I know this was in our news post, but I think this sort of thing deserves its own article as well.
The other day I put together a new kanji memorization worksheet. I think it’s completely different from anything I’ve ever seen or used before. Most kanji worksheets make you write the same bloody kanji over and over again and expect you to remember it for a long time afterwards. I personally don’t do too well with this. Although I will know the kanji for a little while, after the second or third repetition my brain goes into autopilot, and 3/4 or my practice goes to waste. That’s why I thought there must be a better way (at least for myself, personally).
Instead of focusing so much on repetition (though I must admit this kanji worksheet is guilty of that pleasure as well), I focused on making you learn the kanji from several different angles. I have you write it neatly, then write it normally, then write it in hiragana and katakana, then write smaller version of the kanji, then write sentences, then write…you get the picture. I think if you make your mind think about the same thing in different ways, you will do a better job remembering it in the long run. Here’s the kanji sheet, why don’t you check it out? Click on the image below to download and print.
I would absolutely love it if you told us what you thought about it. Can you think of any improvements? Did it actually work for you? Did it do absolutely nothing? I think it’s pretty neat, but that’s because I tailored it to how I personally want to learn. What about you?