JLPT - Nihongo Nouryoku Shiken
- Thread starter RedPanda
- Start date
Good luck! Go for it! 
Wish you lots of luck! I'm going to be signing up for Level 2 next year (I didn't have the money for the trip this year, and my range of vocabulary probably needs more polishing), so I can imagine what you feel! I've been told, though, that 2 is nothing compared to Level 1. I don't know if that's positive for Level 2, or it means that Level 1 is near impossible. 
I'm actually not familiar with this test...rundown plz?
JLPT - Japanese Language Proficiency Test aka the Japanese name Red Panda gave in the title.
It is a test of skill in the Japanese language (as the name would imply) given by the foreign ministry of Japan once a year. There are 4 levels in reverse order of difficulty: Level 4 is about the level you would be after a semester of basic language study, Level 3 after completing a full course of basic study, Level 2, after completing a course of intermediate study and having done a bit of your own study towards fluency, and Level 1, which means you should be able to speak Japanese with the same fluency as your average native Japanese college graduate.
A website with more detailed info:
http://momo.jpf.go.jp/hiroba/e/about_e.html
It is a test of skill in the Japanese language (as the name would imply) given by the foreign ministry of Japan once a year. There are 4 levels in reverse order of difficulty: Level 4 is about the level you would be after a semester of basic language study, Level 3 after completing a full course of basic study, Level 2, after completing a course of intermediate study and having done a bit of your own study towards fluency, and Level 1, which means you should be able to speak Japanese with the same fluency as your average native Japanese college graduate.
A website with more detailed info:
http://momo.jpf.go.jp/hiroba/e/about_e.html
Ah, I had an inkling that's what it was. There are flyers in my department advertising it.
EDIT: And hah; sounds like I'd be smack dab in the middle of levels 2 and 3. By the end of this year I would consider trying for 2.
EDIT: And hah; sounds like I'd be smack dab in the middle of levels 2 and 3. By the end of this year I would consider trying for 2.
Hye, we can both go for it next year then.
We should meet up, take the test, and then console each other's mediocre-to-poor performance with a SHOPPING SPREE
I took the evil test... =P
I think I was better in the listening than in the last year, but the kanji and vocabulary one was poor, and the reading and grammar one was terrible... >.<'
Well, I think I need to study a lot more before I manage to pass level 2... *ganbarimasu*
I think I was better in the listening than in the last year, but the kanji and vocabulary one was poor, and the reading and grammar one was terrible... >.<'
Well, I think I need to study a lot more before I manage to pass level 2... *ganbarimasu*
残念ですね? 
Well, I wonder, I have a tendancy to think I did worse than I really did on things, so do you think this could be the case?
(あたしも、これからも頑張ります。。。)
Well, I wonder, I have a tendancy to think I did worse than I really did on things, so do you think this could be the case? (あたしも、これからも頑張ります。。。)
Well, I really hope its the case, but right now I'm quite sure it isn't... (冷酷なpessimiste xP)gwendel wrote:残念ですね?
とにかく、いつも来年があるよね… ×_×
まさか。。。毎年試すでしょう？
Have you ever tried working with the online practice tests? I haven't taken one in a while, but last time I checked, there were websites with online tests that let you practice, and you can order booklets with more practice tests. I also see them regularly pop up on Japan-related BT sites, but those are usually Level 3 and 4, and I've yet to see a 1 or 2 on those sites.
Have you ever tried working with the online practice tests? I haven't taken one in a while, but last time I checked, there were websites with online tests that let you practice, and you can order booklets with more practice tests. I also see them regularly pop up on Japan-related BT sites, but those are usually Level 3 and 4, and I've yet to see a 1 or 2 on those sites.
I've downloaded the Level 4 and 3 ones... but as you said, there's no Level 2 there yet.gwendel wrote:
I can get copies of prior years tests with my sensei, but... I'm not the autodidact kind of student. I need someone to aid me... But my sensei doesn't look very keen of using her precious time to teach me appart from the class (that is level 4, at most).
I guess I'll have to learn how to study by my own...
Is there any sites you can recommend me?
RedPanda wrote:
Well, have you seen this site?
http://www.thbz.org/kanjimots/jlpt.php3
It has a downloadable text of all the vocabulary typically on each level of the test. I believe they stack, that is, to get all the vocab to Level 2, you will need to download 3 and 4 and use those files as well.
More general study (and a practice test!) for all levels of the test in Flash and Acrobat format:
http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/Download.htm
Joe Park's site (which I love because he has links to all sorts of stuff, both directly and indirectly related to the JLPT):
http://www.geocities.com/joepark01/jlpt.html
Another recommendation, if you feel you need help in the area of grammar, are willing to buy some books, and think this sort of thing might be useful:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846
Power Japanese! I'm not recommending this one in particular, but I wanted to give you an example. I started buying books in this series about 3 years ago, and it radically changed the way I could understand advanced grammar concepts and colliquial language.
I wouldn't have been able to translate most of the things I have, or read the books I have, without these. I've mostly outgrown them now, and have moved on to solving more obscure language problems by myself (grrr; I wish I had more books for that sort of thing!!), but they still come in handy on occasion.If you like, I can give you ISBN's from my own collection. Some of these were out of print back when I bought them, but you can still probably get them off Amazon marketplace. Really, I've been intending to put up a review guide on my website for all the books I've used for learning, because I've always wanted to do a guide for self-taught Japanese students so others wouldn't fumble around for as long as I did trying to figure things out, but it's all a matter of I want to do too many things.
Thanks a lot for the links! I only knew de MLC japanese one, I'll take a look at the others!
Could you post the name of the books instead of the ISBN's? I don't have enough money for buying anything right now, so I'll try to find some of them in the library of my university or borrow with my teachers.
I really hope I can learn how to study by myself. It sucks to get stuck like this...
Could you post the name of the books instead of the ISBN's? I don't have enough money for buying anything right now, so I'll try to find some of them in the library of my university or borrow with my teachers.
I really hope I can learn how to study by myself. It sucks to get stuck like this...
How about I post them both? I find things more easily with ISBN, and some of the titles are a bit long....
Basic Connections: Making your Japanese Flow
ISBN: 4-7700-1968-8
(this is a basic book that helps sort out some of the stuff taught in the basic courses, and introduces some specific intermidiate things)
Japanese Core Words and Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary
ISBN: 4-7700-2774-5
(this is by the same author, and kind of builds on the first, teaching a lot of ko-so-a-do phrases, and then reviewing a number of intermediate grammar concepts that show up most often on JLPT 2)
Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You
ISBN: 4-7700-2310-3
(this is geared more for elementary grammar, but he has the best explaination I've ever seen on the concept of wa vs. ga, and has some interesting and funny essays about other tricky basic grammar things)
Beyond Polite Japanese: A Dictionary of Japanese Slang and Colloquialisms
ISBN: 4-7700-1539-9
(this, as the name says, is a slang dictionary, and while it may not be immediately useful on a test like JLPT, I've found it indispensable for understanding anime and drama, as well as much anything that uses colloquial speech)
All About Particles
ISBN: 0-87011-954-0
(a pretty basic particle dictionary, but it does cover some advanced usages for particles that I've found came in handy; it's really good for reviewing all the possible meanings for what you already know too)
I hope these help. I would like to get a few other of the Power Japanese books that cover more select topics, but just like you, I have to figure out where to put the money before I spend it.
Basic Connections: Making your Japanese Flow
ISBN: 4-7700-1968-8
(this is a basic book that helps sort out some of the stuff taught in the basic courses, and introduces some specific intermidiate things)
Japanese Core Words and Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary
ISBN: 4-7700-2774-5
(this is by the same author, and kind of builds on the first, teaching a lot of ko-so-a-do phrases, and then reviewing a number of intermediate grammar concepts that show up most often on JLPT 2)
Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don't Tell You
ISBN: 4-7700-2310-3
(this is geared more for elementary grammar, but he has the best explaination I've ever seen on the concept of wa vs. ga, and has some interesting and funny essays about other tricky basic grammar things)
Beyond Polite Japanese: A Dictionary of Japanese Slang and Colloquialisms
ISBN: 4-7700-1539-9
(this, as the name says, is a slang dictionary, and while it may not be immediately useful on a test like JLPT, I've found it indispensable for understanding anime and drama, as well as much anything that uses colloquial speech)
All About Particles
ISBN: 0-87011-954-0
(a pretty basic particle dictionary, but it does cover some advanced usages for particles that I've found came in handy; it's really good for reviewing all the possible meanings for what you already know too)
I hope these help. I would like to get a few other of the Power Japanese books that cover more select topics, but just like you, I have to figure out where to put the money before I spend it.