JLPT 3Kyuu

[Hanakuso]

I wanna take the 3kyuu exam at the end of this year. Im studying from Genki at the moment but my sensei sez ill have to do some extracurricular stuff to fill in the gaps if I am to pass 3 kyuu..

Whats the best textbook to grab specifically for 3kyuu study.. ?

I was sussing out one of the Unicom ones today but it just seems to have a whole bunch of questions, no answers in the back and no explanations of the grammar points... Is there any quality texts out there for this?

[omae mona]

Is there any quality texts out there for this?

You mean for Japanese?

[Hanakuso]

For Kazakhstanian.

[cstaylor]

No reason to be an ass. 3kyuu just means "3rd level", and it can apply to any type of examination.

[Hanakuso]

twas just teasing...

[GomiGirl]

No reason to be an ass. 3kyuu just means "3rd level", and it can apply to any type of examination.

he did mention the JLPT in the subject heading but it was kinda hidden away.

Best books for preparation are the official ones that are sold at most bookshops. Great for rote learning and learning the types of questions you can expect. Answers are in the back too.

[vitellus]

what are these JLPT official books called exactly? do you know where you can buy them in Tokyo? I was at Kinokuniya however I did not see anything like that there...

[Mulboyne]

Bonjinsha publishes these books (it's an old picture) with sample questions and answers. 1400 yen will buy you a book with the December 2005 questions for Level 3 and Level 4 and answers. CD included for the comprehension section. I don't know if these are any better than the aother books. I also find it difficult to believe that any practice book would not include the answers although many don't explain the grammar points behind the questions .

[Charles]

I also find it difficult to believe that any practice book would not include the answers although many don't explain the grammar points behind the questions .

The official practice exams include the answers in a separate sheet, so you can separate it from the test book when giving practice tests. If it wasn't included, you got ripped off.
I don't find it too surprising that general drill books wouldn't have answer keys, I've seen books like that before. The questions are intended to find your weak spots, not give you easy answers. If you can't answer a question, it's up to you to drill on that weakness, then the answer will be obvious. You can't just drill by Q&A, you don't learn anything by that, it only measures what you know. It is necessary to discover what you don't know, before you can work on it.
Personally, I don't think that drilling for a test is very useful, particularly at the lower levels like 3 and 4kyuu. But then, I don't think those low level tests are very useful anyway. You can pass those tests and still be basically illiterate. It would be better to spend your time improving your fluency overall, rather than focusing on a short-term objective like 3kyuu. But then, some people need a certificate showing any sort of achievement, to keep them motivated. Whatever.

[American Oyaji]

I think that site would make more money if it listed the books in ENGLISH.

*edit* I just thought about that and that is dumb because everyone learning Japanese is not an English speaker.

[Hanakuso]

It would be better to spend your time improving your fluency overall, rather than focusing on a short-term objective like 3kyuu. But then, some people need a certificate showing any sort of achievement, to keep them motivated. Whatever.

Well for me Ive been told i need to get to that level to begin an intermediate course next year... its useful as a guide for those purposes, and yeh it helps ppl along their path.. Itd kinda suck if there was only the level 1 test.

Thanks for the help ppl.. I think ill be grabbing myself some test papers and perhaps one of those Unicom books (with no grammar explanations) and suppliment it with a beginner Grammar dictionary.. It surprises me that no one seems to have put a good book together that covers all bases in regards to preparing for these JLPT tests.

[Greji]

It surprises me that no one seems to have put a good book together that covers all bases in regards to preparing for these JLPT tests.

There are a lot of books floating around about the JPLTs, but the fact is that outside of field of education, there is little need to take or show a proficiency with the JLPT results. I don't know of any companies that require it although it could be used as some eyewash on the resume. As I've posted before, most companies in Japan, or Japanese companies outside of Japan, will set up an interview and guage your language ability for themselves regardless of how many scores or certificates you submit.

Charles has a good point that it is also a good motivator and/or a milestone, for some people studying the language.

Fluency is the main thing and since studying another language is more or less, a life long process, I wouldn't worry that much about the JPLT's beyond what might be required (if required at all) in your course of study.

[maraboutslim]

Is the listening section still like 25% of the total score? If so, just ace that part. It's easy to ace and besides, it's the most practical part to study for if you're actually going to use your Japanese in Japan anyway. If you get that 50 points locked up, then you can miss a lot more on the other parts and still get the 70% or whatever it is that is required to pass. Worked for me anyway.

[GomiGirl]

OK quick plug for TangoTown... we have FULL listings of the required vocab and kanji that you will need for the JLPT in each of the levels. You can either choose to do them as keitai quiz games, flashcards or have them sent as daily emails to your keitai.

http://tangotown.jp

Note this will be a good companion to grammar studies as I find the biggest problem for my own language efforts is not memorising enough of the required vocab and kanji. I tend to survive on using the same vocab and kanji in my daily life which is great for survival but is not pushing myself to add to my depth of vocab which makes life easy when listening.

Quiz games, flashcards and daily emails are good for vocab building and kanji reinforcement. Grammar you just have to learn in the traditional way and do lots of example questions. Listening is again practice with tapes, CD's and lots of example questions. The books are great for giving you the style of the questions on the test.

While this is all focused on passing the tests, you will find that this will seep into your daily conversation and understanding. These tests follow some strict guidelines and formats that are deemed worthy by the "government" and do not really represent your ability in the real world as Charles suggests, however, the qualifications are recognised by employers and educational facilities.

[omae mona]

Hanakuso - can't speak to the Level 3 texts, but after seeing your message I checked my book shelf, and lo and behold, there was a Unicom Level 2 book. I can't remember using it, for the life of me, but my teacher must have given it to me at some point. It is full of explanations of the grammar, but it's in Japanese. If you are looking for more of a grammar reference, check out "A Dictionary Of Basic Japanese Grammar" (Seiichi Makino, Michio Tsutsui) from Japan Times press, ISBN-4-7890-0454-6. Very good, but not exactly aligned with any of the exams.

I agree with Charles when he says

It would be better to spend your time improving your fluency overall, rather than focusing on a short-term objective like 3kyuu. But then, some people need a certificate showing any sort of achievement, to keep them motivated. Whatever.

I remember when I did 3kyuu it was purely to force myself off my lazy ass and do a reasonable amount of studying in time for that December exam. But trust me, it's good for close to nothing except - as you noticed - providing credentials for Japanese classes that don't have their own evaluations or entrance exams.