JLPT July 2021

Japanese
#67

JLPT result
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I’m so relieved! I was really worried I would fail the listening part because of my trouble hearing that CD player. I can’t believe my listening score is actually quite good, maybe it got scaled up.
First time taking the JLPT after 100% self-study, feels like a big personal milestone to finally try and pass one of these tests even though it’s only N3.

I took a break from grammar study after the test so I guess I better stop neglecting bunpro and start tackling my mountain of reviews.

I hope everyone else is happy with their results.

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#68

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Pretty much exactly what I expected. I lost all my concentration during that reading section. Anyway it’s fine, bring on December!

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#69

@Moyga おつかれ！！
Congratulations, that’s actually a pretty amazing score! Now time to make a start on your N2 textbooks!

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#70

I failed N1 too. I improved on reading and listening but went down in vocab and grammar. Sometimes happens haha.

Getting 100 points on N1… Man, I have no idea how to get there - haha. I haven’t felt any progress in my Japanese since passing N2. Doesn’t help I am balancing a full time job and essentially the time of a part-time job doing some other skill learning on the side to help me get a better job. :sweat:

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#71

I was literally the exact opposite to this haha

I think this is pretty typical, because we just don’t use the N1 stuff in our daily lives, so you almost have to live and breathe JLPT.

#72

Tried to pass JLPT N4, got 89/180.

I feel like destiny is trying to tell me something.

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#73

Thanks! I bought two N2 reading textbooks but I haven’t even opened them yet. I’m pretty curious to see how different the readings are in N2 and N1 but also kind of dreading it.

I know 3 people who tried N1 this time and only one person passed, but he graduated from JET last year into a full-time translation job at a Japanese company so I guess he has basically been studying Japanese all the time every day through his job.

When I study for N1 I imagine that I would probably need to read real news articles a lot and try to make flashcards for all the words I don’t know. Not sure what kind of readings are actually in N1 but it seems like there is an expectation you can read native news?

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#74

Just reading news isn’t going to cut it for N1. News is very straight. It’s mostly just about delivering facts in a concise way because that is what news has to do. N1 reading is a lot of pondering, opinions and metaphors which you have to understand and interpret the meaning of. I would attempt to read some light Japanese philosophy, opinions pieces and some wordy and descriptive stories. For example, I found Murakami Haruki bad reading practice for N1 because his writing style is very straight, but something like Bokkochan by Shinichi Hoshi would be better because he isn’t so literal.

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#75

Thanks for the advice that’s really interesting. I didn’t know they put more abstract and poetic writing styles in the higher JLPT levels.

#76

Looking at the sample questions here: For Examinees: Let's Try Sample Questions! | JLPT Japanese-Language Proficiency Test there’s one piece about being prideful, one about how humans are similar to machines, a comparison between doctors and artists in terms of the need for criticism, then two different articles about a new dictionary compared in terms of tone(one plain and one critical), a piece about the intelligence of crows, a piece about history largely recording major incidents but that most people’s time is spent avoiding incidents and finally a document about scholarships for an indonesian farming student.
All exciting stuff.

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#77

Congratulations! Now I’m curious - did you ever take any practice tests for the N4 or N5 along the way?

#78

Thanks! I never took any practice tests for N5 or N4, I mostly studied Japanese without thinking about the JLPT until a few months before the N3 exam and then I bought some of the Somatome and Shinkanzen Master N3 books and some practice tests and ran through them which mostly felt like reviewing and consolidating.

I did try to add all of the entries from N5-N3 on Bunpro and I did learn all the words in a few vocabulary books though.

With regard to grammar knowledge, I’ll say that I find studying grammar painful and I have never run through a textbook like Genki and I didn’t even use the Somatome or Shinkanzenmaster grammar books either. I also haven’t learned most of the grammar points in my Bunpro reviews properly. I just added them all to be aware they exist at a very shallow level. My explicit knowledge of grammar points and rules is very weak.

Despite that, from just learning a lot of words and reading and listening to Japanese, I found that I was able to understand all of the readings in the N3 textbooks, practice tests and the real test and almost never got answers wrong.
So, I’m just throwing that out there for people who struggle to study grammar.

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#79

I think news articles are good for N2, but my take is that N1 has more specialist stuff. When I did mine, there was a scientific article about the mating of butterflies, a psychological article about how children react to people around them (I’m paraphrasing - it was almost 2 months ago and I can’t remember clearly) and a guide for buying season tickets for a theatre.
I don’t have any recommended authors since I’ve never been a big reader (in Japanese or in English) but obviously recommend the Kanzen Master textbooks.

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#80

I also scored highest in listening in my N3 when I expected it to be my lowest. Shouldn’t have taken my regular listening to podcasts and music for granted.

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#81

Just as I thought I failed aha. I did better in the listening then I thought I would have. I really messed up the reading section so I know what I need to focus on. Does anyone have any tips for how to improve on that area??

1 Like
#82

Which level are you taking? I passed N2 with reading as my highest score. These are my methods so take all advice with a grain of salt!

If you can read more! Choose books where you know most of the words but need to check a few (I usually aim to pick books where there is only 1-3 words on the first page I don’t know) Or if you’re working on speed, choose children’s books.

Another way is to watch shows in Japanese with the Japanese subtitles on. You can get used to hearing natural grammar flow/ increase reading speed this way. It also helps you to get used to natural pacing in reading. For hard mode, mute the sound and do your best!

Another way I practice reading is to practice comprehension. If you’re lower level, choosing things with an English translation available may help you. I practice comprehension by attempting to summarize and/or translate short articles or exerts by myself, checking by either looking at an available English translation or asking a tutor (italki)/ volunteer (hellotalk).

I think reading a lot is the best method of the three. Try not to get hung up on every detail, read as though you are a kid again pushing through your native language. Only looking up words if they appear often. Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed to read children’s books and work your way up.

You got this!! I’m rooting for you :slight_smile:

5 Likes
#83

The answer to almost all JLPT questions is Kanzen Master.

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#84

It’s telling you to keep going and try again.

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#85

Already on it, make me motivated even more.

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#86

Thank you I will try! It was also N2 and reading was my lowest. I do think I need to read more as I do feel that I maybe didn’t read enough. I’m reading Harry Potter and going through a chapter a day and playing a text heavy Japanese game which is also all voiced. And when I finish Harry Potter (which I nearly am) I’ll go onto to read another book and so on.

I just need to push myself to read more books. It’s just difficult as I don’t even read in English anymore/