irateplatypus

hey all,

i'm slowing but surely making headway on teaching myself japanese. i have a good kana workbook and am nearly finished with learning the phonetics and am using the "pimsleur, speak and understand" program for the oral portion.

so, the next logical step would be to start tackling those big-bad kanji. what's the best way to learn those? i would probably want to place more emphasis on reading them, not necessarily on the mechanics of writing them.

should i progress according to the levels on the proficiency tests?

how about learning them according the grade structure japanese schools use?

is there a list of most useful kanji in order to prioritize my learning?

what method do you use to learn them quickly?

besides rote memorization of the characters, where can i get entry-level material to help me actually read and understand the combinations outside of the canned stuff that comes with language workbooks?

if you can answer any of these questions or have other related advice i'd appreciate any guidance you all can give me.

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If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.

~ Winston Churchill