Post-JLPT Reflections
The weekend has come and gone, and with it... the JLPT.
The test lasted from 9:45 - 2:30 yesterday afternoon and had three sections (basically reading, grammar/vocab & listening). In hindsight, I have to say, I have a better feeling about the test than I thought I would and am glad it's over. I am, however, a little disappointed in myself for not being more diligent with studying. We did JLPT-prep in language class, but it was kind of a joke and I knew I should have been doing more self-study on my own. I should have asked to do level-appropriate work earlier on, too, and focused harder on learning the kanji and vocabulary. But what are you gonna do, right? I am honestly fine with the results either way, but I really am glad I decided to go afterall and at least try my best.
The Test
I was somewhat surprised to discover that most of the people in my room were from China, although I probably shouldn't have been. You need Level 2 proficiency to work in most Japanese companies (I took the next-lowest level), so it also should not have been surprising that I think a lot of my fellow examinees (in my level, at least) were college students. The test is offered only once a year and is really the official gauge of your competancy (it's very structured and gets referred to a lot when you talk about studying here), so not a huge surprise that people would work their way up the ladder-system through college.
I found the reading to be much better than expected (actually understood all of it, which wasn't the case with all of the practice tests) and was OK with the time limits, but there seems to be a consensus that listening was harder than anyone else expected. I didn't know all the kanji, but I knew some and was lucky to encounter several that I had just learned (yay for Japanese-style rote learning). It's just annoying how they try to trick you (can usually narrow it down to two almost identical kanji and then have a 50/50 chance if you don't know). I definately made some stupid mistakes on questions that I should have gotten easy points from... but, again, it's done.
Study Habits
When I look back at my preperation for this test, I can say that I put in a comperable amoutn of time to some of the people in my area, but not close to what I could have done (and compared to others I know who took the same level as I did). I have also finally realized that I merely cannot study well at home. I met Kristin and Lena to study at Mr. Donuts in Akashi on Saturday night, another thing we should have started doing much earlier (and maybe should start doing now anyways), and it was so much more productive than any of my other sessions. Granted, both Lena and Kelly are really good at Japanese and could answer my questions and stuff, but the location made a huge difference. At home, I get distracted or am not as focused. This fact is especially true with my current setup, where I am not only sitting on the floor (it's tatami and I have a short, little, fold-up table that looks like a coffee table) or on my bed (which is all too conveniently located next to te computer) but am in my warm, comfy, little room. I either don't get enough done or just fall asleep in the heat. On Friday for example, I fell victim to the warm bed (was trying to get some kanji practice in) and was lured to an early bedtime.
Now, the knowledge doesn't do me a ton of good now that the test is over and I have struggled through the majority of my application essays, but it is good to know for the future and I think I am still going to buckle down and make a bigger effort... somewhere other than home.
Yeah, so that's about it for the JLPT! The test was held at Konan University in Okamoto (near Kobe/Sannomiya) so Kristine, Lena and I basically hung out there for a while before meeting James in Kobe and hanging out there some more. It was a long day (long weekend, actually), but I feel like I got something done.
The test lasted from 9:45 - 2:30 yesterday afternoon and had three sections (basically reading, grammar/vocab & listening). In hindsight, I have to say, I have a better feeling about the test than I thought I would and am glad it's over. I am, however, a little disappointed in myself for not being more diligent with studying. We did JLPT-prep in language class, but it was kind of a joke and I knew I should have been doing more self-study on my own. I should have asked to do level-appropriate work earlier on, too, and focused harder on learning the kanji and vocabulary. But what are you gonna do, right? I am honestly fine with the results either way, but I really am glad I decided to go afterall and at least try my best.
The Test
I was somewhat surprised to discover that most of the people in my room were from China, although I probably shouldn't have been. You need Level 2 proficiency to work in most Japanese companies (I took the next-lowest level), so it also should not have been surprising that I think a lot of my fellow examinees (in my level, at least) were college students. The test is offered only once a year and is really the official gauge of your competancy (it's very structured and gets referred to a lot when you talk about studying here), so not a huge surprise that people would work their way up the ladder-system through college.
I found the reading to be much better than expected (actually understood all of it, which wasn't the case with all of the practice tests) and was OK with the time limits, but there seems to be a consensus that listening was harder than anyone else expected. I didn't know all the kanji, but I knew some and was lucky to encounter several that I had just learned (yay for Japanese-style rote learning). It's just annoying how they try to trick you (can usually narrow it down to two almost identical kanji and then have a 50/50 chance if you don't know). I definately made some stupid mistakes on questions that I should have gotten easy points from... but, again, it's done.
Study Habits
When I look back at my preperation for this test, I can say that I put in a comperable amoutn of time to some of the people in my area, but not close to what I could have done (and compared to others I know who took the same level as I did). I have also finally realized that I merely cannot study well at home. I met Kristin and Lena to study at Mr. Donuts in Akashi on Saturday night, another thing we should have started doing much earlier (and maybe should start doing now anyways), and it was so much more productive than any of my other sessions. Granted, both Lena and Kelly are really good at Japanese and could answer my questions and stuff, but the location made a huge difference. At home, I get distracted or am not as focused. This fact is especially true with my current setup, where I am not only sitting on the floor (it's tatami and I have a short, little, fold-up table that looks like a coffee table) or on my bed (which is all too conveniently located next to te computer) but am in my warm, comfy, little room. I either don't get enough done or just fall asleep in the heat. On Friday for example, I fell victim to the warm bed (was trying to get some kanji practice in) and was lured to an early bedtime.
Now, the knowledge doesn't do me a ton of good now that the test is over and I have struggled through the majority of my application essays, but it is good to know for the future and I think I am still going to buckle down and make a bigger effort... somewhere other than home.
Yeah, so that's about it for the JLPT! The test was held at Konan University in Okamoto (near Kobe/Sannomiya) so Kristine, Lena and I basically hung out there for a while before meeting James in Kobe and hanging out there some more. It was a long day (long weekend, actually), but I feel like I got something done.
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 2:55 PM
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