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Get a language exchange partner... Everything else is supplementary.
You're learning a language, so you can't afford to be anti-social.
Written language and spoken language are different, but you will have a much easier time learning the written language if you already have a strong grasp of the spoken.
Don't wait till you're 'good enough' before trying to find someone to speak with in your target language. Whatever level you are at, even if you only know how to say hello, that's enough.
You can memorise vocabulary all you want, but it will be slow, tedious and harder than if you actually try to speak the language. If you don't have anyone to speak with, you're going to have a hard time convincing your brain it matters to remember this stuff. It is also really, really boring to memorise a bunch of crap you aren't using on a regular basis with anyone. You also won't have someone to ask questions about how the word really feels to a modern speaker, which can really impair your understanding.
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Super good thread, thanks everyone.
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Hey, cool thread!
If you have an android phone (maybe on iOS as well but cannot confirm) Obenkyo is a great app for all kanji and basic vocab. It's great to look over a few notecards on the subway when you have time to refresh yourself. You can include and rank kanji based on Grade or RTK, and have the option to study based on kanji recognition or word-to-kanji recognition.
Also, I'll edit this post after I get back from teaching with another link that's a free japanese OCR program that syncs up with a dictionary for instant readings. It's pretty amazing but I have to search my external hard drive for it and don't have time now.
Regarding Kanji, however you want to learn them that you WONT FORGET THEM works. If you won't maintain retention learning them separate from vocab or grammar, then don't do it (although I learned all 2100 joyo kanji before I touched grammar and it worked for me). And as other people have said, consistency is the best medicine regardless of what you're studying.
Oh, and despite nearly every language text starting out with the -masu forms, in 90% of conversation I end up using short forms. Polite and honorifics are good to know, but don't stress on about them too much.
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http://www.wanikani.com/dashboard - For learning Kanji and kanji related vocab. I'm not into writing, I think its redundant considering that IME and text inputs have pretty much taken over. Shit I hardly ever hand write english nowadays apart from filling out forms.
Tae Kim Grammar guide for... Grammar.
Nihon Shock for that free cheat sheet, its pretty handy when you want a quick check up.
Jap friends for help, sometimes I can be bothered talking sometimes I can't. I'm still pretty green though and my conversing sucks. They are a great help for specific translations/phrases etc.
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I write quite a lot these days. Knowing how to write with your hand is something pretty much essential imo.
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EPT
