About PSP Kanji Learner:
I wasn't able to duplicate my old flash card study method with other programs available (not just on the PSP but on the PC as well), and I couldn't be bothered to learn C, so I did the next best thing and made my flash cards with videos - something I have ample experience with.
I realized this would work on the PSP because of the sequential video playback feature included in firmware 3.70; when "Shuffle" is selected, the same video won't play twice, and the sequential playback will end when all the videos in a folder are played.
Since these flash cards are videos (each individual card can range from 130 KB to 160 KB), this might not be considered "homebrew," but I *would* call it an app. Also, because this is essentially a set videos, YOU DO NOT NEED CUSTOM FIRMWARE.
How to use:
Each card has a front and a back side.
On the front, you'll have the grade level and the stroke count. You'll also have entries for the following:
- Unicode: ("U____") For example, on the kanji card for "kawa" (river), you'll see "U5ddd". If you only want to type that one character, just type in "5ddd" in a word processor, hit "Alt+X", and "5ddd" will turn into the kanji.
- Classic Nelson entry number ("N____")
- New Nelson entry number ("V____")
- Halpern New Japanese-English Character Dictionary Index ("H____")
- Halpern Kanji Learner's Dictionary Index ("DK____")
On the back, you'll have the on-yomi readings (written in katakana), the kun-yomi readings (written in hiragana), and the English key word as provided by the KLD.
The numbers of the file names of the videos themselves refer to the kanji's entry in the Kanji Learner's Dictionary.
There are two sets of each video card; when you play a card from "Side A", the front side of the card will play for 5 seconds, followed by a sound and the back side will play for 5 seconds. When you play a card from "Side B", the reverse will happen. If you need more time, press Start to pause. This double-sided approach was lacking in other programs; if you have all the info (i.e. kanji, readings, and meanings) on one side, you're obviously not going to be able to test yourself on anything! Also, most people don't have too much trouble reading and pronouncing kanji in context, but what gets EVERYONE is being able to recall the correct kanji and write it from memory (making "Side B", IMO, invaluable).
When I was learning new kanji, I'd learn 20 new kanji a week while reviewing the old ones. It turns out that method has a name: The Leitner System.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashcard
You are, of course, free to choose exactly which and how many kanji you want to test yourself on. When the full 1945-card set is finished, you'll easily be able to make more sets using copies of the same cards - useful for having sets with kanji that look similar, or sets entirely consisting of those pesky Japanese homophones.
Release schedule:
I'll try to create cards for 20 new kanji every day or every other day; no more (I'll need time to maintain the quality with triple checking... as well as maintain my sanity), and no less (because I want to get done with this sometime in my life). Of course, I won't actually release them until I reach some sort of milestone (e.g. the complete set of a grade).
Download:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ESPH5K0G