Hi,
So if it’s too long, you can just skip it to the CONCLUSIONS or QUESTIONS part below the explanations.
// So here’s my SITUATION:
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Now it’s Thursday noon Japan time, I take JLPT N3 this Sunday at noon Japan time.
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I’ve been at school in N3 for the past 6 months, 2 times N3, but had close to zero time to study, except grammar because it doesn’t take too long, but say 10% of kanji and vocabulary.
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I’m not stressed or panicking about my situation, I just wanna be smart on what to do for these 3 days.
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When I can study, I usually understand fast and I have a good memory (not boasting or whatever, just explaining the situation in full for the questions that come below).
CURRENT LEVEL, Strenghts & Weaknesses:
- I’m decently ok on grammar, but not 100%, as I didn’t review throughout the year what I had already learned once, and there are a few points I never studied:
Yesterday I took my textbook to check, many points were already ok, but still I could only review the first third of the book because of points that I wasn’t mastering, and where I had to take clear notes to remember them.
Most of these must be ok now, but there are still the second thirds to review.
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I’m LATE on kanji and vocabulary, like LATE.
My N3 kanji test scores at school until now using official JLPT material have been 21/60, 30/60, 37/60, 12/60. -
I can usually easily understand a text when I more or less know the vocabulary or enough to guess what I don’t, and top scored in N4 reading comprehension, being late on kanji and vocabulary is often ruining it for me in N3.
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And even with grammar, when you don’t know the sentence’s word, and don’t even know if is describing a pleasant or unpleasant situation, even if you know the grammar points you just can’t choose the right one here.
So lack of kanji/vocab also gives me less good grammar scores than I could have. -
I’m good at listening comprehension: 4 tests, 46/60, 50/60, 50/60, 55/60
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My overall scores at these mock JLPT tests have been 0,53%, 0,58, 0,61, 0,56.
// So, CONCLUSIONS:
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Assuming I don’t study before the test (but I am), depending on the wind I can pass it or not pass it.
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I NEED to remember as many (useful…) kanji and vocabulary before that, first to be get at least the mandatory 20/60, and of course to improve my reading comprehension.
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It would be good to finish reviewing grammar, so I can hope for good results there.
But a) If each third of the book takes a day, I’m almost dead for kanji/vocabulary, and b) Technically grammar is just half of the Grammar / Reading test, right?
So, QUESTIONS:
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Based on your experience and knowledge of the actual JLPT, do you have a recommended strategy regarding what to prioritize?
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As I can’t catch-up with months of kanji and vocabulary in days, is there some resources, or can you point from your experience, what would be the smartest things to learn, topics, types of words, essential kanji… to be as efficient as I can and limit the damage, both for the 文字語彙 test, and to give me chances to understand the vocabulary enough in the Grammar / Reading test?
I don’t know, is there magic cheatsheet like “The most important ones that you really can’t miss for JLPT N3”, you know? Or do you have personal recos?
- Obiously any informed advice about anything would be much appreciated
PS - As I said, I’m not panicking or anything, all good on that, and if you don’t have the answer to my questions I’ll do what I intuite is good and hope for the best, but I just thought some of you here might be informed of things I don’t know, or see things I don’t see:)
Sorry for the long post and thank you so much in advance!!
the book clubs work!!
