Japanese Profiency Test Pissing Contest

[sillygirl]

Can anyone recommend a good website? Tips or info on how to apply? Cheers guys....

[GomiGirl]

which level you going for?

Do you own a keitai with internet access?

All the vocab and kanji are listed in levels on TangoTown Get kanji sent as a daily email at the level of your choice.

/shameless plug

[sillygirl]

Wicked! Thanks for that. My (Japanese) boss reckons I should try for level 2 (gulp)

Anyone tell me re:applying for said test. I know it's in December...

[Molokidan]

I`m taking the 2nd-level test too, which is December 5 (at least in Kyushu area.) A fellow ALT took it last year, and gave me some pointers before he left Japan. Basically, the 2nd-level is what you need to score a J-job. You are required to know 1000 kanji, and as of now I only know about half of that, in and out, on and kun. So I ordered the 2nd-level training book, which cost me 2200, and that was WITHOUT the cd. =/ Anyway, it was well spent. This teaches you not only the 1000 kanji, but the 1000 kanji that you need FOR the test, which is pretty important. So like, even if you know the kanji for "flux compacitor" or "gyroscope" or something, you might get screwed if you don`t know what "tamago" is. That`s just something he told me to keep in mind. As for the fees of the actual test....

There is a form you have to buy first, for 500 yen. I picked it up when I got my book. Pretty easy to fill out. Then, there is the fee for the actual test. Mine was 5640. I don`t know if this changes on the level, or even by the area, but this is what it was for Northern Kyushu, 2nd-level. Pretty hefty. The price itself is incentive enough for me to pass the test, so that I don`t have to pay it again if I fail...

[GomiGirl]

I am going for 2-kyuu as well this year.. (must remember to set the alarm clock this year so I don't oversleep and miss the first part of the exam again)

But you get the application forms from Kinokuniya Bookstore where they sell foreign books. You need to purchase it for around 500 yen and pay the Y5,000 at a post office. Cut-off is October sometime for submissions.

[Skankster]

-
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1-kyuu.

Second time. I was like 15 points short.
Last time I took it there was only 1 other westerner in the whole test room 4 1-kyuu.

[Taro Toporific]

[sillygirl]

I am going for 2-kyuu as well this year.. (must remember to set the alarm clock this year so I don't oversleep and miss the first part of the exam again)

But you get the application forms from Kinokuniya Bookstore where they sell foreign books. You need to purchase it for around 500 yen and pay the Y5,000 at a post office. Cut-off is October sometime for submissions.

Thanks dude. I guess you'll take it in Tokyo~I live in Tochigi~must get up super earlier to catch the shinkers Good luck to us all,eh?

[sillygirl]

Maha!!Look what I found:


http://testguide03.jpf-sydney.org/samples/level1/levels.htm

[kuroneko]

Just a heads up to any of you planning on applying, the deadline is today (Sunday)!

I was going to apply and take 3-kyu but figured, hey what's the point? 3-kyu is just for my own personal satisfaction, but if I leave it a year and study hard, I can take 2-kyu next year and find myself a proper job instead of eikaiwa

[Steve Bildermann]

As I think I mentioned somewhere else. Before attempting any level of Japanese proficiency take a hour or two hour walk (preferably with a native speaker) and read out loud *everything* you see. Signs, car number plates, advertisements, supermarkets etc.

That's the single best way to test practical language ability. It was only after six months of daily walks around the yamanote line that I attempted my language exam.

[maraboutslim]

Do they still let you pass with only 60% correct? If so, and that listening section is still worth 25% of the total points, just watch the news and talk to people and that part is a breeze. Then you only have to get like half of the other questions correct to pass.

[Charles]

Do they still let you pass with only 60% correct?

Only on L3 and L4. IIRC they raised the level to 70% for L1 and L2. I passed everything on L2 except listening, it's my weakness because I'm a bit deaf. That was really frustrating because I aced the listening section on a practice exam. I suspect I screwed up, I must have skipped a line and put the answers in the wrong lines.

Definitely buy a practice exam. The Japan Foundation sells previous years real exams as practice exams, you can get em at any bookstore that carries Japanese instruction books. They sell L1 and L2 in one set, L3 and 4 in another, so you can try different levels cheaply. Tapes for the audio section are included. I have not seen any online practice exams that include the listening section, so you just have to go buy the tapes. It also is a considerable help to take the exam, regardless of your test results, just to get yourself familiar with the format. The exam time is short, if you waste time trying to figure out the exam format, you lose time you could spend thinking about your answers.

[Socratesabroad]

1-kyuu.
Second time. I was like 15 points short.

Should have used that massive Japanese vocabulary to read the info on the back of the shampoo and conditioner bottles....

[Skankster]

[Skankster]

[Socratesabroad]

[omae mona]

If Skankster passes the 1-kyuu exam, I think it will be safe to claim that his Japanese linguisitic ability exceeds his English ability by a factor of at least 5-to-1. I'm not sure if his bad translation above is due to a problem on the Japanese or the English side...

[sillygirl]

[American Oyaji]

1-kyuu.
Second time. I was like 15 points short.

Should have used that massive Japanese vocabulary to read the info on the back of the shampoo and conditioner bottles....

heh.

I didn't think that shit would float. BUSTED

[Skankster]

[nigerian_nampa]

I passed the 3kyuu exam last year, and I'm taking the 2kyuu exam this year. There are compact prep books published by unicom that are really good specifically for test preparation (they're pretty shitty for learning practical Japanese...I use other books for that). There are various books for each level, like grammar, kanji and vocab, reading comprehension, and listening (with cassettes). I just use the grammar book, and look up all the unknown vocab and kanji on each page because they are graded to that specific level.

I've done a few practice tests, and I find the vocabulary section really difficult. The grammar section is very hard if you don't study specifically for the test, but working through any JLPT grammar prep book will help you ace that section.

[Charles]

The increase in difficulty from 3kyuu to 2kyuu is a lot larger than you think. And the increase is even greater from 2 to 1kyuu. Ganbatte.

Look closely at your instructional books. I got a Unicom 2kyuu prep book and joined a study group working on 1kyuu from the same book series. To my astonishment, the "graded" books for 1 and 2kyuu were identical, exept that my 2kyuu book had little asterisks next to the items that were only expected on the 1kyuu test. So you could be working way above the expected level (whether this is a good or bad thing, I leave to you to decide).

Anyway, not a single person from our study group passed their level. In retrospect, think we should have used different prep materials.

[nigerian_nampa]

The increase in difficulty from 3kyuu to 2kyuu is a lot larger than you think. And the increase is even greater from 2 to 1kyuu. Ganbatte.

You're a bit presumptuos, aren't you big guy? Exactly how small do *I* think the increase in difficulty from 3kyuu to 2kyuu is?? I've done practice tests from the past 5 years, and I'm aware of all the grammar points, kanji, and most of vocabulary that are expected. That information is out there, and I've been researching and studying it since the day I took 3kyuu last year.

Maybe you failed it, but I'm not going to.

[Charles]

Exactly how small do *I* think the increase in difficulty from 3kyuu to 2kyuu is?? I

You think there is just one year of study between 3 and 2kyuu. It's more like 2 or 3 years of concerted effort.

And yeah, I aced every section of 2kyuu except the listening comprehension, because I'm partly deaf. So go ahead and sneer at my handicap, that's real manly of you.

[maraboutslim]

I was about to click "stop watching this topic" but now that Charles has followed his usual behavior and made an assumption about someone else in a form of an insult, and then when called on it decided to pretend it is he who was insulted (though no such insult was implied, surely), this thread is fun again!

The best punch line will come when our man from Nigeria aces the test.

p.s. Charles, if you would have really aced every section except the listening, you would have passed the test.

[Maths Dude]

I knew a guy from The Gambia, and he went from 0 japanese to 1 kyu in a year. There is no hero points for being able to speak such a simple language.

[Charles]

Nope, you can ace every section but one, and still just barely fail 2kyuu, but you have to REALLY suck on the listening section. And nobody ever passed 1kyuu in one year, if you think so, I challenge you to show me the certificate. But you won't because you can't.

If you guys can't tell the difference between friendly advice (with a nice encouraging ganbatte at the end) and an insult, then you really have a bug up your ass. Get over yourself.

[maraboutslim]

See, you can't make a single post without putting an insult in it! I don't think you even notice it. Talk about needing to get over one's self...

[Maths Dude]

Are you some kind of racist to suggest that my african brothers could not do 1kyu in year? I'm telling you, alot of africans are VERY smart, smarter than than the average dope westerner.