Japanese can be both at once i.e. intriguing and challenging. For beginners, the experience can be tougher than it is for others. Amidst the massive sets of vocabulary, grammar structures, and alphabets, the struggle for a new entrant becomes huge. Moreover, coming up with an approach to successfully complete all the classes for the N5 level can be a little demanding.
While making an attempt to ace the Japanese N5 course, new learners can make some mistakes. To make it easy for them, some common slip-ups are highlighted below to help them address these at the earliest.
Not Being Consistent with Pace
Being motivated to learn Japanese all the time may not be possible, but what becomes worse is losing pace. Students who are not finding time to revise what they have learned in class may encounter difficulties while writing the test. Another shortcoming is that learners try to spare some time before tests and score average, which eventually is not building up their acumen.
Enrolment in N5 Japanese language course brings sole responsibility for the students and that is to be consistent in their learning. Giving one to two hours each day is better than spending 10 hours before the test for preparation. The daily practice constructs a robust groundwork that helps the students for their final test as they have learned everything already.
Aiming Higher than Feasible
Overwhelming one with too much learning at once is very common among new students. It results from a candidate’s aspiration to acquire more information in the least time. Being ambitious is good, but it can lead to a total mess when a flexible approach is not followed by students. Going to extremes, when not needed, can lead to demotivation for learners, and they can become stressed when results are different than expected.
For the students of the N5 Japanese course, it is crucial to keep their approach moderate. To balance out their daily studies, they can prepare a fixed schedule with an achievable goal each day. For example, they can take one chapter a day and confine their learning to limited skills for the same. Furthermore, students can give themselves an off for the day, occasionally, to relax and rejuvenate gaining more energy for further studies.
Forgetting to Shortlist the Resources
When it comes to learning resources, there are plenty for Japanese. Students, however, often forget to garner the resources beforehand. Furthermore, they aggravate their problems by clasping on too many resources at once. Such a situation could be handled by shortlisting the learning material.
For a self-learner, it is common to flip between learning materials. However, it is not the best practice and perplexes the students, in the long run. It is better to identify the best resources and stick to them to the end. Students learning at institutes can glance at on-campus study material as it is handpicked by the staff members.
Moreover, it is possible that all resources would not provide suitable study material for every skill. Thus, shortlisting the different resources for reading, writing, and listening is useful, plus grouping them for consistent learning becomes crucial.
Excessive Reliance on Anime
Learning with the help of anime can be super fun for beginners. First-time learners enrolled in the Japanese language N5 course find it more exciting as it is an amusing way to learn. Candidates, who have already been through the process or still pursuing Japanese, suggest not to heavily rely on anime for learning Japanese.
Anime can provide many interesting words to Japanese learners that cannot be discovered in textbooks. However, it underscores a major pitfall and that is the standard of politeness used in the language. The words that are found in anime might not even be used by native speakers as they do not satiate the purpose of courtesy.
Using it is not a flaw, but the students need to restrict its usage span or else, change the way it is used. For example, learning with subtitles would help students learn kanji; without captions, furthermore, learners can practice their script penning the words they hear. It is better to have a fruitful idea when students choose to use anime.
Not Following a Balanced Approach
The scattered attention of students could weaken their learning process. One can identify two types of learners when it comes to Japanese. First, there are learners who let go of their understanding of grammar and vocabulary being immensely impressed by their pronunciation. Second, there are students who focus too much on textbooks that shun getting practical experience. Both kinds of learners are going to face one problem and that is missing out on weaker areas.
Learning Japanese requires a balanced approach. There has to be equal room for writing, listening, and reading skills. Additionally, the students are supposed to pay attention to their weaker areas. However, they cannot skip out the other parts on the way. One cannot miss out on learning Japanese in a well-structured manner. With an online Japanese N5 course, it becomes easier for students to streamline their daily self-practice sessions as they are provided with a draft from their instructors.
Making Comparison with the Native Language
A beginner may interpret Japanese in their native language for improving their comprehension skills. The choice of words, however, is different for each language and could lead to misunderstandings in many cases.
For example, the phrase ‘take medicine’ can have a different interpretation in Japanese. When the student would start translating the same in their native language, it would confuse them. Therefore, the best way would always be that students to prompt themselves to practice Japanese just the way it is instead of translating it to their native language.
On the Last Note
For acing the Japanese N5 level, students should not be too hard or too easy on themselves. Their approach should be flexible throughout their course. If one is aiming for a JLPT N5 online course, the added advantage would be receiving structured notes that help them practice in their own time. The most appropriate way to stay intact with a balanced approach is following the age-old formula i.e. doing the home assignments.
The importance of home assignments has not diminished over time as the students receive them in a pre-structured manner. For beginners, it is an ideal way to practice Japanese because as newbies they might not be able to plan out their personal learning sessions. Lastly, one should stick to the strategy that has started to work for them and they are able to learn using the same.