Wanikani July JLPT Community Event (aka Joint Mock JLPT on July 4th, home thread)

[NathaLire]

@banditraider

I have some suggestions again!

• have you been sticking to your study plan (if you had one)?
• have you changed or plan to change your plan/methods?

They’re not necessary, but it’d be nice to see if anyone’s plans have changed already. I’m excited to hear how everyone else is doing so far. I think it’ll be good motivation too.

Awesome! I actually did change my plans so that’s a really good question I think I’ll definitely include these questions and the ones you suggested before. I intended to make the post last Friday but had a migraine and decided against it, so I’m working on the post now!

@banditraider

I haven’t mentioned it because it’s a bit dorky but I’ve been playing an otome visual novel, so I get some listening practice on top of the reading. It’s called もし、この世界に神様がいるとするならば。 Or もし神 for short.

Nooo that’s not dorky at all! Whatever helps you learn Japanese is a good method (and I’ve heard so many people who use otome games to learn actually). I’ve never tried it before because I just didn’t know where to find them, but I see you posted a link so I’ll check that out for sure. I also didn’t play games a lot, but recently I started playing fire emblem three houses in Japanese and I LOVE IT so yes, will definitely check out otome games!

@bearytoast

Alice in the Country of Spades is getting released this year, so I’m working very hard to be able to play it when it’s released

This is actually such a nice, concrete goal! Twisted wonderland can be the warm-up then

@bearytoast

That makes me feel a bit more confident! I’m still trying to figure out my study plan, but I think being able to have a goal to work towards (aka the mock test) is pretty helpful! Also, the vocabulary website you posted seems super helpful so I might start using it as well

I’m glad Having a goal helps me a lot as well. I hope the website is useful for you! I just like to use lists so this works perfectly for me haha

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Ok so I’m making the check-in post right now! No matter how active this thread is, I need all of this to stay motivated so I’ll be making these check-in posts bi-weekly Feel free to talk about anything here (as long as it’s slightly related to the JLPT), because others might find your ideas/study routine super insightful and helpful for their own routines.

[NathaLire]

Check-in (#1) March 14th

How does it work?

These check-in posts were suggested by @banditraider and will be made bi-weekly (on Sundays). Feel free to respond, whether you’re studying more casually, or even if you’re taking the actual JLPT! It might be a nice way to hold yourself accountable, or just see how you’re progressing over time (if you regularly respond). The format and included questions aren’t set in stone at all, so if you have any suggestions, please reply!

Q1: How have you been sticking to your study schedule, compared to the start of this thread?

• I have stuck to my schedule 75% - 100% of the time
• I have stuck to my schedule around 50% of the time
• I have stuck to my schedule 0% to 25% of the time
• I do not have a clear schedule, but I have studied Japanese regularly
• I do not have a clear schedule yet, but I am in the process of making one
• I have not started studying for the JLPT yet
• Other (please comment)

Q2: Have you made any changes to your study routine (if you have one) or methods since the start of this thread?

• No
• Yes, I have changed my routine so I spend less time on Japanese than I originally intended
• Yes, I have changed my routine so I spend more time on Japanese than I originally intended
• Yes, I have cut some methods from my routine
• Yes, I have discovered new studying methods that I would like to add to my routine (please comment!)
• Yes, I have decided to switch my focus to a different skill (e.g., listening instead of reading)
• Yes, but I haven’t changed my routine/methods in any of the ways mentioned above (please comment!)
• Other (please comment!)

Q3: How confident are you for the JLPT, right now?

• Very confident
• Fairly confident
• Neither
• Not very confident
• Not confident at all

Q4: What is your strength in Japanese, right now?

• Listening
• Reading
• Speaking
• Vocabulary
• Kanji
• Writing
• My skills are all at a similar level
• I don’t know
• Other (please comment!)

Q5: What is your weakness in Japanese, right now?

• Listening
• Reading
• Speaking
• Vocabulary
• Kanji
• Writing
• My skills are all at a similar level
• I don’t know
• Other (please comment!)

All polls close in 2 weeks, just before the next check-in post.

Please leave a comment if you feel a question or answering option is missing/should be changed! Also feel free to leave any other comments you might have!

[Phryne]

I started listening practice, but it’s a bit disheartening. I am using the Noriko podcast but I understand about 30%…? Up to about 60-70% after I’ve read through the transcript. There’s a lot of vocab I do know, but just don’t recognise without seeing the kanji. I imagine I’ll get better if I just grit my teeth and stick with it, but it feels super demotivating.

So I’ve come up with something else; I am going to make an Anki deck out of the sentence audio of the Hajimete Tango books. I’ve worked my way through the N5 and N4 books, so I should know all of the vocab in those sentences (in principle lol). Hopefully using these sentences will help me (1) recognise vocab I already know without kanji and (2) parse the grammar at live speed. The SRS system will mean that I can really focus on the stuff that’s tricky instead of just having to let it go like I need to with the Noriko podcasts.

Would love to hear how other people are doing their listening practice, especially absolute listening beginners.

Also, @NathaLire, thank you for setting up this check-in

[banditraider]

I’m feeling inspired just seeing how well you guys are doing on the check-in polls. I’m probably the least on-track person here, but I’m cheering you all on!

@Phryne

Would love to hear how other people are doing their listening practice, especially absolute listening beginners.

I’ve always seen Nihon con Teppei recommended here so you might have already heard of it, but it’s very good for complete beginners. I’ve done almost no listening practice ever, but the topics and vocab he uses are very simple and easy to understand. They’re also very short so you can listen to as many as you have time for.

Nihongo no Mori is good practice too since they also use simple language and you can slow the video playback speed on Youtube if it’s still too fast.

[Scylie]

@Phryne

So I’ve come up with something else; I am going to make an Anki deck out of the sentence audio of the Hajimete Tango books.

Just as a heads up in case you don’t already know, these decks already exist (for example here, but I think there are others too)
Might save you some work

[lucylavelle]

At the moment I’m trying to do both “Serious Studying” with the JLPT in mind, and also “Fun Studying” for immersion…and also for reminding myself that learning Japanese is fun and not just endless flashcards!

So on the serious side: I’m using WaniKani for Kanji, Bunpro for Grammar and have a weekly call with a tutor to practise speaking and listening.
I also have an assortment of Anki decks which mostly focus on vocabulary and kanji.

And on the fun side: I’m reading both Haikyuu and FukaBoku with the beginner bookclub, and (very slowly) playing Pokemon: Lets Go Eevee in Japanese. I keep a handwritten diary each day to practise outputting sentences, and I’ve found it really useful for identifying vocabulary and grammar that I want to be able to use.

Listening is my weak point. I really struggle with it so I need to try to focus on that a lot more rather than letting myself spend too much of my study time reading!
I find that I can listen to the same thing over and over and barely understand it even it’s using vocab and grammar that I should know. It’s like I’m not able to hear where the words break so it all just sounds like noise and I can’t focus properly.
But then if I read a transcript and then listen to it again I can suddenly hear it a whole lot better. I think I probably just need to spend a lot more time listening to natural speed Japanese, but I’d love to know if anybody else has, or has had, a similar issue!

[bearytoast]

I recommend the Nihon con Teppei podcast too. I just started using it this week and it’s really nice since each episode is only a few minutes long and very focused on 1-2 questions. I’m pretty early on in my studies (about chp 4 of Genki), but find I understand it pretty well (at least the first few episodes) I usually might look up a word or two to make sure I understand the topic, but then I can just enjoy listening!

[bearytoast]

I’m still in the process of nailing down my study routine, but have some weekly goals that I am trying to accomplish. Right now I’m doing a chapter of Genki + workbook pages per week, and will start using Minna No Nihongo on Monday. I’m using Bunpo, Wanikani, and Kitsune for SRS. I use Rocket Japanese to try and study listening/ speaking. For more fun stuff I try to translate a couple pages of manga a week and have some other resources like Japanese the Manga Way and the basic dictionary of grammar to supplement my textbooks. I think right now I’ve accumulated a lot of resources, so in the next few weeks I just need to work on figuring how and when I want to use them.

[jonmoxley]

Last August, I applied for the JLPT 1 hour after registration opened. To my surprise, there were no available slots left. I understood it because of the limited vacancy due to the Coronavirus.

Today, I applied for the JLPT on the dot at 9am, which is its opening registration time. But the registration website kept saying its servers were too busy and to try again later. It’s now 9:10am and I tried to apply again after refreshing 30 times. Now the registration is closed and completely booked.

Ah Singapore. The country ranked #1 in FOMO.

[bagusprabangkoro]

I’m interested with this mock JLPT! I’m still waiting for the actual announcement of JLPT in my country though.

Currently I’m mostly focusing on WK, sometime in Bunpro as well (but I stopped weeks ago due to my workload). I still do weekly course, there are 2 courses: one with MNN 1 halfway, other one is reading, listening, and grammar for N4. But overall I have no idea how far I did, so I need this mock JLPT (or real one if I can get) to know where I am and what is my weakness.

頑張ってみんなさん！

[TheFlaminMunch]

Currently my only grammar exposure is from BunPro, and I think I might have gone too quickly through some points, as my grasp on nuance and use cases is not that great currently. I think it is good idea to set a goal for myself of watching all N5 and N4 related Japanese Ammo videos before the start of July. (And write it here in a post to keep myself accountable.)
Also, I will (finally) finish my book before then. I have been writing notes on the translations for every word in there lately, but I’ve found that hampers my speed so much that my motivation quickly tapers off. I think I will stop writing notes and just continue reading. That way, I can even reread it freshly in the future .

[jonmoxley]

You should get DoIJG and DoAJG! I once used Bunpro only as well and was unable to tell the nuance difference for similar intermediate and advanced grammar expressions until I came across those two books. Misa is really good though for N5 and N4 Grammar

[TheFlaminMunch]

@sinkiepwnsinkie

Misa is really good though for N5 and N4 Grammar

Perfect! I’m taking the N4 JLPT anyway.

@sinkiepwnsinkie

DoIJG and DoAJG

What are these? Google doesn’t really help.

I’m a bit apprehensive with buying books to be quite honest though, as I’m afraid I’m going to be spending a lot of money on something that I might already know.

[jonmoxley]

Ah, my bad! Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar and Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar. I bought them on Amazon with my vouchers for about USD $50 total. By far the best grammar resources out there to be honest. As I mentioned these books really go in-depth into explaining the differences between similar grammar points. Their PDFs are widely available on the web for you to take a sample look at and for you to decide if you want to buy the books or not.

[TheFlaminMunch]

Ooh so it bundles grammar as well and specifically weighs nuances between them? Could you maybe post a few images? It sounds pretty good and quite affordable.

[jonmoxley]

Here you go!

[Ragecup]

I have decided to add a timed mock test as a checkpoint at the end of March to gauge my progress and highlight obvious areas of struggle.

When studying for my masters, I realised the importance of exam practice as well as knowledge/understanding. Focusing on timing, strategy is just as important.

You wouldn’t play a football match without having tactics to secure your victory. You shouldn’t really rely on your ability alone.

From what I’ve heard JLPT exam day is a LONG day. Sure there are breaks inbetween but long days of exams can be incredibly draining and adversely affect your performance on the day.

[leneux]

I’ve signed up! I’ve already settled into a good daily routine (I’m using Notion to gather and log all my resources and learning). Hopefully this will keep me on the study path. Aiming to take the test in December if I do OK and health permitting.

[PlagueOfLocusts]

It might be cutting things a bit close, but my hope is to be at Level 16 by mid-June (all N5 kanji covered). Once I’m feeling good about my kanji I’ll switch gears to using the Genki 1 books.

[yamitenshi]

By level 8 you’re at about 95% of the N5 kanji already, and by level 10 you’ve covered over 98%, so it’s not a huge deal if you don’t make it.

Even at level 4 you already have about 68% covered.

Also: