Vtuber zatsudan and audiobooks, really*.
*I started listening practice after 6000+ hours of study/reading LNs, VNs, Manga, and srsing over 20,000 words so your experience will probably vary and you might want to start with something easier.
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where did you do the practice test?
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Do you like anime? If you do, I recommend watching anime you like completely in Japanese, preferably with Japanese subs, but if those aren’t an option then without subs. Especially in the beginning you should choose something you have already watched so you don’t have to worry about following the plot. Despite my low level I recently started watching even completely new animes in Japanese, if there’s something I don’t get I’ll check the fandom wiki’s plot summary to catch me up to speed. It really does wonders for your listening comprehension.
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Peppa mfing Pig. Never thought that simple. Gonna give it a try. Ty!
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Just googled it and clicked the first link to be honest.
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I thought it was a mockup test made by some institution.
usually those random websites have outdated and full of errors tests.
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I don’t see how WK is going to help with the N5 test. There are few kanji in that test. I am also going to take the N5 and actually I’m a bit afraid of having to read stuff without kanji… Moreover, WK does not teach you any grammar. To be able to read and understand speech, you need grammar. I would get Genki and do all the exercises in the workbook. It has several nice listening comprehension exercises in the spirit of N5 (get information about what is being described) as well as grammar exercises.
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I tried a N5 practice test at around level 18, if I remember correctly?
Couldn’t understand anything: the questions, the way the exercises worked, the speaking… ESPECIALLY THE SPEAKING.
For whatever reason I passed it, but it was 118/180 (is that REALLY a pass score?? 
). And it was only a practice test anyways, so, you know…
Anyways, I went to check another practice test recently (at level 20) after roughly 8 months… Did I magically understand a lot more?
No. No I did not. Actually, it felt like I had regressed 
Well, just wanted to butt in here to say you are not alone. Now I’m off to also go do some more studying
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Of course it helps. WK has taught me more vocabulary in a way that no other platform has. Many other users here support that statement as well from what I’ve read. As for specific N5 practice? Of course not. WK isn’t an N# anything prep course. It’s merely just a useful resource.
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I didn’t know that. Thanks Evan.
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N5 listening resources that I found truly helpful as an absolute beginner:
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I do enjoy con Teppei. That man’s voice is so soothing, if that’s the word 
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Recently sat for and passed N5 after two years of learning from zero. I learn in a classroom setting with an instructor and about 15 other students. We used MNN for N5-N4 level study.
Practice/mock tests helped prepare me for the JLPT. I have no major issues with kanji, grammar, or reading comprehension, but I do think that I struggle the most with listening comprehension. My advice is: don’t panic. Once you lose your head trying to figure out one teeny tiny portion of the conversation, the entire question goes down the drain.
To train listening comprehension, repetitive listening to content suitable for your level might be a good idea, so you can be more familiar with the sounds and intonation of the language. I find that I may not be able to catch everything the first time, but upon repeat listens, I’m able to pick up more details and information.
Give Japanese with Shun a listen. He’s on both Spotify and YouTube, I believe. 
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Not just for listening, but for all aspects, I recommend the free online Marugoto and Rikai courses on the “Minato” platform.
Do the A1-1 course, then continue to A1-2 course if you like the approach, and preferably do some of the A2 courses too if you have time
If you really like it, you can keep going to the next level too, all for free 
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Hi, i am on level 7 currently and i will take a break from the Lessons after i reach level 11 for N5 practice.
My current plan for listening comprehension is to watch japanese VTuber Clips since they often have the actual Kanji/Hiragana etc. displayed as Subtitles and are speaking mostly simple sentences.
Of course i dont know how that method will perform in reality and will by no means be the only one but i think it is a good idea to begin with.
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won’t you grab at least one book to study N5?
With vtuber only you dont learn even basic grammar IMO.
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As far as studying for the JLPT specifically, I don’t recommend. That being said, some JLPT material helps you understand the grammar and provides the listening and reading experience that will help with both your comprehension, and with the test.
The goal is to learn Japanese, not how to pass a Japanese test. With that in mind, some resources that helped me understand Japanese at the N5 level were:
KawaiiNihongo (app) - Destroys DuoLingo with better explanations and is more fun
Anki Decks (Tango and Kanji)
You’re already using Genki, so that’s sufficient for a primary textbook
BunPro
This book helped me a lot for verb/adjective conjugation: https://www.amazon.com/Master-Japanese-Conjugations-JLPT-N5/dp/4866392339
This series of books was great for me to begin learning with sentence patterns. https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/水谷-信子/dp/4863922051/
The Try series is a great hybrid between JLPT prep and actual language instruction. https://www.amazon.com/TRY-日本語能力試験-N5-文法から伸ばす日本語-改訂版/dp/4872179005
As for listening, there are a lot of free resources but for books, there aren’t a lot that are dedicated solely to it. I tried this one, and found it to be somewhat useful, but overall a rather mediocre book. I wasn’t struggling that much with listening though, so perhaps you would get more out of it than me. https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/有田-聡子/dp/4863923023/
You can also use graded readers which usually have accompanying audio.
You don’t need to buy a lot of books. Or any really. But if you are genuinely struggling, and you haven’t found a resource that works for you at filling a particular knowledge gap, sometimes shelling out for another book does the trick.
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Hey at this point i cant even hear induvidual words out of a spoken sentence. Thats why i said to start somewhere.
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If you do Wanikani up to around level 10 and Genki I, you will absolutely crush the N5 exam - insert asterisk here. You have to do them “out loud”, using your mouth. It’s not enough to just read in your mind. You will get killed on the listening part.
The other good news is, before I took the N5 (like, even mere days before) I was doing practice N5 listening quizzes on YouTube and doing terrible. But the actual test wasn’t quite that hard. I mean, I still felt like an idiot afterwards, but I got a much better score than I felt like at the time.
I would also add BunPro N5 to “burn in” some of the grammar patterns so well that’s one less thing you need to think about in real time.
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On the one hand I would agree with that, as in, the certification doesn’t mean much. But for two reasons I would advise someone who’s serious about going all the way for reasons and not just a hobbyist, to take the N5 for real. First is a checkpoint - if you think you’re at a level where you should be able to pass N5 and you don’t, then you need to change something about the way you’re studying for the exam (specifically, all exams have better or worse strategies just due to the way the questions are asked, emphasis on certain things, etc.). Which is similar to the second thing, you don’t want the exam experience to be new to you when it matters most. Get that practice on a lower-stakes one.
That doesn’t necessarily mean do it over if you fail. You don’t have to pass N5 before you try N4 or N3. But it’s early intel on what it takes to pass
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