I’m almost finished with my n5 schedules so I thought it would be a good moment to start reading. So I joined today’s discord reading event and felt completely lost with all the stories.
While I technically knew the words I could not make any sense of the storyline. I understand I won’t understand everything immediately but I did not expect to be so lost. It feels pretty discouraging which is such a shame because I felt so great about my progress beforehand.
Not sure if it’s just too early for me to start reading, I was incredibly slow compared to my classmates when learning english(I’m not a native speaker). I was 2 years behind with reading comprehension despite scoring high on both the vocab and grammar test. And then it suddenly clicked in my brain out of nowhere I had no trouble with comprehension anymore.
Anyway I got a nice study routine with a comfortable pace going currently and I was planning to continue with n4 in the same way. But now I’m doubting myself if I should slow down and spend more time attempting to read stories or come back to stories later.
A while ago, I did a funny thing with reading using reading apps before I jumped into learning grammar, even after I tried a few 絵本. The translation wasn't a huge crutch, but even without knowing all the words or even grammar points, my reading was basically to train my brain to recognizing the structure more so than reading the information in each sentence. So I have my flaws.
That being said, while this probably isn't a model for anything, the idea was to understand how to use/read Japanese structure more so than focusing on knowing words and manipulating them. If you know more about how to use words, then you'll be capable of processing that information, but you still need to fill in the gaps on the idea that's conveyed, and this comes with processing how those words are being used.
Best thing to do is to probably keep trying to read, but also even using schedules with sentence jumbles, as long as you stop to think about how you're forming those sentences. If you can read that and interact with it as you practice, you'd likely get used to it better.
You’re struggling not because you are doing anything wrong, but because you are attempting something difficult. Don’t expect it to be easy, because it won’t be.
Look, you said you understand almost every word! That’s an accomplishment that you can be proud of. But there’s more to reading than that. Just ask any adult who is functionally illiterate.
As Japanese language learners, that’s essentially the position we find ourselves in. We have to master the skills of sounding out words, fitting them into sentences, and reading comprehension all over again.
It’s going to take some time and effort. It’s one of the reasons Japanese is considered more difficult to learn than other languages.
It doesn't sound like a "reading" specific problem to me. You might not be getting enough input in general. How much Japanese do you usually consume daily?
I'd recommend listening to more native level content. It helps train your brain to recognise patterns, as well as passively reinforce your existing grammar and vocab knowledge. it can be anything, but it helps if you're actually interested in the content beyond just studying. You can also read, but it can be very tedious and demoralising. I can watch a few episodes of anime or listen to a 2 hour podcast with no problems, but get really tired of even 10-15 minutes of reading.
For me the only real difference between reading and listening is speed. Provided I'm able to read the kanji, there's virtually no difference in terms of comprehension.
I watch anime for a couple of hours every evening. I recognize some words and a lot of the kanji but everything is always so fast that i can’t make sense of it. I’ll keep watching because it’s fun but it doesn’t feel very helpful yet as there’s so much n4+ content in it.
You might just have to keep going until something "clicks", much like how it happened with English.
I'm also not a native English speaker, but I picked it up similarly to how a native would (over 20 years of immersion). I'm trying to do the same with Japanese and it seems to be working. It's just a matter of time.
Even if it feels like it's not helping, I can assure you it is.
Don't worry too much about grades. You should naturally start picking up vocab regardless of JLPT level.
Finally, it just takes time, lots and lots of time. Some people are naturally faster (not necessarily better) at learning, but everyone gets there eventually.
As an aside, I find most Tadoku painfully boring. I had a much better time reading "easy" manga like よつばと!
Unsurprising. Reading, listening, speaking... Those are different actions that require different efforts from the brain. You already got all those words somewhere in your head so the more you try, the more they will click together. Don't give up !
Also, you may have been a slow learner for English but here you are, speaking some proper English. That's more than a lot of people can do. Congrats ! ^^
Not sure if it’s just too early for me to start reading
For the most part, it is. But not for any personal reason of you being too slow to handle it or anything, just that Japanese has a very complex foundation with a long ramp-up time before you can really use it. N5 is still not a high enough level to comprehend most of what you will read in Japanese; for the vast majority of content aimed at natives, you will not understand more than bits and pieces before you're at or above N3.
If you're really desperate to start reading, you can try graded readers (like Tadoku linked up above, which has a LearnNatively page to see which ones learners have rated as easiest), and following along with audio content aimed at beginners, like Comprehensible Japanese. You'll have the best chances of success with content that is specifically designed for learners at your level and is made by teachers, not content intended for a native audience. If you have the opportunity, doing a reading session with a teacher or a higher level learner who can help explain things to you as you go would also be less daunting than struggling to read a story by yourself.
But you don't HAVE to start reading yet, or even for a very long time, if it's not working for you. For me personally, I have a very low tolerance for things I don't understand, and very little interest in graded content, so I didn't start trying to read anything in earnest until I was probably well into N2. Everyone has different levels of confidence and tolerance that determines when is the best time for them to start approaching content, so don't feel pressured to force yourself to read if it's still demotivating for you right now. Your time will come!
