JLPT is next week! Who is taking it? What level? Where?

So, after acing N3 in 2010, and going to Japan in 2012, I thought the N2 would be within my reach that december.

... and I got my sorry kanji-illiterate gaijin arse handed to me. It was miserable.

(And I had already failed 2Kyuu back in the day, in 06)

So... I got my shit together, sort of, and studied to re-take JLPT N2 this year. Yup, I'm going to fail miserably again.

Maybe less miserably than 2 years ago, but still, I'm probably completely fucked.

Who else is taking JLPT this year? What level? Where? How do you think you'll fare? Who needs help that members here might provide? (For example, I can help you if you're taking N5, N4, N3)

Let's discuss the JLPT exam here!

 

My sorry ass will start to get back into japanese starting january. I've moved to Germany this year, and I am still learning the language so I can do daily stuff and have conversations. I've passed N5 in 2010, so starting january I'll be reviewing that (probably will take me a month or two) and july 2015 I'll be taking on N4. I have all the materials necessary, but just don't have the time :/

 

I know that feeling comrade, I really do. Time is of the essence. N4 is not that harsh, either, so you have plenty of chance from here to July.

 

The main pain with N4 is the next 300 Kanji, although on the bright side, I actually feel that If I get N4 I might be able to understand like 50-60% of GameCenter CX raw episodes (I understand around 30% now) and try to read some japanese scientific publications. Personally I'd be happy with N3 level japanese. I've never been there yet though.

 

Heh, we use the same materials.

I have no problem understanding GameCenter CX raws anymore (I miss vocabulary every so often), but I still got rejected by the SA-GCCX Translation team, because my skills are not up to par.

I think, for N4, you'd be pretty good with NHK Easy news, and a youtube channel claled "japonin".

In fact, I think that's about N3, more or less.

I took N3 a few years ago, as I was saying, and it's really not a hard exam at all. You have my support should any material be a challenge to you. Not that I know that much (as I say, I keep failing N2 miserably), but I've been down the previous road before.

 

I passed N1 on my 2nd of 2 dry runs, so I think I'm done. Best of luck to you guys. There is one single book that helped me, which a certain member here now has. It's a Level 1 book only, and a damn shame the same people didn't make a level 2 book. It's awesome.

 

what's the title GP?

 

パターンで学ぶ
http://www.amazon.co.jp/パターンで学ぶ日本語能...=UTF8&qid=1417576220&sr=8-15&keywords=パターンで学ぶ

 

Any particular reason why people feel compelled to get this? If you have other skills and can demonstrate Japanese ability then there really is no reason to have it besides points for PR or if you are just starting in the professional world.

I have 2 kyu from over a decade ago but make presentations in Japanese to C level execs. You can't really put a grade on that.

 

For some, knowing you have an exam coming up is motivation to learn and study, and getting a certificate is a reward for your hard work.
I understand where you are coming from though, because I never really understood why do people want to have certificates in english like fce, etc - I never had any problems with it and I felt that only the knowledge and ability to speak it is what counts (that is true btw). But when I signed up for the JLPT exam 5 years ago, just for the lolz of it to check how I really know japanese. I started to prepare myself and got serious with learning, as opposed to my previous attitude. Thanks to that I understand that the exams aren't just tests to check your skills, but motivational deadlines.

 

Same reason you get any type of certification. Every now and again, they come in handy, but it's more for a personal benchmark.

 

Yeah, plus you get into situations like me where on paper i have L3 only but my job is conducted 50/50 Japanese/English. I wouldn't dream of saying i'm fluent by any means - but on a CV it would just be much easier to have N1 / N2. So i'm finally just going to sit N1 and get it out of the way mid next year. Got other financial qualifications to mop up first though.

(Dealing with recruiters was painful because a lot of the times it's hard rule : No N1/N2, no interview - whereas in walk up interviews i could at least prove to the company in question that i could operate well enough in Japanese)

 

I hate to say it, but some times you will not get your foot in the door b/c you don't have the write thing on your resume. A well known (rather snotty) prop trading firm had a job listing which I can only describe as exactly what I did for the last 8 years. They didn't even give me a phone screen. Finally a recruiter told me, "they are notoriously picky". 15 years experience in front office apparently doesn't mean shit if you didn't go to the right school. Oh, well... they're loss.

 

Even N5 is too hard for me, I feel so fucking stupid.

-Chief

 

Heh, in my resumé, I used to list my 4kyuu and 3kyuu, which are pretty basic, but since almost nobody knows Japanese in Mexico, they would seem attractive to recruiters, and I'd get jobs teaching English, of all things, with relative ease. It was always "wow, if he knows Japanese (which I really don't, because these were easy exams really), he must be awesome at English and Spanish!".

So yeah, other than the personal benchmark and other personal reasons, these certificates would also serve to prove, bureaucratically at least, that you know a language. It's like the TOEFL for English speakers; many schools will force you to have it even if you are a native speaker. For example, in one of the universities for which I work, they made me and a Canadian friend take the god damn TOEIC because the head office required it for us to continue teaching. We, of course, got perfect marks, but would have been fired if we didn't have the piece of paper. That's the way it works, sadly.

Now, I guess some would be glad to know I got, like it's become a tradition, my sorry gaijin illiterate arse handed to me again. And there was a noisy truck outside during the speaking section, but the examiners did not close the windows. Quite a challenge. And my seat was all the way at the back of the classroom too.

There's always next year, I guess. I'll have to keep on studying and pretend like this was some sort of practice test.

 

So, this thread died without anyone showing their results.

Want to hear something really stupid?

I somehow passed N2! Just barely, but I still get a motherfucking certificate.

Who else got what results on the test?

 

Congrats, dude. Is there still a grand canyon size level of difference between 2 & 1?

 

Congrats!

I'm studying to get at least N4 next test, but I'm hoping to get to N3.

 

Heh, thanks!

Yes, there is a chasm between N2 and N1. And right now, being that I'm in my 30s now, I'm only studying for pride, as I'm way past the age for N2 or N1 to be useful for a scholarship. Still, I'll study a couple of years and try N1. It's just another thousand Kanji or so. ( ) There's a lot of Japanese factories opening in Mexico lately, too. I'm not much of an industrial translator, but maybe I should look into that for some paid practice.

N3, N4, I'm helping a few friends study for those this year. So if I can be of help, do let me know.

 

I'd like to learn some stuff for N4, maybe you'd be up for some online tutoring? But first I need to remember what was N5 about.