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+--- Thread: Practical uses for Kan Ken (for us) (/thread-1094.html)
Practical uses for Kan Ken (for us) - synewave - 2008-01-14
I was speaking to my 教頭先生 about the kan ken tests. My current tactic is mining the lower level tests for vocabulary. But she was suggesting that I should push on and go for higher level tests.
Obviously for school kids here having a higher level test may help them in their high school applications. However for us lot taking kan ken tests, does anyone see any practical use for their certificates?
Practical uses for Kan Ken (for us) - amthomas - 2008-01-14
I've taken and passed one of the easiest levels of the KanKen exam, and I can say with confidence that I know the kanji of that level thoroughly. I can write them, sound them out in compounds I've never seen before, and I've gained a lot of vocabulary related to those kanji by studying a variety of test prep books and using KanKen DS games.
If you can take and pass one of the KanKen levels aimed at High School students (hell, even Junior High School students), I would say that you could honestly claim that you are fluent in the number of kanji that that test covers, because of the depth of the test coverage. If/when I pass JLPT 1, I will know that I can recognize compounds and guess their pronunciations, but I won't feel confident that I know them fluently. Taking the KanKen at a High School level would give me that confidence.
So, I think that the higher levels of kanken are good for building vocabulary, becoming properly fluent in the covered kanji, and all the things that go along with those skills, like better reading skills.
Also, people that are looking to become translators can wow pretty much any Japanese person by showing them that they've passed a level of the kanken aimed at Junior/Senior High students.
-ang
Practical uses for Kan Ken (for us) - JimmySeal - 2008-01-14
Certainly gonna mention the kanken when I start applying for real jobs later this year.
Practical uses for Kan Ken (for us) - Mighty_Matt - 2008-01-14
I guess it's similar to taking the JLPT. From what I understand, level 4 and 3 won't really help you that much in getting a job in Japan as most companies will require level 2 or 1. In that way, the lower/easier levels are more for your own benefit, while if you work up to the harder levels then they can start to work in your favor.
Of course, passing any kind of Japanese test is never going to hurt your CV...