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Japanese from scratch TAC 2015 東亜 | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5763 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes  Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 313 of 1702 05 May 2012 at 9:06am | IP Logged |
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If you haven't done so yet you should definitely check out the sample questions for each level on the official JLPT website which will give you a better idea of what you could aim for in December. When I decided to take N3, it was because the N4 questions were too easy but the N2 ones seemed impossible. I knew I'd have to do work to get N3 but it felt achievable. I'm really glad I decided to sit the exam this summer though. I've learned a lot more than I expected.
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| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4965 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 314 of 1702 05 May 2012 at 9:38am | IP Logged |
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I haven't done that yet. I did briefly do the N5 a little when I was in class and asking my professor. He has
this idea that Americans stink at kanji and thought it would hold me back but N5 surely doesn't have any challenging kanji. I haven't taken the N4 one though. To be honest I'm concerned the vocab might be challenging and I wanted to cram vocab for a month and then see. But I might as well just check it now to get an idea. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| g-bod Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5763 days ago 1485 posts - 2002 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: French, German | Message 315 of 1702 05 May 2012 at 12:02pm | IP Logged |
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Yeah as you move up the levels vocabulary does become more of an issue. I thought I could deal with this just by cramming a load of vocabulary flashcards going from Japanese > English and also English > Japanese for words listed in N3 vocabulary preparation books but this didn't work very well for me.
I think it is important to pay attention to the format of the test questions. For kanji there are two question types: The first gives a kanji word as part of an example sentence and you have to pick the correct reading. The second gives a word written in hiragana as part of an example sentence and you have to pick the correct way of writing it from a list of options. For vocabulary the question types are as follows: Picking the correct word from a list of options to fit the gap in an example sentence Picking a word/phrase from a list which is closest in meaning to a word/phrase underlined in an example sentence Also, from N4 upwards, you have a question type where they give you a word used in four separate sentences and you have to pick which sentence uses that word correctly. I am finding this type of question to be the most evil at the moment! I haven't actually done any real work on my kanji in preparation for the test because I drilled enough kanji vocab last year to prepare me for this level and I find that, for me at least, the readings seem to stick better than the meanings anyway. The vocabulary sections have been a lot trickier. I think perhaps for N5 and N4, the range of vocabulary they use to set the questions is a lot narrower which means that any right or wrong answers are a lot more obvious. The first question type for vocabulary seems to depend on whether you know what the words mean or not. The second question relies on you knowing how some Japanese words are related to other Japanese words. And the final, most evil question type, relies on you knowing exactly the right contexts in which to use words. As you get to more advanced levels, the pool of vocabulary increases and the shades of meaning get more subtle. After I gave up drilling vocabulary lists I started using practice questions in the same format as the test questions. I'm very lucky in that my Skype partner is also very happy to answer all the stupid questions I keep asking about the practice questions I got wrong. I am finding it to be really useful. The second two question types in particular really test me on how well I know a word. You also need to remember that the vocabulary section is just one sub-section of one section of the test (the other sub-section being grammar). You need to make sure you are prepared for the listening and reading sections as well (not to mention the grammar). Obviously vocabulary knowledge is an important part of this, but there is no reason why you can't use your reading, listening and grammar practice to help build your vocabulary, which is also what I am doing right now. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4965 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 316 of 1702 05 May 2012 at 11:00pm | IP Logged |
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I'm in a good mood - I finished all the assignments for my Japanese course including the extra credit. Now
do I re-study the class material or go onto something else... Anyway I'm gonna go check out the JLTP practice test for lvl 4. I guess that means go onto something else heh. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4965 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 317 of 1702 05 May 2012 at 11:30pm | IP Logged |
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I get about 50% of the N4 questions right. So I need improvement to pass it and it wouldn't be a bad goal for me to take that. But I did seem to get better as the questions progressed. Getting to N3 would probably be too much but I'll recheck myself in 2 months anyway when it's time to sign up and see if there's hope lol.
My Japanese does feel weak I will say. They give the instructions in Japanese and I had to read them nice and slowly in order to understand them. And frankly I was lucky to understand them - I recognized a word I had just learned yesterday from my N3 deck I was starting. I think I need reading practice outside of the text book I'm using if I'm going to get thrown for a loop so easily just reading Japanese. They obviously limit the vocabulary to stuff we they've taught us in the book so it's not a good measure at all of actual reading ability unfortunately. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4965 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 318 of 1702 06 May 2012 at 5:40am | IP Logged |
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I'm gonna study for the N3 regardless. If by the deadline I still don't think I have a shot I'll wait until next year.
I have to travel out of state and it's a lot of trouble for a beginner certificate. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4965 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 319 of 1702 07 May 2012 at 7:08pm | IP Logged |
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Starting up on Heisig again. I haven't looked at my deck in ages with the studying for the course. However
for vocab that we used in class I was making sure that I knew the RTK for the kanji (whether or not the kanji was included in the course). Well I'm pleased that my recognition of kanji isn't too bad if I have some sort of context to help especially, for example doing multiple choice games like kanji box. But in terms of just writing it it needs work. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| kraemder Senior Member United StatesRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4965 days ago 1497 posts - 1648 votes Speaks: English* Studies: German, Spanish, Japanese | Message 320 of 1702 08 May 2012 at 8:32am | IP Logged |
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My brain seemed to go into shut down regarding my flashcard sets. I added a ton of cards over the weekend
when I was nice and rested and could focus better and not surprisingly it was a different story studying n a work day. I tried out the multiple choice option on my flashcard app and watched my 2 for 20 go up to 15 for 20 and then 18 for 20. It was easier. So instead of going to bed with tons of cards yet to be reviewed I blew through them and added tons more. We'll see how this multiple choice thing works out. A problem I'm seeing right away is that even if a word is totally new to me I can reasonably guess its part of speech and then narrow my possible correct responses down to just a couple and sometimes even just one. I'm not sure how much better it would be to go through the effort to separate the verbs, adjectives, nouns and all other. It would sure be a pain in the butt. Might be worth though. I like the multiple guess for getting through lots of cards quickly though. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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