Whiskeytown's N5 JLPT Exam study thread

Japanese
#1

I’m starting this thread to hold myself accountable but maybe it will be interesting to someone - I’ve been self studying for two years but got stuck in the Wanikani gamification loop, so I’m trying to break out of it - to that end I’m taking the N5 in December (in Honolulu - cause I’m in Alaska and let’s go someplace nice - LOL)

I’ll try to document my study plan and formalize in the next few days - here’s what I’ve been working on

strengths

Bunpro - done with N5 grammar - working on the nuances of the last stuff and losing ghosts - need to finish the N5 Vocab deck
Wanikani - Level 26 - don’t plan on doing much besides keeping reviews and adding 1-2 a day - I have the kanji for this one down pretty well
Tango N5 Vocab - I know most of this but am going thru the Tango deck and picking up outlier stuff and testing it on Anki
Genki - done most of it - sorta skimmed the last two chapters but gotta go thru them better - might use the last few days before September to shore up chapt 11/12

weaknesses

pretty much listening - I can barely understand anything spoken -

reading comprehension - because I haven’t been practicing reading, I’ve been VERY loose on understanding and building the structures in my head to understand sentences - I need to read the sentences more in Bunpro because I tend to skim them and go straight to what has to be answered

I did grab the JPLT study guide from Tuttle - my hope is that by re-reviewing concepts in a different book, with different audio, that it’ll cement more solidly in my brain - I plan to use a lot more listening and trying to follow along/comprehend

I’d also like to re-review a genki chapter a week, - (I have tokini andy, so can watch / rewatch those videos) - - 12 weeks and 12 chapters but honestly I could probably blast thru the first 3 in a day no worries -

I’ll update this a bit more (probable weekly updates) but any thoughts you all have please put them in. This is not the first time I’ve traveled for an exam, and I recognize the N5 is like, 2nd grade knowledge, but I didn’t want to cram 3 hrs/day for the N4 without being able to cross this threshold

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#2

Week 1:

well, I didn’t do as much as I wanted as usual - right now I’m mostly just trying to reduce my wanakani reviews - (almost down to 80 a day) and improve my bunpro reviews (got almost all the N5 points out of Ghost status which is good)

I didn’t review Genki this week but I’m not too terribly worried about it - something that I have th think hard about are exceptions to the numbering rules (like ろっぴゃく for 600 as I think I remember reading they like to use those exceptions in the exam. I’ll try to make a point of it in the next week or two. My Katakana is kinda shit too especially with the very similar looking characters though my recall is ok.

there’s about 22 lessons in the Tuttle book so I’m hoping to get thru two a week - I really don’t think the Kanji will be an issue but I’ve got some flashcards to cut out and make sure those 100 or so are solid.

and of course, vocab in bunpro and anki’s Tango N5 deck - getting a lot of words I know from recalling the Kanji but don’t remember when I see them in hiragana or hear them so that is helping a bit with creation

I also need to memorize better the 10 -ru verbs that are actually u verbs - I know kaeru and hairu but forgot the other 8 - LOL

anyways not freaking or nothing - not done as well as I wanted but getting those bunpro reviews out of ghost status or having few of them makes me feel good :slight_smile:

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#3

Wow, your portfolio looks good!
Why not just add a bit of comprehensible input?
I became a fanatic of LingQ and since then suggested it to everyone)
I enjoy stats and the ability to choose the right content for my level. I think apps like this are the most useful thing, and better you are at language better there sings work (for native language I think it’s the single best way of learning vocab)

#4

Thanks for the tip about Tuttle, @whisketown. Have found the sample questions very useful in identifying where I’m weak. Wonder if you got to the audio part yet. I don’t see where I can play the audio. This is the link I’m using: JLPT Study Guide

#5

I am only on lesson one - I admit the way they give you audio in the folder download can be pretty hard to find - LOL - I found grammar 1 audio for questions under grammar lesson 1 and the others have full conversations but I haven’t gotten further than lesson 1 yet

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#6

Week 2

It was another week of mostly grinding out reviews. I only did lesson one of my JPLT workbook (21 to go) but have a modified schedule this week that gives me more hours before work (and not to be mean but without my spouse who can use up some time)

I did rereview the Genki 1 lesson and may do the workbook to be double sure - I have this bad habit of wanting to redo everything till I get to like, 100% and I know the exam isn’t nearly that bad as far as scoring goes, so…I just need to not beat myself up and especially do my listening practice - (some of which I get in my anki deck, some in Genki and the workbook) -

just going back and reinforcing the vocab and concepts is pretty important - in the meantime I’ve got my bunpro ghosts down to three - LOL

this is going to be a weird week with late night work that may either be busy or quiet so we’ll see how much progress I can make especially with listening

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#7

Just FYI.
I have revisited the Marugoto website and am now finding it useful doing level A2-2. The various situations for conversation are now more interesting (for me) and I’m having to replay the audio a few times to understand what was being said. They are at a level I can comprehend, it was just too fast the first time.
I had started on the A1 level before I found BunPro and while I did learn a few things I got bored as the multiple choice questions could be answered too easily. I think now that I’ve had several months of WaniKani and Bunpro, going back to Marugoto is giving me the reinforcement on grammar I’d learned on Bunpro and plugging some of the vocabulary holes I didn’t even know I had - such as the word for corner (when giving directions to turn left or right). I am also trying to be more aware of not speeding through the multiple choice sections by saying out loud and repeating the sentences or phrases I hear.
Lessons are free.
If anyone here would like to know which level of Marugoto they should be at, you can take this test:
https://www.marugoto-online.jp/info/level_check_test/?lang=eng

For more intermediate learners (maybe N4-N3 equivalent?): there is now a tutor-supported course for level A2B1-2 that will start on Sept 27. Deadline to sign up is Sept 23. Also free.
https://minato-jf.jp/CourseDetail/Index/KC24_MGRT_A206_EN01

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#8

WEEK 3

well, got thru two workbook lessons and re-reviewed Genki chapter 1 - mostly though I just went thru some of the basic exercises and listening exercises

I appreciate the comments on other things people are using but I have no interest in adding to any of my material at this time - I have in the past fallen for “if I have this one more thing, my skill will improve” trip. (Chess, to be exact) - what I have is working for now and if it doesn’t get me thru the most basic of N5 we’ll just have to see what’s next.

Anyways hoping to knock out two more lessons this week - work was a bit busy last week - also hoping to get thru the listening/reading material in Genki again for chapter 2 and hopefully 2

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#9

Sounds like you’re making good progress and solidifying your foundation. I’m sure that will help for the N5 exam and whatever else comes next!

Good luck :slight_smile: And keep going !!

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#10

Week 4

well, I realized I could skip ahead in the workbook and do some of the reading comphrension lessons so I knocked a couple of those out - almost got my bunpro reviews down to under 100/week (gotta add some vocab to that still) -

it has occurred to me I only skimmed the Genki 11/12 lessons but I’m not sure I’m going to complete them to the degree I completed the others - I absolutely will try and get thru my jlpt workbook - I’m sorta working under the assumption right now I have enough grammar, vocab, and definitely enough kanji to pass and if I don’t - ah well. Listening and Reading Comprehension is going to be big. I’m still a little surprised how often I get readings and translations off and was struggling even doing the Kanji sentences - (I knew the kanji but couldn’t read the N5 sentences which bugged me)

anyways still grinding along - I think we’re almost 8 week out? No pressure :slight_smile:

anyhow rock and roll

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#11

Week, well crud - LOL

lots of time since last update - not a ton of work done - been watching videos of people going thru N5 questions to get an idea of where I am at and I don’t feel too worried - going to finish my JLPT N5 workbook I hope - at this point I think we’re pretty much in “if you don’t know it by now you’re hosed” but I’m trying to make sure I have enough vocab down - seems like I’m seeing a lot in videos I don’t recognize from N5

anyways - what are we now - two weeks out? I’ll do some practice tests here in a couple days - wishing you all good luck

RB

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#12

がんばれ！

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#13

took my first practice exam today - scored about 60% on the grammar/reading and 50% on listening and vocab and I know I had to guess on some

fortunately that appears to be enough to pass the N5 if I keep it up - LOL

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#14

I’m just curious, but aren’t you level 69 on bunpro? I have pretty much everything from N5 and N4 grammar on Expert and I’m only 51.

Maybe it’s vocab, I didn’t know bunpro grammar gave exp.

#15

it’s vocab - I made the mistake (or decision) to sync my wanikani vocab and when it does it maxes it at expert and gives you credit- I’d like to redo it but man…that’s SO MUCH vocab I’d have to go thru again - LOL - my wanikani is at level 27 which is probably more of an N4 level

it’s funny how bad my recognition is without the kanji - I have a lot of words I don’t recognize in my review because I know them by Kanji and I know the right readings, but I don’t recognize them in hiragana :slight_smile:

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#16

Yeah, furigana is significantly easier to understand than hiragana only. I have the same problem

#17

27 is more towards N3 so assuming you have that much vocab down from WK, when you learn a little more grammar, reading native material should feel a lot smoother for you!

#18

yeah I’ve actually pretty much just been reviewing items as they come up and not learning many new ones right now on wanikani - nothing else to learn really for the upcoming exam that I need there - although this week they added the kanji for receive at a lower level so I went and learned it and yeah, I knew right away it was もらう which was cool - :slight_smile:

#19

Good luck to you. I probably knew significantly less and was able to pass N5 last year. I highly recommend doing at least a couple more practice tests before the real thing as I think that helped me a lot.

#20

at this point i’m starting to think it was a mistake to let Bunpro sync up with my wanikani vocabulary - I feel like I’m hurting pretty bad in the recognition department (I’m fine with the Kanji versions - the picture versions) but not nearly so great in the recognition from hiragana - if I don’t pass I might just reset it all