Kanshudo Review 2024: Boring But Useful

Do you know that the Japanese Islands were originally attached to the eastern coast of Asia? Amazed? Just like that, there are many interesting facts revolving around Japan. This is one of the major factors why people want to explore Japan more. However, traveling there means having conversations with the people living there. For this reason, it is important to learn at least the basics of their native language, Japanese. To do so, I have come across a platform called Kanshudo. It is a great platform when it comes to learning Kanji. Want to know more about it? Stay with me and find out more.

Quick Takeaways 

• Kanshudo is a platform that was created to teach Japanese only. 
• The main focus of it is on learning Kanji. 
• There are multiple features like quizzes and flashcards to remember the content.
• It is a platform that is free to use.

What is Kanshudo?

The main aspect of this platform is to teach Kana and Kanji. There is no hidden fact that without knowing them, we cannot learn proper chapters. Therefore, it is important to learn and read it. According to the official statement given by the platform-

Kanshudo is the fastest and most enjoyable way to learn Japanese.

It is an AI-based learning platform that keeps a check on how the students are learning the language. The platform gives you the path to start from the beginner level. You can choose any level and start from it. There is also a dashboard that helps to check your progress. Further, you can also choose learning exercises based on the level you are at. The platform also provides practice of Kanji characters that help a lot in learning the language.

Course overview of Kanshudo

Honestly, the dashboard was a bit confusing in the beginning. But as I moved forward in the lessons, it started getting clear. There are different sections on the platform covering content on it. Following are the sections on it-

1. Japanese mastery

The first section represents the mastery level of the language. It shows how much you have learned so far. This section is further divided into different parts like Grammar, Kana, words, etc. On the right side of this section, there is a direct link to the mastery map. It covers the starting region of Japan and when you move forward, there will be words and phrases that are from different areas. 

2. My study tasks

The next section gives me the list of different tasks that I had on this platform. There is a daily goal section that helps in learning language through different targets. Some of the daily goals involve practicing daily taste, creating the account, etc. These goals are more related to setting up the profile than learning the language. You can skip them by directly going to the next section.

3. Lessons

This section involves the lessons for different levels of learning. They are basically for beginners to intermediate learners. Along with the lessons, there are also textbook guides and topics related to the lessons. I will discuss how the lessons are created in further on. 

4. Flashcards home

Flashcards are the best way to remember the words you go through. When you go through the lessons, there are so many words that you will learn. You can either add them to the flash card list all create your own deck. Having this feature will help you remember the meaning of the words easily and review them too. 

5. Quick test

I think learning without testing the knowledge is never worth it. To help with it there is a special feature known as Quick Test. It helps me to improve my knowledge by testing what I have learned so far. 

6. Reading corner

To start learning a language, it is important to read it. Most of the platforms sell to provide resources for reading it. However, this platform works differently. There are 192 readings available on the platform.

7. Vocabulary study

There are different vocabulary lists that you can check on. Along with the vocabulary list, it also offers multiple games to easily remember the content. The games include different exercises like matching the words and sentence builder. 

8. Kanji study

The main thing in learning Japanese is to efficiently draw Kanji characters. It is very difficult to memorize them. Thus, this section helps in learning the language. There are so many features to teach how Kanji characters are created. An interesting fact about this platform that I do not get on any other one is the games that were introduced to teach these characters. I think it is a great move to teach them. 

How are lessons created?

In each lesson, there will be different sections that will teach the language. You will see Kanji practice, reading exercises, sentences, builders, etc. At the start of the lessons, there will be proper guidance on what will you get from the lessons. Each lesson covers specific characters. They will also show the grammatical explanations behind it and what the character represents. It also teaches how to use it.

However, there are no videos to explain this point. You have to reply in the text format only. Every lesson is a combination of different characters. Though there are a lot of explanations for each character, the engaging part is missing on the platform. 

There is a listening part in each exercise where the pronunciation of characters is taught. There are a lot of grammatical explanations on this platform. In the sentence-creating exercise, there is a space for creating the sentence and below it, there is a bundle of words. You have to make the line by using those words. At the end of the lessons, there are special features that make the platform a good choice to learn Japanese. The features at the end of each lesson are mentioned below: 

1. Flashcards

It allows you to create flashcards for each lesson. As mentioned above you are allowed to create your own Flashcards. At the end of each lesson, you also get a choice to create them from the lessons. If you do not want to create your own flashcard set, there are premade decks already. It also allows us to set a snooze time to revise the flashcards created. There is an additional feature known as protection.

If your flashcard set is protected, you are not allowed to merge them with any other set. If you want to modify any set, tap on the unprotect option. The best part according to me was to download it and use them offline.

2. Quick Test

As I already mentioned, it gave me a chance to practice what I have learned in the lessons. This part of the lesson helps to study the lesson without affecting the flashcard system. 

3. Summary

There is time, we forget important things. We are humans and it is completely normal. Kanshudo understands this and as up unique features, summarize it. Every time I forget something, I directly check on the summary. I think this is a very good feature le for beginners. 

4. Reset

If the summary also does not work for you, there is an additional feature that they have added on the platform which is the reset option. It is the one where you set the exercises and lessons to zero. You can do it and it will not affect any flashcards. 

Is Kanshudo worth it?

There is no doubt, that the platform has a lot of content to offer. But the question of whether it is worth it or not depends upon your personal needs. The fact that the platform is created on text bases make it a boring platform. However, the rest of the part of the platform is worth it. It has both free and paid versions, but there is a lot of content in the free version of it. Further, the way lessons are created is commendable. It not only helps to learn the characters but also has a lot to practice.

In addition to that, some flashcards help to revise the words we have already learned. In short, anyone who wants to start learning Japanese with a tight budget can rely on it. Remember there are no videos and images to engage them in the lessons.

Below I am discussing different benefits and drawbacks of using Kanshudo-

Pros	There is a lot of free content on the platform.
There is lot of free content on the platform.	Only till intermediate learners.
Multiple features to get you perfect in the language.	No engaging videos and images
A lot of reading exercises on the platform	The text format makes it boring to use the platform.
Every word in the text, has correct punctuation, translation, etc.

Pricing of Kanshudo

Do you get everything in the free version, there are some limitations on it. Therefore, it is important to check the features you get with the paid version. It has two different plans, which I have mentioned below-

• Monthly – $9 per month
• Annually – $90 per year

Kanshudo Alternatives

This platform is a great way to learn Japanese. However, the textual concept of the platform makes it a bad choice for learning it. Therefore, to help you learn it, I have mentioned different platforms that can help you improve your Japanese skills a lot.

1. HelloTalk

It is a platform that connects me with the other native speakers to practice the language skills. This was the first platform that I used to connect with native speakers of Spanish. In addition to Spanish, I have used it to practice Japanese. In fact, so many Japanese people wanted to learn Spanish too. I took advantage of this platform and connected with them. If you are a person who loves to have new friends, make sure to use this platform. 

Note: In addition to this platform, there are some other language exchange programs in which you can take part. Speaky and Tandem are two such platforms that I use to connect with other native speakers. 

2. iTalki

Some people are unable to learn the language without taking help of private tutors. In such a scenario, I have brought a special platform, iTalki, to connect you with online private tutors. This platform is a perfect suit for those who are looking for a private tutor. Tutors have different teaching experiences and prices. You can search for them based on your budget. The Japanese tutors on this platform are amazing. I can say this to the tutors who help me correct my mistakes. In addition to that, they also provided me with some good study material. 

3. Teuida

Teuida is a platform that basically focuses on Korean and Japanese. The main aim of this platform is to teach both languages interestingly. It mainly focuses on understanding the content rather than grammar rules. The app gives you the experience of having conversations with real people all around. Also, mainly focuses on Korean but can be used to improve Japanese as a beginner. 

4. LingoDeer

Japanese is a tough language, as it has a totally different writing style. Most of the courses do not focus on teaching the characters and directly move to teach common Phrases and words. LingoDeer is one such platform that starts by teaching the alphabet and then moves forward. It is like Duolingo, which follows the Gamified approach. 

Conclusion 

Learning Japanese is quite a tough task for native English speakers. However, by using a good platform, anyone can learn it properly. Kanshudo is a platform that helps in learning the language from the beginning. Each of its lessons comes with multiple characters, focusing on teaching them and improving grammatical knowledge. Additionally, there is a vocabulary option that helps in remembering words easily. Overall, it is a great platform for someone who has just started learning Japanese. However, if you are not a textual person, it may be quite boring for you. If this is the case, try using some other alternatives.

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