Agreed and yes, you must focus on the language as a spoken form and written form. So I am not advocating reading only, but Kanji must be overcome and the best t

Agreed and yes, you must focus on the language as a spoken form and written form. So I am not advocating reading only, but Kanji must be overcome and the best time to do it is NOW. I studied Japanese for many years and always had the Kanji wall. It was daunting and hindered my progress. In the end, it made Japanese seem mysterious and not really possible for western-minds to grasp. I used RTK and got through Kanji in four months, now I focus on sentences and reading wherein I speak out loud while reading. I also speak with my family in Japanese as much as possible (this is my primary reason for studying). In the end, you must treat the language as a living language and understand all forms it is presented in. But, you already get this point, just saying it for others. :)