How to best use the Shinkanzen N2 books (Grammar and Reading)

Japanese
#1

So I have the Shinkanzen Grammar and Reading books and I am taking the JLPT N2 in summer this year. I already took it once and failed (mainly the reading), so I’m wondering if anyone has any effective ways for me to go through these books in order to make sure I learn as much as I can.

Thank you!!!

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#2

You’re in exactly the same position as I was a couple of years ago. Failed N2 once on the reading section and using shinkanzen as my Bible.
I wouldn’t say I have any particular advice when it comes to using it, but I did it by taking part in a community Japanese class run by local volunteers (many are friends too) and we went through the chapters bit-by-bit, and my friend would explain to me where I’d gone wrong.
I know that’s not exactly comprehensive advice, but definitely go through it with a Japanese person, but not only that, a Japanese person who knows what they’re talking about. Kokugo teachers, language studies students for example. The lady who runs my community Japanese class is a university lecturer in 異文化コミュニケーション - I’ve been taking her classes for years and her students are all really knowledgeable.

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#3

One of my tutors said to treat the books like you would the tests, and time yourself. I think that was the biggest reason why I managed to pass the test, as I not only took the tips and advice from the books (which imo, the N2 reading book is so worth it!), which helped speed up the process and get me to narrow down answers easier, but I also got used to the speed at which I needed to answer the questions. Come test time, I had already done dozens and dozens of questions in the exact same way, so I knew exactly how to handle them. (My score wasn’t great, but hey, I passed! xD)

I used the timings from this page to judge how long I had per question: https://jlptbootcamp.com/2011/06/jlpt-time-time-management-for-the-test/

I also second Matt’s advice. I went through several questions with a tutor, untimed, where I’d read the text out loud and guess my answer, and she’d explain if I got them wrong. She helped me identify more tips and clues as to how to find information and narrow down answers.

Good luck! You got this :muscle:

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#4

Thank you, that is good advice. I think for things like the reading sections, having a teacher go with it with me would be a good idea.

#5

I’m working through the books and also taking N2 this summer. My “schedule” so far is:

  • Each week I start a new chapter in the vocabulary book. On Monday I add in the words to Anki using the associated Anki deck.
  • Depending on time, I do all the questions from last week’s chapter on Monday or Tuesday. It gives me a chance to see what I have trouble with remembering/understanding.
  • Every day I read a new grammar point and add it to Bunpro. I then do the associated questions to see if I “get it.”

I’ve yet to open the reading book, but I figure my time would be better spent getting my vocabulary up a bit higher.

I’ve taken some of the listening practice tests and I seem to do pretty well, which I assume is because I live here and hear it constantly.

I also have started trying to take some more notes to try and strengthen my understanding of tiny grammatical differences (e.g. 限り、に限って、に限り、限りは、限りでは) because I’ve noticed that even though I’ll remember them at one point, my understanding of them as a family of grammar points fades after about week.