Transitioning Towards Season 5
“To be conscious that you are ignorant of the facts is a great step in knowledge.” - Benjamin Disraeli
The last thing I (quickly) wanted to do before you move on to the (last of the) 4-stroke kanji is talk about the transition between Season 4 and Season 5.
Season 4 has been all about foundation – solid foundation. It’s been really grammar focused (even if it doesn’t seem that way), and things have been taken slowly and methodically. Things will still be methodical, but they’re going to start speeding up in a number of ways. You’re getting better at this, and it’s only fair that you are able to take advantage of your improving Japanese learning ability.
Season 5, overall, is going to be more like this:
- You’ve learned “formal.” It’s time to transition that over the “casual.” It’s good to learn both, but there are a ton of things that are impossible to do without learning casual form Japanese.
- Grammar lessons, on a whole, are going to be shorter. After you get past big concept things like “Casual Japanese” you’ll be learning smaller grammar points that won’t take up as much time and lesson space. It’ll be made up in other ways.
- Vocab and kanji are going to take center stage. Vocabulary may be difficult for some, but we’ll work on ways to make it better. You’ll also be learning a lot more of it so that way during grammar practice you have a lot more to practice with. Plus, if you don’t know vocab, it’s awfully hard to communicate. Now’s a great time to focus your efforts. I’ll provide you with good, useful words to learn, and then you get to learn, use, and practice them.
- Getting you to an “intermediate” level is the last big goal for Season 4. You’re leaving “beginnerhood” right now – by the end of Season 5, I want you to feel pretty solidly intermediate.
You have a little time before Season 5 starts, but I wanted to let you know these things a few chapters before you get there for a couple of reasons.
- Vocab is important in Season 5… which means you need need need to make sure you know your Season 1-2 vocab before moving on, otherwise it will get particularly difficult.
- Knowing your basics (that’s Seasons 1-4) are also going to be really important, since now you’ll be learning a whole new set of “basics” with “casual Japanese.” They go hand in hand, and you have to know them both. Start reviewing now anything you’ve had trouble with so that by the time you get to Season 5, you’re prepared.
This is also a friendly reminder that you’re almost to Season 5. How awesome is that!?