I’ve also been obsessively checking the site after I missed the application window the last 2 times. 
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OK, that’s good to know, thanks. That aside, from the sample questions I’ve tried, I’ve realised that some questions genuinely don’t require you to read more than a paragraph to answer them, so my backup plan if I’m running low on time is to scan the sentences before and after the elements the questions are referring to and to answer based on that information. I did 9 of 17 sample comprehension questions while on the phone with my family in English and only got 1 of 17 wrong, so I wouldn’t say they frequently need full-text comprehension. The sentences also aren’t that complex, and I’d say regular NHK articles are as hard or harder by quite a bit. Still, I’m going to read a little more so I don’t get stuck too often. (One of my personal problems is constantly needing to convert readings from Mandarin to Japanese in my head, and the only way I can avoid/reduce that is being familiar with words.)
Anyway, all the best with the N1! I imagine you’re already beyond it in actual experience, so you should do great. Hahaha. I’m doing it for the sake of my CV as well (looking more intelligent on university applications + having more certified skills on future job applications), though hopefully what I learn will help when I try to read about biomedical technology in Japanese. Here’s to paper-chasing -.- 
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Yeah I have done some practice stuff just to see if I could do the questions and I was amazed how many things really just have the answer in one small bit and the rest is basically irrelevant if you understood it or not. Theres definitely test taking skills that are relevant which is something I wanna dedicate a couple days to. Just knowing what kinds of “tricky questions” and tips for answering there are would probably help.
Thanks, best of luck to you too. Yeah, I mean I think I’ll be fine but ynever know, right. Initially I was a bit worried about the listening portion because I did a practice question with leebo and it went over my head, but I went back just now and did the rest and they were easy as shit, so idk. Luckily its not like I need a perfect (or even good) score on the listening to pass the test so eh. Listening has also finally been something I’ve started practicing as of recently so it’ll only get easier too.
Are you gonna do the July one or December one?
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I’m going for the one in July because I’m hoping to include the certificate on my Japanese university applications, which will happen between June and November 2022. It’s not at all necessary for the applications because I’ll be applying for international programmes, but I just want to get it out of the way since I know some of the most interesting lectures in these programmes are only available in Japanese, so it might be easier for me to assure professors that I can handle classes in Japanese if I have a cert, or for me to arrange internships and so on. That aside, I think there are a few other tests I will need to take for my applications, so I might as well do everything before I submit my application file.
The last thing I’m hoping to do with my cert is to use it as leverage (whether for myself or for my teacher) when discussing what we’ll be doing for Japanese class since I’ll have to continue taking Japanese for another year since my engineering school doesn’t allow changes in compulsory language options. Maybe the school administration will have a better idea of what she means about having an unprecedentedly wide range of levels in her class when our JLPT results come in. (I think some of my classmates might take the test too, but not the N1. There are four of us who are around N3 or higher, whereas the rest of the class is doing N5/early N4 material.) At the worst, I guess I’ll be given projects to help with teaching the rest of the students, but if that gives me extra expressive practice and some freedom to hunt through material in Japanese, why not?
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That’s really interesting. When I took N3 in December 2019 time was definitely a factor for me on the reading section. I had enough time to attempt every question, but no time to check my answers. I got a passing score, but far from what I expected before taking the test. Of course, at that time I’d read a grand total of 5 books and at this point I’ve read 29. That said, I’m a slow reader in general (even in English) so this kind of timed exam is always a struggle for me. I suspect I might have trouble with N2 or N1 reading sections due to time even as I get more reading experience, but who knows. It’s not like I’ve done any practice tests.
I would definitely recommend practicing the reading question that shows a flyer or pamphlet or whatever. That requires a certain scanning and skimming skill even beyond the regular reading questions I think.
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Hmm, it might be a content thing then? The person in question mentioned that dies irae, a notoriously hard VN, helped a lot with n1 reading because the difficult expository writing. Then I guess if you’re used to something that hard, then reading an easier version goes by fast. Maybe not all content will do an equally nice job preparing you.
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Probably not a lot of JLPT questions about magic or paper making!
(There’s a reason I’m trying to read things besides 本好きの下克上.)
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I’m planning on taking either the N2 or N3 this year. In Autumn my motivation for studying decreases so I take the JLPT every year to change up my studying.
I increase my Japanese all year round until September . Then I start studying grammar for the JLPT and take some quizzes.
Happy 2022
Japanese study journey
-fall in love with the language
-move to Japan
-study randomly
-fail N4
-start wanikani
-discover immersion studying
- pass N4
-waiting for N3 result
How did I change the formating???
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That sounds possible. To me, some of the N1 questions I saw felt like Tobira comprehension questions, but I guess the words are a bit harder.
Maybe it’s also because in complex writing, it’s more likely for writers to draw parallels or otherwise refer back to earlier ideas. I noticed that some of the questions required understanding of that. Reading dictionary entries (and perhaps academic papers?) helped me pick up some of the common patterns, so it was doable. I guess I’ll find out what else these questions can be like as I do more practice.
This stuff probably isn’t as interesting as books, but newspaper articles aside, I find that articles on business sites discussing things like ‘「〜」とは？「〜」は間違い？’ can be a relatively gentle way to get used to fairly long explanations written in a formal style on a non-fiction topic.
If there are any reflections on values or ethics in the books you read, they might be helpful though. I had a short passage on what ‘pride’ really is for 2-3 sample questions, and it wasn’t too dissimilar from one of those ‘true meaning of strength’ scenes you might find in an anime, just that it was of course more serious and less dramatic.
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I seriously need a reminder for when the JLPT registration opens again, because if I miss the July registration I will be VERY disappointed in myself.
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I can recommend the Shinkanzen Master 読解 book. They walk you through all the different question types (e.g. there are short and medium and long texts, and the information extraction question based on a pamphlet, and then there are questions with two shorter texts with contrasting opinions, or with the same opinions, those things). They explain the types and what you should be aware of, and give quite a few examples that you can practice on. This way you will get a good feeling for what kinds of texts and questions there are and what they want to hear. In the answers section they also explain why certain answers are wrong. Also it’s interesting to note that all the texts on N2+N1 are real texts, they are not invented for the exam. (There’s a quote underneath each of them.)
If you are on the slower side of things, good time-keeping is important for N2 + N1 as the grammar, vocab and reading questions are all together in the same time slot (not split up into two blocks as it is in N3 and below). It definitely was important for me as I’m also a slow reader.
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Oh god no, the flashbacks 
Ah yeah, these are pretty cool. I sometimes come across them when looking for grammar points and end up on the same business blog with articles about business Japanese 
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I was not planning to pass the N3
So now I’ll double down and study even harder this year.
Maybe I might start studying for the N2 sooner
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I plan on taking N5 asap.
A lot of people downplay N5, but I think it’ll be good to help focus my goals, and also not to try and make too big a jump.
@Imtryingjapanese A poll in this thread (like the 2021 version) would be super cool!
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You have around half a year till the July JLPT. It’s totally realistic to get to N4 in this time frame. N4 is still very basic, so don’t worry about a difficulty jump. If you get to WK lvl 10-15 by July kanji would be a breeze too. Just make sure you study all the basic grammar in the meantime 
The reason to aim for N4 instead of N5 is that you have plenty of time to get to N4 and your progress will be faster if you aim for a higher bar.
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i agree. people are different. i don’t know why people argue against taking the easier tests or taking it at all. if it helps you set goals, then i think it’s well worth it.
am glad for the people who are disciplined or learn well in other ways, but having a goalpost is a huge help for me.
i know for sure the way i studied completely changed when they cancelled the tests. i gave up on grammar and only stuck to WK, which is nowhere enough.
when i started (i reset so that was actually march 2020), i was planning to do the tests in order and pace my studies around that.
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Well, I just passed N5 today with 180/180 so I’m thinking of giving N4 this June!
My teacher said he thought I was N4 level and asked me why I’m giving N5 but tbh I was very low on confidence so I chose to start with the first level. Dunno if it was a waste of my time or not, but it definitely was a massive confidence boost so maybe it wasn’t a bad decision after all
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I took the N5 in December! It’s great that you can skip levels and stuff for the JLPT, but I was happy to start from the bottom so to speak. It felt like a gentle way of easing in, even though I was in bits opening my results today. I think N4 would have been too much of a jump for me at the time, and that’ll be my aim for this year instead.
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Yah, people say N4 is still “basic”, but I think that’s pretty relative and I’m not trying to sprint this - so would prefer to feel comfortable going into JLPT. I’ll still consider N4 if I start taking papers and getting consistent 100%s, but I doubt that’d happen.
i know for sure the way i studied completely changed when they cancelled the tests. i gave up on grammar and only stuck to WK, which is nowhere enough.
@saibaneko Yup! That’s exactly what I want, I want having actually signed up to JLPT to pressure me into grammar work. I do have Bunpro and Genki, but they are just harder to keep up with for me without pressure for some reason. Strange 
It felt like a gentle way of easing in, even though I was in bits opening my results today.
I’m glad you were happy with the pacing, and I hope you did well!
Edit: tbf, I suppose I did say “asap”. That’s more just because I wanted to take it last December, but both COVID and life got in the way 
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I’m contemplating if I should try to go for N2 in December… but it’s been ages since I took N3 (in 2016 I think?) and I haven’t really been studying since, so I probably need lots and lots of review of N3 material before I can even properly start N2 stuff 
Maybe I should take N3 again instead? But then again, aiming high and seeing where it gets me doesn’t sound too bad either.
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