Does anyone have advice on how to get over/through/around the intermediate language plateau? (Self-learner)


How do you get through this? Especially in regards to reading. How do you
practice reading at beyond the beginner level (No little black sambo's or
whatever other children's books like I found in the local free bin when I was
a teenager) when a light novel is still light years beyond me. And a newspaper
is just as hard.

I know around 600-800 kanji, and I can pass the level 2 listening JLPT, though
I'm not quite there for reading and grammar (I can barely pass level 3 on
those), but I feel like I've been spinning my wheels and not getting anywhere
for a long time now.

What are good techniques for learning to read in Japanese? Especially for
self-taught students of Japanese.

What are techniques to push through the vast wasteland that is "intermediate"?




  * Study comprehensive grammars with lots of examples. Not textbooks. [These](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/4789004546) are the best (there are three).
  * use a mnemonic kanji learning system. [This](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0824831659) one is awesome. Learning meaning and reading separate is fine because it is more efficient. Utilize similarities between kanji as much as possible, as relating knowledge to new ideas will make learning much faster.
  * Go to Japan, and stay there for a long time. Talk to Japanese people as much as possible. 
  * Make a regular study period of at least an hour every day. Never skip. Read materials that you are interested in, and write down the words you don't know. You can look up grammar in those books (organized alphabetically) or ask here.
  * Throughout the day, while walking or whatever, take out that list and study it. You can keep a list of Kanji to study, too. 
  * Another great use of walking time is repeating difficult phrases. Tongue twisters (早口言葉) found on the internet or any phrase that you have trouble saying is fine. Say it a thousand times on the way to work and make sure it's fluent.
  * Never settle for "kinda" understanding something. Be thorough in studying out every new vocab, kanji or grammar that you find.




  * Study comprehensive grammars with lots of examples. Not textbooks. [These](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/4789004546) are the best (there are three).
  * use a mnemonic kanji learning system. [This](http://rads.stackoverflow.com/amzn/click/0824831659) one is awesome. Learning meaning and reading separate is fine because it is more efficient. Utilize similarities between kanji as much as possible, as relating knowledge to new ideas will make learning much faster.
  * Go to Japan, and stay there for a long time. Talk to Japanese people as much as possible. 
  * Make a regular study period of at least an hour every day. Never skip. Read materials that you are interested in, and write down the words you don't know. You can look up grammar in those books (organized alphabetically) or ask here.
  * Throughout the day, while walking or whatever, take out that list and study it. You can keep a list of Kanji to study, too. 
  * Another great use of walking time is repeating difficult phrases. Tongue twisters (早口言葉) found on the internet or any phrase that you have trouble saying is fine. Say it a thousand times on the way to work and make sure it's fluent.
  * Never settle for "kinda" understanding something. Be thorough in studying out every new vocab, kanji or grammar that you find.

