Thanks for sharing, that was really useful! I got one wrong which confirms what I already knew, kanji is the least of my worries and I need to stop procrastinating so much with wanikani and actually do some real listening practice…
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That’s my new strategy. Holding off on learning on WK for now, keeping up with daily reviews, and filling in kanji knowledge gaps for this level with different resources. Specifically, trying to learn them in context with example sentences that also showcase N3 grammar.
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Does any of you use Nihongo no Mori and can explain to me what exactly they offer? I was really excited registering at their website/downloading their app but it seems they published a book recently and it appears to me as if their content might bow be based on that book. So I wonder if I understand that correctly and whether it’s still helpful even if I don’t own the book?
I somehow thought they offered various listening and maybe grammar lessons I could subscribe to.
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I had a few free hours last night so I did my first N3 practice test after putting it off for months and I did much better than I was expecting, 154/180! Pretty even scores across all sections but listening turned out to be my best which I wasn’t expecting at all. It was probably a bit of a fluke and I definitely don’t expect to get a score like that in the real exam, but I feel like it at least confirms I wasn’t completely overreaching by attempting N3. I feel extra motivated to keep studying now, knowing that passing is an achievable goal.
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I signed up to take the N3 in December in the U.S.! I missed the opening date by a couple of days and my city didn’t have places anymore so I’ll have to go to Philly on Dec 1 to take it but it’s ok.
I actually thought I might go for N2 given I had covered all kanji in WK and had mostly finished bunpro grammar but then I looked at a couple of practice tests and was completely humbled by the experience ! N2 seems an enormous leap from N3 (and don’t even want to think about N1).
I recently came back from a quick trip to Japan and picked up the N3 and N2 日本語の森 books. They look useful practice tools and my plan is to cover all practice questions on the N3 book before the test. I feel confident with kanji but need to definitely practice reading and listening comprehension!
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I use it! They offer polished video lessons with comment areas where you can ask questions or write example sentences and get quick feedback. The books they sell are not required to have. The video lessons are in the same order as the content of the workbook, so I like using them in tandem, but one is not necessary for the other.
Content areas:
- Kanji
- Vocab
- Grammar
- Listening Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Mock tests (3x I believe)
- Pre-JLPT prep livestream videos
Many of the video lessons are interactive. For example, prior to learning a vocab word in context, you are provided a no-stakes quiz to see if you know the word ahead of time. There is no penalty whatsoever if you get it wrong:
The lessons themselves look like this and are taught with the same cadence and flow as a real classroom, which really appeals to me as someone who thrived in a classroom setting:
Grammar can be difficult to simply “explain” so those videos include scenarios where you can see real situations where the grammar point would fit. Reading comprehension videos break down entire passages and their multiple-choice answers to provide strategies for finding the right answer. And the listening comprehension videos use the specific JLPT-style listening format.
Nihongo no Mori also publishes livestreams on their Youtube channel, but they are only available for viewing for one week before being removed. However, all of them can be found in the “final test livestream” section indefinitely.
Anyone who struggles with video lessons might not like the Nihongo no Mori website service but, like I mentioned, I really enjoy watching the videos in tandem with using the この一冊で合格する workbook. (Not sponsored, I promise) (although, if they wanted to sponsor me…)
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Tysm for this extensive explanation! 
Do they charge users on a monthly basis? (It’s a bit ridiculous to ask this sorry. I really tried understanding the system on my own without having to sign up first 
)
How long have you been using it already?
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The yen-USD conversion rate is tipped well in my direction currently so I bought the one year subscription in mid-July. It was just one payment. The screenshots I took are all of the N3 lessons, but I’m currently using the lessons for N2 prep twice per week and I’m at 5%-ish of each category. It’s a little mindblowing that there are 199 videos available for grammar, 122 videos for vocab, etc. Just a massive amount of content available – I’m not even sure I’ll be able to finish everything before the July JLPT next year!
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I just bought one month access now and tried the grammar videos. The teacher talks so fast my head is spinning trying to follow the explanations. And the N4 grammar points used in the example sentences remind me of all my shortcomings in that department 
ahaha
Well good luck with your N2 studies. And thanks again for the really helpful explanation！！
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I’m currently studying a lot. And I try to focus on listening since this seems like something I will need the most time to make the necessary progress in.
It’s hitting me lately on how big the listening gap between my level and N3 listening is. While I can finally listen to ‘Japanese with Shun’ leisurely that’s supposedly only N5ish kinda content.
The next step-up, for which I use the ‘Everyday Japanese with Sayuri’ N4ish kinda podcast, is still really challenging for me though. And I’m not sure how I can manage to bridge my skill gap to N3 efficiently.
I even finally tried watching anime in Japanese with Japanese subs but that feels still far too hard and is more about either not understanding 95% of what’s being said (even when they use grammar and vocab I’m kinda familiar with) or having to look up things constantly which turns the whole ordeal more into a vocab and grammar lesson than listening practice 
I can’t believe there’re people that able to understand something like anime this early on in their language learning journey. Are they really? Are they just taking in the overall story and assuming what’s happening? 
Well
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Anime does cover quite a wide range – it’s a lot easier to understand most of and keep up with an episode of Card Captor Sakura than an episode of Death Note…
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I remember also being completely overwhelmed trying to watch One Piece etc. with just JP subtitles for the first time a few months ago. You can try to bridge the gap to understanding Japanese content which helped for me - watching Japanese movies of books I’d read in English etc, or reading books in JP which again I’d already read in English.
Maybe you could try watching episodes of Anime you know well, just only with JP subtitles this time. This helps you know what to expect, and if you know the flow of the story already then it makes it a lot easier to predict and associate what is being said with your expectations, and allows you to spend more time getting the gist of what people are saying, and improving.
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That’s such a good suggestion thank you! I’m not interested in consuming anime and manga and such but this is probably going to help a lot so I’m going to give it a try.
Everyone in this thread what N3 podcasts do you listen to?
Wanikani’s mother has a list of suggestions for intermediate listeners. Have you tried any of these and can recommend or recommend against it?
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“Let’s Talk in Japanese”, which is badly named as it’s a monologue and not a conversation or conversation practice, is a good one. Tomo grades each episode by JLPT level. In his opening lines he says he made the resource because dramas and movies are too difficult and other stuff is boring. They’re around 10mins each and I really like them.
Nihongo Picnic is quite good too, and does have some conversation episodes.
For anime, try Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo. The characters are young and the plot is fairly simple, so most of the dialogue is too. I’ve been watching Ranma 1/2 on Netflix and that’s quite fast paced with slang dialogue, but still fairly easy to understand from context.
Practicing listening with JLPT mocks/past papers might be most effective though, as the listening sections have that distinctive style.
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I’ll try having a go with these podcasts. Thanks! Do you have favorite episodes of them btw? Maybe a bit random but I kinda feel lost when trying a new podcast and having to choose from a plethora of episodes hehe
I tried Ranma before but I don’t get much out of it language study wise. It’s too challenging.
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I listened to episodes of both podcasts you recommended and found them to be easy enough and entertaining. Thank you 
Focusing on listening also really seems to be paying off. I follow along the explanations at Nihongo no Mori now 
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I successfully registered for the N3 in July in Düsseldorf.
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Applications for the JLPT just opened here in Brazil, after doing my first full mock test of the N3 and passing (although with a bad grade) i decided to apply for the July test.
Now i just want to focus 110% on listening, and also on improving the grammar/reading comprehension part of the test which was my worst grade, not sure on what’s the best way to improve that part besides reading more, but I’m not sure if only reading is enough, but I’ll be trying my best anyway.
There’s still 4 months to the test, so if I play my cards right i think i have a fair shot at passing it.
For those that have already took the test before, i have learned about 3.300 words so far, that’s what WKStats tell me at least, is that enough? should i be focusing more on improving grammar or getting more vocab?
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How are you preparing for listening? Podcasts, specific resources? And for reading - do you read manga, easy light novels? Do you think your issue was understanding, or more reading speed? I guess this would help gauge where your issue could be and give you some tips (I passed N3 one and a half years ago).
I think your vocab is fine, I’d let WK continue doing its work but not focus too intensely on that. Boa sorte em Julho!
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Boa sorte em Julho!
Muito obrigado, farei meu melhor! 
So, for the listening i do some podcasts when I’m walking, my favorite go to podcast for the last months has been Bite Size Japanese with Layla, I feel that the speed, pronunciation, choice of words and duration just fits very well with my current level, I try YUYU from time to time, but it’s still a bit too fast and the duration too long as well, but I feel like starting to listen to his podcast more is gonna be the logical next step.
Besides podcasts, I also watch on YouTube a couple of different channels, けんさんおかえり, Miku real Japanese, Japanese with Shun, etc…
And I also watch some slice of life animes to get used to more slang, and also because the topics are usually very common, I feel that these types of anime are very good for vocab hunting.
For the reading part, I’ve been doing a lot of Satori Reader, trying to read every story from the “easier” graded up to the most advanced, just started to read “Trees of happiness”, also do some easy news from time to time, and manga I’ve only read 3 volumes of よつばと, I do have like 10 volumes of One Piece ready to go, I’ve attempted to read it once in the past but got a bit overwhelmed with the weird vocab, but it might be easier to understand now, so i guess I’ll give it a shot again.
As for the issues I have with the grammar section of the JLPT, these tipes of questions are the bane of my existence, I can never get the order right because it seems like there’s more than 1 way of ordering it.
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