so abstract. (in some cases)