Hey, so, in Ireland Japanese is an option for the last 2 years of school.
This is the latest end of year exam for the subject
http://www.examinations.ie/archive/examp...P000EV.pdf
I'd just like your opinions on the level you would learn based on this test. Apparently they only learn 100 kanji in 2 years so I'm not too hopeful. It looks a little too easy TBH.

The kanji part of the test is clearly too easy for someone who's been studying japanese for two years. I don't know how they can justify only teaching 100 kanji in 2 years, that's completely ridiculous.

The dog part relied heavily on katakana so that seems pretty easy as well.

I think writing two short essays will be challenging though. I don't think I could've managed that very well had I not studied on my own time.

I've read many times that if you really want to learn a language, the best way is to study on your own and not waste your time in a classroom. I believe that studying both in class and at home is great though, because you'll meet people who are interested in the language as well and you'll get some speaking practice done. The classes will help establish a routine as well, so you don't stop the first time you get discouraged

Not sure 100% what you're asking, but...

If you learn for two years on your own and you're dedicated, you can certainly learn way more than this test evaluates, especially in terms of kanji and vocabulary. But I do think that it might be worth it to take the course to really master the fundamentals of grammar, and hopefully to also get a chance to do some production. Also, a good teacher can really help you with your pronounciation.

That said, if you're doing RTK/Core 6k/etc. on your own during the course, I can imagine you might be frustrated with the slow pace and it might be hard for you to see the benefits of the course.

devilsbabe Wrote:The kanji part of the test is clearly too easy for someone who's been studying japanese for two years. I don't know how they can justify only teaching 100 kanji in 2 years, that's completely ridiculous.

Because it's a school test, and there are probably only about 200 hours of slow-paced classes in 2 years.

I'm nearing the end of a 2 year course, and we're supposed to know around 400 kanji. That's not much, but I can understand that time is limited and we obviously can't go over all of them. Compared to that, 100 kanji in 2 years is still ridiculously low.

[Zgarbas]

A certain course I signed up for but didn't go through with only covered about 100 kanjis in a year, but that was because it focused on grammar and language use. There's nothing wrong with that; it's just a different approach. Going through kanjis in a classroom is a a pain; we had an entire University course dedicated to Basic Kanjis Book and took 2 years to finish it. I assume that the school curriculum for an L3 in highschool would have less hours per week than we did, though. Asking kids to study at home for a school course would be silly, so you just go with an average pace. It's bound to be slow, but classroom study does have its benefits, depending on the class and the teacher of course.