I’ll be taking the N1 exam in July and was wondering what the best way to spend my time would be until then.
I feel as if I’m getting diminishing returns from using Bunpro when compared to just reading books, talking to friends, watching movies, etc. I’m wondering if it’s worth sinking any more time into it, or if it would be more beneficial to focus on the latter.
Here’s where I’m at atm. I completely forgot about Bunpro for the past few months. I have come back to it since I feel some obligation to not leave it unfinished, but the majority of grammar points I’ve been reviewing is just stuff I already know/use:
Also, I stopped keeping tracking of what Kanji I know after I finished Wanikani, but for anyone who has previously taken the exam - is it worth going over the 〜200 Kanji which WK doesn’t cover?
First, I’ll start by saying that I haven’t taken the N1 test. My only time taking the JLPT was about 1 1/2 years ago, and it was the N3 (which I passed, barely). Basically, my suggestions are based on what I’d do from my limited experience.
With that said, instead of using the review function in BunPro, I would use the cram function to go through all of the grammar points (from N5 to N1). However, at this point, I would probably start cramming N1, and go to the lower levels from there. Make a note of the weaker grammar points and focus on those. Watch videos about said grammar points in Japanese only, both for the grammar explanations and as listening practice (which shouldn’t be an issue for you at this point), especially if they are videos which point out differences between similar grammar points. Those nuances are what the JLPT tests capitalized on in order to trick you.
Speaking of being tricked by the nuances, the 新完全マスター book series (especially the Grammar and Reading books) are incredibly useful as a way to prepare for the JLPT. Not only are they in the format of the actual test, but they are filled with trick questions. Basically, if you can do well answering those questions, you’ll be totally fine on the actual test. I find the 新完全マスター questions to be harder, but that obviously depends on the test you get. The Reading book will help you get familiarized with the type of reading material you’ll encounter in the N1 JLPT test. As for Kanji, I wouldn’t worry about that. The reading you’ll be doing will take care of that.
Make sure you time yourself. That’s KEY!!
It’s much easier to answer questions when you have all the time in the world, and can look things up. Do none of that, and pretend you’re taking the test when answering questions from these books. That’s one aspect of the JLPT tests that I see people, including myself (even after already hearing it from others), being surprised about, that you need to be able to read fast and pretty much understand everything as you read it. Of course, you have time to go back and re-read sections of a passage you need to confirm before answering a question, but the easier it is for you to understand everything the first time, the better. That’s why is better to read the questions first, then the passage. That way you can focus on the needed information. The point is, time yourself!
An alternative to the 新完全マスター books would be to temporarily subscribe to the Migii sensei app. This app is similar to the 新完全マスター books but with a built in timer, so you can practice sections of the test (i .e. Kanji/Vocabulary, Grammar, Reading, Listening) or full tests if you want (they have several variations of the JLPT). Here are the links:
I know that all of this might be boring, but at least you won’t be caught off guard, since you’ll know what to expect. Then again, Tokini Andy passed the JLPT N1 reading manga only, but he’s also been living in Japan for 10 years or so. He’s been exposed to many other aspects of the language/culture by then.
Anyway, that’s what I’d do. This may or may not work for you though.
Also, they’re apparently strict about revealing test contents , so I can neither confirm nor deny if any of the practice questions taken from previous years appeared again.
N1 is really just a reading test. Can you read Japanese? If so you can pass the N1. If you can’t read, you would really struggle to have any chance of getting a high score in the other sections to make up. The vocabulary and grammar section is skewed towards more literary Japanese and vocab you would be hard pressed to regularly find outside of books and scripted writing such as movies, TV etc. How many times have you heard someone say they came across a JLPT vocabulary for the first time in a book or anime randomly vs in real life conversations. So yeah, just read and watch Japanese daily. If you can do that without much effort then you are ready for N1.
Hey guys, just thought I’d give an update. I passed (barely). I ended up just reading volume 2 of 1Q84 as my study. First section went smoothly thanks to WK and Bunpro. Reading was terrible (I zoned out for a while and lost 20 mins). Listening was also a challenge but we got there.
