So I finally took the JLPT N3 on Sunday. I definitely needed to study a lot more for it, because there was so much I didn't understand. In all honesty, though, I didn't want to put in the time, because I feel like I'm nowhere near the N3 level; I just wanted to see what it was like. And in that sense, it was good. I now know what it will be like when I take it for real. For one thing, I felt I had to skim, because I forgot to get a watch and I didn't know how much time I had left the entire test. 大切なことのよ！Other materials needed: HB No. 2 pencils(no mechanical pencils!), eraser, sharpener, ID, ticket.
So you know how it goes, there are three sections: 文字・語意（もじ・ごい）(characters/vocabulary), 文法・読解（ぶんぽう・どっかい）(grammar/reading), and 聴解（ちょうかい）(listening). Everything was difficult, but I found the reading and listening to be at least somewhat understandable. I definitely need to memorize more words/kanji. The longest section was the middle one, with 70 minutes to read what seemed like a book of material and answer questions. I understood a good bit of this section, because I could figure out meanings of words from context. The listening was my best section I think, because in the start there were pictures. Those helped me to gain confidence for later in the section when there were no visual cues at all.
Anyway, I won't know what I made on the test until February, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm hoping that one more year of study will get me to that level, though i wonder if I should really shoot for N4. They have the tests every 6 months, but I don't think it would be worth it to dish out the $50 a second time if I'm not sure of how proficient I am. One thing I'm definitely going to have to do is buy the practice workbooks(and open...and study them hard)...
So you know how it goes, there are three sections: 文字・語意（もじ・ごい）(characters/vocabulary), 文法・読解（ぶんぽう・どっかい）(grammar/reading), and 聴解（ちょうかい）(listening). Everything was difficult, but I found the reading and listening to be at least somewhat understandable. I definitely need to memorize more words/kanji. The longest section was the middle one, with 70 minutes to read what seemed like a book of material and answer questions. I understood a good bit of this section, because I could figure out meanings of words from context. The listening was my best section I think, because in the start there were pictures. Those helped me to gain confidence for later in the section when there were no visual cues at all.
Anyway, I won't know what I made on the test until February, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm hoping that one more year of study will get me to that level, though i wonder if I should really shoot for N4. They have the tests every 6 months, but I don't think it would be worth it to dish out the $50 a second time if I'm not sure of how proficient I am. One thing I'm definitely going to have to do is buy the practice workbooks(and open...and study them hard)...
I did the same thing for the N2...took it the first time not really intending to pass, just to see what it was like. Didn't have a watch so I also skimmed. Predictably didn't pass, but got what I wanted out of it.
ReplyDeleteThen I studied (knew I needed to work a lot on reading) and just barely passed the next time. Literally I achieved the minimum grade needed to pass. =P
Anyway, good luck and keep at it!