Japanese 1 and 2 without Year 10 Jap

[LOGCETERA]

Hi there!
Year 11 subject selections are coming around soon and I was thinking of choosing Japanese SL as one of my subjects alongside Methods, Chem, Bio and Physics (I am already doing Methods this year). However, I did not do Japanese in year 10 and quickly came to regret not choosing it once 2020 started...
Prior to this, I had already been studying Japanese from year 7 to 9 and had been the highest achieving student in my year level for the subject throughout the whole three years. I have also been doing some light independent study throughout this year through the Genki textbook and the first three levels of Wanikani.
If I was to choose Japanese SL for year 11, how much catch up work would I have to do? My school has been switching textbooks quite frequently as well from iiTomo in year 7, to Hai! in year 8 and 9 and now Obento Supreme for year 10. Would it be fine if I worked through both of the Genki textbooks instead of buying the ones I missed out on and going through a whole lot of different ones? As I would prefer to start from year 7 so that I don't forget anything.
So basically, has anyone else here been in this situation, or done year 11 Japanese after missing out on year 10? If so, what is your advice to stay on top of the work next year? Or is it not advisable to do so?
Any sort of help would be highly appreciated!

Also, yes, I am very motivated to learn this language. I'm not doing it purely for scaling or anything

(Sorry for the wall of text...there was just a lot to get out...)

[Genshai]

I cant offer any actual advice for the subject or domain - languages are not my forte - but I can offer some general advice. If you are motivated to learn the subject, then you will find it much easier to study and better yourself - regardless of missing out on formal education. If you enjoy it, and want to study it further, then that's enough to warrant picking it back up again. Although, as I mentioned, I have no experience in this field, so my advice my not have helped at all- but good luck with your vce studies !!

If need be, you might be able to ask your teacher for extra work to ensure you know the essentials from year 10.

[Owlbird83]

Hey LOGCETERA,

I agree with Genshai, you do seem self motivated which is necessary to be able to catch up. I think it is possible to do it. You should go through and learn all the grammar patterns and vocabulary you missed out on in year 10 on the summer holidays perhaps before you go into year 11.
It's a nice to have a class that is very different from all the other subjects (we have the exact same subjects!), and since you enjoy it I reckon it would positively benefit your year.
With the textbooks I can't really advise you because there's a new study design now and I don't know how different it is, but in my opinion the old textbooks would be okay, and if there were a few things they didn't cover you could catch up in year 11 with your teacher. I found that compared to other subjects the spread of the ability of students in Jap seemed larger and everyone was at different levels because I think it requires a lot more self motivation than the rest of the subjects, so if you are good at independently studying you will thrive.
Good luck with it! :)

[keltingmeith]

Just thought I'd give my two cents since I did something similar:

My school actually allowed us to accelerate Japanese, so we skipped over half of year 9 and half of year 10 so that we could do all of year 9 and 10 Japanese in one year, and then do VCE Jap in years 10 and 11.

Straight up, I did so badly in Japanese that it didn't enter my top 4 even WITH its insane scaling (I do not remember the exact score). Meanwhile, 3 of my friends who also skipped through year 9 and 10 with me? They topped the class, even against the people that did year 9 and 10 in full.

See everyone else's advice: what matters is your attitude, not your prior knowledge. You can always pick up the words and kanji you've missed later, you can even spend the summer studying the year 10 textbook if you want, as long as you're motivated and put the effort in, you'll do fine

[undefined]

I know people who went straight into 1/2 without any prior experience in the language so you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t worry about what textbook you’re using since they’re not that helpful imo. If I were you I’d skim through Genki 1 and make sure I’m confident in the content then move on to something like Genki 2 then Japanese Beyond 2000 or Tobira (if you’re looking for a challenge). 1/2 is quite broad - a lot of schools do their own thing so I would use that time to master the fundamentals and prepare for 3/4.

[LOGCETERA]

Thanks for all the great advice guys! I'll check in with the Japanese teachers at my school and keep in mind what you've said. At this point it seems likely that I might take it!