Yeah, I’m aware, and honestly, even if I hadn’t known, I think it’s a good thing you said so. That’s the reason I said ‘at the very least… full marks on the N1’ because it’s below C2. I personally treat the N1 as B2-C1 and only assume it reflects roughly a C1 level if you get a high score. I think I’m around C1 right now, but I’ve got plenty of knowledge gaps in places.
Honestly, I’ve taken a look at BJT samples as well and I felt like it was very, well… business-focused. Some of it is relatively simple if you know a lot of keigo. I personally wouldn’t call it C2 either. My intention is to get to a de facto C2 on my own and then retake the N1 just as a challenge. Afterwards, if I need a certificate for that (or just want a challenge), I’ll take the 日本語検定1級 when I’m in Japan. That itself may not prove you’re ‘at C2’ because it doesn’t test speaking or writing abilities, but since it’s the highest level you can take as a Japanese person (and it’s intended for native speakers)… I might as well try it.
Practically speaking though, for the moment, I’m just going to read the news a lot and also try opening some school textbooks in Japanese to learn the words that a Japanese person would know (and which I don’t).
That’s great! I guess it really was necessary to register ASAP.
Well, my friend who was planning to take it as well also missed it so I guess we might just take it together in December. We shall see… he’s actually half-Japanese, but our teacher recommended he take it just to prove for professional purposes that he’s fluent enough. He’s better at speaking than I am, whereas I’m better with kanji and writing, so it’s always interesting to see what happens when we do the same exercises/tests.
To get a spot for the December 2022 exam, I woke up super early and kept pressing refresh till the sign-up button went live, I had most the answers already typed up and ready to copy and paste in.
I know it sounds insane, but there’s a massive backlog of people due to the COVID cancellations.
The test guide for July 2023 can be found here. English is from page 20, it’s handy to read the whole thing if you are unfamiliar with the format of the exam, but questions they’ll ask on the application form start on page 23. Many are multiple choice, but I find it is quicker when you know what to expect.
I usually have my personal details line by line on a word document ready to copy and paste. (full name, address, email, contact number). Payment details could be helpful too if they aren’t saved to your device, the place is not secured till they receive the money.
Besides all the stress of sitting an exam for the first time in about 15 years, I found the experience at SOAS good. Everyone was friendly and it was nice to chat in the breaks.
I too, like many others, missed the window for the JlPT in London last year.
This year, I must take and pass the N2 as I’m applying for work from October. I’m hoping the test site in The University of Leister has more availability
Wishing the best of luck to any and all who are applying!
Fazi, thank you so much, you are an absolute star. I owe you a coffee if we’re both at SOAS in July I’ll be in the USA Monday so will wake up at 2 and do as you recommended! Thanks a million.
Good luck getting in at Leicester! I don’t know whether to try Soas first or if I can risk it and wait the hour until the Leicester applications open. I took a big break so I don’t want to miss it again!
Does anyone know around what time the December registration will be open?
(Somebody mentioned August?)
It’s a little early to ask perhaps, but I’ll just add it to my calendar and check it off my list.
…and there’s a whole list of cities where you can take the test on that page. I don’t know if signing up is a pain, but at the very least, it seems like a lot of locations are available.
August is what I told my friend. I’m basing that on the fact that registration for July always opens in March in France, so that gives us a four-month gap. However, as you might know, in some countries, registration for July opens way earlier (e.g. at the end of January), so it’s hardly a universal thing.
I think early August is a safe bet either way though. The test results for July will be out in August at the very earliest, and most centres don’t open registration before results for the previous session are out, so you can’t really go wrong checking registration websites then!
Registration dates are announced after the results of the previous test. So no one will know until a few weeks to a month after the July test results are out in August.
I can recommend Bulgaria! It will be lovely during summer and the capital is beautiful. The test itself is laughably cheap compared to some other countries too. The application process is fully digital but it is admittedly a bit dodgy looking (and the english is not available everywhere so I used google translate for some parts).
so I guess we might just take it together in December. We shall see… he’s actually half-Japanese, but our teacher recommended he take it just to prove for professional purposes that he’s fluent enough. He’s better at speaking than I am, whereas I’m better with kanji and writing, so it’s always interesting to see what happens when we do the same exercises/tests.
