~ JLPT 2020 ~

Japanese Language
116

How’s the studying going everyone?
Somebody on reddit was talking about their JLPT N3 resources, so I thought I’d copy my answer to them here as well.

Books

  1. Genki II - just finishing it off now as there is some N3 in there apparently
  2. Tobira - just arrived, I only got the textbook though since my Kanji is fine and Bunpro might be enough, but I may pick up the grammar work book later
  3. 500問 - used this for the N4 and absolutely loved it. I plan to go through it a few times and make notes on it
  4. TRY! N3 - This was a pretty great resource for when I passed the N4
  5. Nihngo Sou Matome N3 - Used this for N4 and I absolutely love it to pieces
  6. Kanzen Master Series - It’s much more intensive than Sou Matome and it’s good at filling in anything I missed with Sou Matome
  7. Dictionary of Basic Grammar/Dictionary of Intermediate Grammar - If I ever am unsure or not 100% clear on a grammar point, this is super useful for examples

My current plan for books is to finish Genki II, and, once I’m done, work through a bit of Tobira and Try! N3 every day. Currently I’m going through my first run of 500問 and taking notes, I’ve been getting mainly the grammar questions incorrect as I’ve not actually really touched on much N3 content, but it’s a good little bit of practice before I completely dive into N3 stuff (which I’ll probably do more next month).

Other Resources

  1. Podcasts - LearnJapanesePod, LearnJapanese101, Nihongo Con Teppei, Let’s Learn Japanese With Small Talk
  2. WaniKani - I’m already level 60, so I’ve learnt all the Kanji and Vocab available, but I still have some reviews everyday
  3. Bunpro - My grammar is so bad, so a grammar version of WaniKani was a no-brainer for me.
  4. Memrise - There’s a course for N3 Grammar, N3 Vocab, and Tobira
  5. Generic listening - I’ve been watching episodes of the latest Pokemon series in raw Japanese and I’ve been watching episodes of Pokenchi on YouTube, I’ve also been watching Rilakkuma and Kaoru on Netflix without subtitles and Terrace House with subtitles. Also there’s a lot of listening stuff on YouTube for N3.
  6. Reading - I have a lot of Japanese light novels and manga that I’ve been reading independently or in bookclubs on the WaniKani community forums. I’m currently reading Kitchen and The Mysterious Town Beyond the Mist.
  7. Video games - Pokemon Shield (finished Sword in English), and Digimon Sunburst
  8. I have a boring list of N3 Vocab and Grammar which I’m working through
  9. HelloTalk, HiNative, Real life meetups - Just started these but help me be more confident

Listening really hurt when I sat the N4, so I’m making sure to focus on that part more!

What resources is everyone else using and what’s everyone’s study plan looking like currently?

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