My name is Shindo (進藤), and I have a master’s degree in Japanese Language Pedagogy. I have been a Japanese teacher since 2000, and I have lived in Japan for over 8 years. I started learning Japanese as an adult, so I know how difficult studying the language can be, and I hope to make learning a little easier for you.
Most language programs don’t have the time to really teach you kanji since there is already so much grammar to cover, so most students are left to their own devices. What this means is that you spend just as much time learning how to study as you spend actually studying, effectively wasting half of the time you are devoting to study. I created this site for all my students and any other students out there who want to learn kanji in the most efficient way possible. Don’t fritter away your time trying to memorize kanji on your own!
As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or want to have something covered, you can leave a comment here and I’ll get on it!
Hi, Shindo, nice job on your site. I like the idea of using mnenomics, but they are often as hard to remember as the Kanji themselves, don’t you think. Especially when you get to the really complex ones.
Thanks. I agree that the mnemonics can be more trouble than they are worth sometimes, and that’s why I think this “open source” approach is helpful. If you get enough ideas in one place, someone’s memorization technique is bound to work. (At the very least you could have a few ways to try and memorize it.)
Hello Shindo,
I was wondering if you would be interested in hearing about my idea for learning Kanji. I’m working on a website that should hopefully be particularly innovative. It’s a little complex to explain on here, and should be up and running in the next couple of months. Anyway, if you have time to share a few thoughts in a more lengthy email exchange I’d be glad to explain and perhaps have some feedback.
(For anyone else reading this comment – don’t worry I intend to share this with everyone in the future, just as soon as there is something worth showing)
I think the mnemonics do help, especially if you make use of a radical.
I just noticed your site and I saw that you are using the same template as me and our content is similar. I publish mnemonics for chinese vocabulary. What a coincidence!
How funny! I’ll keep your site in mind since I am starting to learn Mandarin.