Overview
Continuation from the previous post.
What I’ve Tried So Far This Month
- Eiken Level 1: Deru-Jun Pass Tan (4th Edition)
- Finished the “Frequency A” and “Idioms” sections.
- Idioms—or more precisely, phrasal verbs—are actually easy. I mean, up to Grade Pre-1, idioms felt like the tough part, but at Grade 1, the regular vocabulary is so difficult that idioms seem relatively easy. I’m probably about 80% solid on “Frequency A” items, but I’d say I’ve got over 90% of the idioms down.
- Anki.app
- I’ve been using it less frequently, but still keeping at it.
- NHK Radio Business English (https://www.nhk.jp/p/rs/368315KKP8/list/)
- Business skits from Monday to Thursday: I listen occasionally.
- Friday interviews: I do dictation → shadowing.
- Learning Contemporary English through NHK News (https://www.nhk.jp/p/rs/77RQWQX1L6/list/)
- This one’s my favorite. Unlike Business English (which assumes you have the paid textbook), this one works as a complete content package just from the radio broadcast. That’s a huge plus.
- I use it for dictation → shadowing, but I’ve started doing the following instead, so I’ve lowered the frequency.
- Fastest Path to Success! Complete Mastery of EIKEN Level 1 Writing Tasks – published by The Japan Times (https://bookclub.japantimes.co.jp/book/b309521.html)
- Writing is seriously tough... It was the only section where I scored below average when I took the Grade Pre-1.
- Well, guess I just have to take it seriously and work through it one page at a time, huh? lol
- I chose this book because I’m familiar with The Japan Times—I occasionally read their posts on X.
Thoughts
- ...Isn’t this too much to handle? Now that I’ve started working on writing, I even need to reduce my dictation time.
- Wait, really? Back when I was prepping for Grade Pre-1, I never had to worry about managing my study time so seriously...
- When I mentioned this, my English study friends laughed at me.
- Friend: “So you’re too busy studying to actually study?!”
