14 May 2008
How can I get started?
Obtaining the data
The data is available in various formats. Personally, I use Anki and I have created .anki files which you can download and immediately open and start reviewing. The raw data is also available in a spreadsheet file, which you can view and edit and is probably the best source for you to use if you would like to import into another flash card program. There is still lots of room for improvement so if you would like to contribute to the project then please read the guidelines later on, and then get in touch.
- Anki file can be found here or download here: JRTK.anki.
- Spreadsheet containing my chosen words and sentences can be downloaded here: RTKJapanesePrompts.xls.
- Master spreadsheet containing all data contributed to the project can be viewed and downloaded here. Click on File and then Export to download and save the spreadsheet to your computer.
- If you would like to contribute to the project then get in touch. Either post at this thread, or use wrightak
- at gmail.com
How do I study?
Now that you've got the data, you can of course use it in whatever way you wish but the following is the method that I found helped me to learn the material in the most efficient manner.
- Stop reviewing with the Heisig keywords and go through the kanji in Heisig order again. I found this to be the most efficient way and I have discussed why here.
- With each kanji, there is a Japanese word and sometimes an example sentence. If you don't already know the word, find out what it means by using either a quality dictionary (discussed here) or the koujien. Then look at it's usage in the example sentence.
- Take another look at the story that you created using the method in RTK 1. Make sure that you are happy recalling the imagery from the story and writing the character, given the Japanese prompt. If you want, adjust your story.
- After repeating the above steps for a bunch of kanji, review them in your flash card program. The flash card presents the Japanese word in hiragana in a large font, with the example sentence underneath in a smaller font. The answer is the target kanji followed by the Japanese word written in kanji. Write the word out on paper after looking at the question and then check what you've written.
- This goes without saying but always review old cards that are due before adding new ones.
The above represents the main steps that I used after I had found suitable keywords and example sentences (which took a lot of time and has been done for you :) ). Some people use different approaches and I have discussed them here. On the same page I have also discussed some more details on the reviewing process.
Example screen shot of a question in Anki:
After clicking on "Show Answer":
The "1850" is the Heisig frame number for this kanji and is a link that takes you to the relevant page on kanji.koohii.com so that you can work on your story if need be.
See the next page for a discussion on how words and sentences were chosen.