Japanese Profiency Test Pissing Contest

[cstaylor]

No, obstinate is "ganko" (other synonyms: pig-headed, stubborn).

Now, how would I have learned these adjectives without studying for a language exam?

[Greji]

No, obstinate is "ganko" (other synonyms: pig-headed, stubborn).

Now, how would I have learned these adjectives without studying for a language exam?

It can be used with shitsukoi also, although you are right it is actually ganko.

As for where you learned those terms, I think I used to drink in that same joint! As I recall, Taro was a part-time bartender there!

[maraboutslim]

[Greji]

[drpepper]

[Big Booger]

Well I got 4 stars on my rabbit drawing in the 5th grade.

[Greji]

[Cubed]

[kamome]

[Cubed]

A?

Anyone else?

[Cubed]

No-one?

This is JLPT2, and an "easy" one at that!

[jingai]

[FG Lurker]

[kamome]

[Socratesabroad]

[kamome]

[quote="FG Lurker"]The tests may look good on a resume but in reality they are essentially meaningless. Well, about as meaningful as Eiken, anyway. ]

I agree. It tests your ability to cram a bunch of vocabulary and kanji the week before the exam, but not your ability to use that knowledge in practical terms. If anything I'd rather take the JETRO exam, but I'm also not too keen on making the effort.

[FG Lurker]

[FG Lurker]

The tests may look good on a resume but in reality they are essentially meaningless. Well, about as meaningful as Eiken, anyway. ]
I agree. It tests your ability to cram a bunch of vocabulary and kanji the week before the exam, but not your ability to use that knowledge in practical terms. If anything I'd rather take the JETRO exam, but I'm also not too keen on making the effort.

I feel that certification tests in general don't tell a whole lot about a person's ability beyond their ability to memorize and perform well on a test. This is not so different from training a seal to do tricks with a ball -- the seal can do what it has memorized, but it's not going to play in the NBA.

Alas, people in general like these sorts of tests. It makes classification easy, which is convenient even though not really meaningful.

[Greji]

[FG Lurker]

[jingai]

[Greji]

Yup, I would say that both companies and recruiters are doing this. I had both English and Japanese interviews for my current position, as well as a job I had applied for previously but didn't get -- 7 frickin interviews! I also had English and Japanese interviews with a recruiter when I was talking to them.

My current desk location and sometimes employment (when they can catch up with me) uses this system also. I'm told by pretty competent authority that it actually started within the gaimusho (which considering that anything of importance could eminate from that nut factory is amazing in itself). The languages being their forte, were suffering. The "whiz kids" from Todai and the various gaigodai's were not hacking it. So, since they couldn't subject the elite untouchable career types to any scrutiny, they began actively screening and using so-called language specialists from kikokushijo, long term foreign residents and returning JETRO employees, for both non-career and sometimes, career employees.

I think what you ran into is that they have yet to create the base on how to evaluate candidates during these interviews. They obviously can understand the Japanese side well enough (although sometimes I wonder), but to consolidate it with an evaluation of the other language also, be it English or Boheimean again, having no set standards, they panic and have to do it over and over and still get it wrong.

[FG Lurker]

I think what you ran into is that they have yet to create the base on how to evaluate candidates during these interviews. They obviously can understand the Japanese side well enough (although sometimes I wonder), but to consolidate it with an evaluation of the other language also, be it English or Boheimean again, having no set standards, they panic and have to do it over and over and still get it wrong.

I didn't mean to imply that all seven interviews were language related, but definitely the 4 Japanese dudes were at least partly making sure I could manage myself in Japanese.

In the end they gave the job to a Japanese candidate. This was pretty funny really as the reason they were looking at non-Japanese for the position was because their head office was complaining that they couldn't communicate with the so-called-English-fluent staff in the Japanese office.

[FG Lurker]

[Greji]

I didn't mean to imply that all seven interviews were language related, but definitely the 4 Japanese dudes were at least partly making sure I could manage myself in Japanese.

In the end they gave the job to a Japanese candidate. This was pretty funny really as the reason they were looking at non-Japanese for the position was because their head office was complaining that they couldn't communicate with the so-called-English-fluent staff in the Japanese office.

Exactly my point. They don't know how to deal with this, hence the many interviews and I would bet that they all were language related. When they hit the panic position, they will always in the end (at least at this point in time) go with the guy they can talk to at best and that will be the J-guy. I used to be part of our interview board and although these interviews were for contact employees to function abroad, I had some wonderful battles almost aways lost, when attempting to evaluate a FG who would have great or at least acceptable Nihongo versus the J-applicants with their Nova (at best) language. The initial response from our side to me was almost always that they could never be sure the FG could understand them. I would counter with we would never be able to get the FGs in the target country to understand the J-applicants. This didn't matter (since this was merely the reason we were going to hire the dude in the first place), they thought what really mattered was that the staff here could talk to him! It has gotten suddenly better because a lot of the hiring staff have been called on the carpet and asked just why is it that they hired all these J-language specialists for direct foreign communication, who were now billing us for their own use of interpreters and outside translation costs.

[Cubed]

[Greji]

[drpepper]

[Cubed]

[jingai]