Posts Tagged ‘JLPT’
Japanese Test
Posted on: December 18, 2008
On December 7th, 2008 I took level one of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). I tried to study a little bit the day before, but I wasn’t really into it. I figured no sense trying to cram a years worth of studying into 1 day. I read over a few things, just hoping it might help me the next day and then I played video games and watched movies until one or two in the morning. My neighbor was also up late practicing his hyena impersonation. He didn’t stop until sometime after 4:30. I wanted to go over there and kick his door down and make him shut up, but I didn’t. I managed to wake up at 8:30. I didn’t feel too tired so I got out of bed and got ready to go to KyuSanDai to take the test. I road my bike to the station, but the train I need to catch would get me there too late. So I took a take. The taxi cost me 1,050 yen. The train would have cost me 180 yen. It’s a five minute taxi ride at most.
This time I knew what to expect. The university was full of Chinese and Korean students. In my exam room there were only two other non-asian guys. A white guy of about thirty-five or forty and a young black guy with a nose ring that looked like it belonged to a bull. In front of me and behind me were Koreans. To my left and right were Chinese. My test proctors were Japanese of course. The head lady in the room spoke in very deliberate Japanese. Making clear pauses inbetween the words which kind of made me angry a little. I mean we are taking level one, the most difficult level of all. Why should she dumb down her Japanese so much. Don’t—open—-test—until—we—say—start. I can understand talking like that for the low levels, but not for level one.
I took the test. The kanji and vocabulary section was stupid hard for me. Next was listening. It wasn’t as hard as I would have expected. The reading and grammar was hard, but not near as hard as the kanji section. I answered every question and did my best. During the listening section the CD skipped several times and everyone thought they would go back and replay those parts. Nope. They told us, “If you have a problem with the way we do things, write a letter to headquarters. Those are the rules.” Nobody wrote a letter or at leastI didn’t write them a letter. I just sent them a change of address. I’m going back to America.
So I just finished taking the practice test for the Business Japanese Test (BJT). There are 3 sections to the test. In the first section for each question you have to look at a picture and listen to some phrases and select the one out of 4 choices that best describes the picture. I did the best on the Section 1. The next section is a little more challenging because you have to do a little multi-tasking. For each question there is a dialogue you listen to and you have to either fill-in the blanks for a conversation, or use a written memo or graph to make the best selection. Section 2 was the hardest for me. The last section is fairly start forward. If you took the JLPT, you will be very familiar with this part, because basically it is just grammar and reading comprehension questions. I did ok, but not as well as I would have liked. With one minute remaining I filled in the last 5 questions without looking at the questions. I was able to snag one write answer by doing that. So I tallied up my scores and I got 47 out of 100 questions right on the practice test. I did incredibly bad on the practice tests for the JLPT too, but that preparation helped me pass the test in the end.
Tests Tests and more Tests
Posted on: April 24, 2008
- In: fukuoka | goals | Japan | japanese | kanji | learning | Life | nihongo | Personal | test | translater | translator | Uncategorized | unique | Writing
- Leave a Comment
I’ve been trying to do some things to better my chances of getting a good job in Japan or in Hawaii later on. I signed up for the BJT (Business Japanese Test) that is coming up. I only have a couple of months to study for it, but honestly it looks much easier than the (JLPT) Japanese Language Proficiency Test that I took last December. Not many people take the test, but I think it’s worth it if it will motivate me to study a little more. Anyway, I think last year only around 86 people took the test in Fukuoka. But the number of test takers in Tokyo is more than 10 times that. I just hope it will help me get my foot into the door of a respectable company.
The next certificate I’m aiming for is the Level 4 of the Kanji Kentei test. Unfortunately the test dates are on the same day so I’m going to take it in October or November I can’t remember exactly which month it’s being held in. Anyway, Level 1 of the Kanji Kentei is nearly impossible to get for you average Japanese. My girlfriend tried to do a practice quiz for Level 1 and she maybe got 3 out of 10 questions right. It’s really hard. The average Japanese person who is fairly well educated can pass level 3 with a little bit of studying. Level 2 might require some serious hitting of the books. My problem is getting the 4 kanji compounds correct. I don’t know the idioms or expressions so I can only guess at the answer.
Then of course I’m aiming for Level 1 of the JLPT in December. I hope that taking these other tests will give me bit of an edge when it comes to taking the monster of test in December. If I can pass it I’ll seriously consider going back home to America to get a job as in translation or interpretation. I don’t want all my studying to be for not.
If you are interested in taking the tests I mentioned please click on the links below for more information. You can also find a wealth of information about the tests in English on wikipedia. I know it helped me.
Business Japanese Test http://www.jetro.go.jp/course/bjt/
Kanji Exam http://www.kanken.or.jp/index.html
Japanese Language Proficiency Test http://momo.jpf.go.jp/jlpt/home.html
I had a 50/50 chance
Posted on: February 9, 2008
I came home from work after a miserable day. The classes were fine. Nobody at work was irritating me. I just felt really bad. My joints were all achy. I had a sore throat, a runny nose, a headache and chills to top it off. I took my mother’s advice and took some Bufferin and vitamin C rested. When I got home I saw a single letter waiting for me in my mailbox. The lettering was handwritten with no return address. I wondered for a moment who it was from. Then I read at the bottom examinee number. It was the results of my JLPT.
I had been waiting since December 2nd to find out my results. I got inside my house as soon as possible. I dropped my key as I fumbled through the entrance with excite me. I didn’t want to look. I thought I had a 50/50 chance right after I took the test, but as time passed I wasn’t so optimistic. I gently opened the letter. Inside was a postcard. I opened the postcard. I hadn’t even taken the time to turn on the lights. In the dim light I read GOKAKU. I passed Level 2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. http://momo.jpf.go.jp/jlpt/e/about_e.html The average score for the test based previous tests results is about 217 points. To pass the test you must get at least 240 points. I managed to get 246 points.
Let me sum up what this means. It means that God has been good to me. I was almost certain of failure as I opened the letter, but despite all my doubts I passed. With the certificate I can get a better job. I’m not sure what kind of job, but most definitely a better paying job. I could increase my salary by at least 1 – 2 million more yen per year (about $9,315.75 – $18,631.51). I need to start searching for a job soon. The new fiscal year starts April 1st in Japan and many companies hire new people just before then.
Year of the Dog's Weblog 