In my experience it is absolutely necessary to write them. The ones i haven't practised much i can read them but i can't write them (that's the sole reason why i was placed in level three and not level four at japanese school haha)
And i REALLY recommend the Anki app. I am using the All in One kanji deck, which might not be the best one to learn since it's in the order they teach the kanji at school but i'm beggining with 4th grade kanji already (plus some others i've learned from doing a ton of reading) so it might be ok for you guys.
And if anyone has a Nintendo DS and can acquire the game, i also use this to practice the stroke order and do drills when i have free time
(Or you could install an emulator on your phone like i did...)
Darn it, I have a Nintendo DS but now I don't know where it is. But this is a great idea. I usually don't have time to do a decent amount of writing practice, so anything that I can do on the go would be of great help. Maybe I'll try the emulator...
How do you maintain exposure to the language though? I know that helps a lot with retention, and it's kind of difficult when after doing studying, everything around you is in English so you have to shift right back.
(And sorry for the OT guys! Just really wanted to get some tips from fellow Nihongo learners.)
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