(2016-01-29, 12:31 am)ariariari Wrote: Here's my jcat score:

listening: 26
vocab: 40
grammar: 38
reading: 35
total: 139

Their scoring system:

< 100: basic
101-150: pre-intermediate
151-200: intermediate
...

"basic" learners can exchange basic ideas
"intermediate" learners can manage daily communication
"advanced" learners can manage academic and professional communication.

It seems about right to me. I met a Japanese person at a meetup recently who works in a similar industry as me. The next day I followed up with an email in Japanese. It wasn't hard to write, but his reply had me racing to the dictionary every sentence So I definitely can't manage daily communication yet.

I'm a bit disappointed at my listening score, but only because I aspire to be well-rounded. Also, because when I lived in Japan I felt that my speaking and listening were higher than my reading and writing. So it's just kinda weird to see everything go in the opposite direction.

But I guess because I have so little use for listening and speaking now, it's kind of natural that my skills aren't equal. I also have no real interest in working on my Japanese listening ability right now. Oh well. I already made a note in my calendar for 6 months from now. I'm looking forward to seeing the score move up? Will it break 150 next time? Oh, the excitement!

I just finished doing the J-Cat. Disappointment is an understatement. My scores:

listening: 37
vocab: 11
grammar: 0
reading: 26
total: 74

With this score I'm not even sure I'm cut out for N3. I still want to take the JLPT but I'm not sure if I'll be ready by December. Thoughts?

(2016-02-05, 1:38 am)RawrPk Wrote:

(2016-01-29, 12:31 am)ariariari Wrote: Here's my jcat score:

listening: 26
vocab: 40
grammar: 38
reading: 35
total: 139

Their scoring system:

< 100: basic
101-150: pre-intermediate
151-200: intermediate
...

"basic" learners can exchange basic ideas
"intermediate" learners can manage daily communication
"advanced" learners can manage academic and professional communication.

It seems about right to me. I met a Japanese person at a meetup recently who works in a similar industry as me. The next day I followed up with an email in Japanese. It wasn't hard to write, but his reply had me racing to the dictionary every sentence So I definitely can't manage daily communication yet.

I'm a bit disappointed at my listening score, but only because I aspire to be well-rounded. Also, because when I lived in Japan I felt that my speaking and listening were higher than my reading and writing. So it's just kinda weird to see everything go in the opposite direction.

But I guess because I have so little use for listening and speaking now, it's kind of natural that my skills aren't equal. I also have no real interest in working on my Japanese listening ability right now. Oh well. I already made a note in my calendar for 6 months from now. I'm looking forward to seeing the score move up? Will it break 150 next time? Oh, the excitement!

I just finished doing the J-Cat. Disappointment is an understatement. My scores:

listening: 37
vocab: 11
grammar: 0
reading: 26
total: 74

With this score I'm not even sure I'm cut out for N3. I still want to take the JLPT but I'm not sure if I'll be ready by December. Thoughts?

What happened during grammar? I mean, clearly if you're getting scores in the 20s and 30s for listening and and reading then your knowledge of grammar is better than 0. So I think that there's either something wrong with the test or maybe something happened while you were taking it.

(2016-02-05, 1:38 am)RawrPk Wrote: I just finished doing the J-Cat. Disappointment is an understatement. My scores:

listening: 37
vocab: 11
grammar: 0
reading: 26
total: 74

With this score I'm not even sure I'm cut out for N3. I still want to take the JLPT but I'm not sure if I'll be ready by December. Thoughts?

10 months is a long time, if you make a clear study plan and attack it every day without fail!

(2016-02-05, 10:22 am)ariariari Wrote:

(2016-02-05, 1:38 am)RawrPk Wrote:

(2016-01-29, 12:31 am)ariariari Wrote: Here's my jcat score:

listening: 26
vocab: 40
grammar: 38
reading: 35
total: 139

Their scoring system:

< 100: basic
101-150: pre-intermediate
151-200: intermediate
...

"basic" learners can exchange basic ideas
"intermediate" learners can manage daily communication
"advanced" learners can manage academic and professional communication.

It seems about right to me. I met a Japanese person at a meetup recently who works in a similar industry as me. The next day I followed up with an email in Japanese. It wasn't hard to write, but his reply had me racing to the dictionary every sentence So I definitely can't manage daily communication yet.

I'm a bit disappointed at my listening score, but only because I aspire to be well-rounded. Also, because when I lived in Japan I felt that my speaking and listening were higher than my reading and writing. So it's just kinda weird to see everything go in the opposite direction.

But I guess because I have so little use for listening and speaking now, it's kind of natural that my skills aren't equal. I also have no real interest in working on my Japanese listening ability right now. Oh well. I already made a note in my calendar for 6 months from now. I'm looking forward to seeing the score move up? Will it break 150 next time? Oh, the excitement!

I just finished doing the J-Cat. Disappointment is an understatement. My scores:

listening: 37
vocab: 11
grammar: 0
reading: 26
total: 74

With this score I'm not even sure I'm cut out for N3. I still want to take the JLPT but I'm not sure if I'll be ready by December. Thoughts?

What happened during grammar? I mean, clearly if you're getting scores in the 20s and 30s for listening and and reading then your knowledge of grammar is better than 0. So I think that there's either something wrong with the test or maybe something happened while you were taking it.

There isn't anything wrong with the test. I got scared of the limited time actually. The first couple of grammar points I didn't answer due to time running out. The rest I tried to read faster but ended up guessing anyways. Case of test anxiety I suppose. Even made a thread about test anxiety concerning another standardized exam. I will say I am rusty, but not zero rusty IMO. Regardless, I plan to tackle this as my priority.

Reading wasn't too bad as the time was much longer. I read slow even in English so the score reflects that. I'm sure my recent tadoku round reading manga has maybe a bit to do with this.

Listening I'm actually surprised! While doing that section, I was super focused in hearing everything: having my eyes closed, trying to recall important things said and making a mental note to keep it in my head. Then the selection process for the answers started and I just referred to my mental note. It seemed to help.

(2016-02-05, 10:42 am)kendo99 Wrote:

(2016-02-05, 1:38 am)RawrPk Wrote: I just finished doing the J-Cat. Disappointment is an understatement. My scores:

listening: 37
vocab: 11
grammar: 0
reading: 26
total: 74

With this score I'm not even sure I'm cut out for N3. I still want to take the JLPT but I'm not sure if I'll be ready by December. Thoughts?

10 months is a long time, if you make a clear study plan and attack it every day without fail!

Kanji and vocab I'm not too worried about since I'm currently doing RTK and I just started core 2k/6k this week. I should ready to tackle my N3 sou Matome books by June/July.

Grammar I originally was only going to do  「どんなときどう使う日本語表現文型200 初・中級」as it covers the old JLPT 4~3 levels(I have the older edition) but I'm not sure this is enough anymore. I have no desire to look at the Japanese textbooks I used in my college courses (romaji forever) so I might consider using Japanese the Manga Way as a refresher in grammar alongside the book. Hopefully by summer, I can start to cover N3 material along with vocab and kanji.

TD; LR: Review and develop a strong foundation til summer, then work on N3. Also I have 6 months til I get another shot at the jcat. Well see if I made some progress by then

Sad, but I will probably have to take it back a notch or two, and aim for the N4 instead at the end of this year. I'm trying to land a new job in a new career, and it takes way too much time and effort. I did re-start my Japanese for Everyone book again today though, and I'm planning on finishing the 2000 Heisig kanji in the next few weeks. I think I would rather make slowly but surely progress, than breezing through 4000+ words and lots of grammar, force-feeding my brain all this info with and without Anki.

So, first Sunday of February, so I'm tallying my mature anki cards:

Compared to last month:
Mature grammar cards: 532 (today) - 507 (January) = +25
Mature Kanji cards: 710 (today) - 696 (January) = +14
Mature vocab cards: 4705 (today) - 4589 (January)= +116

Total mature cards: 5,947 (today) - 5,792 (January) = +155

Compared to December 7, 2015 (the day after the exam):
Mature grammar cards: 532 (today) - 476 (12/7) = +56
Mature Kanji cards: 710 (today) - 684 (12/7) = +26
Mature vocab cards: 4705 (today) - 4,500 (12/7) = +205

Total mature cards: 5,947 (today) - 5,660 (12/7) = +287

So, definitely a large increase in all the main anki stats this month, as well as since taking the test.

Additionally, I'm pretty sure that I finished 1 or 2 yotsubatos this month. I also took the j-cat, which is nice, because I can take it again in 6 months to measure progress.

Also, I started reading the Japanese graded reader series again in the last week. I am amazed at how much faster my reading is. I remember last year, when I first started reading, complaining at how slowly I read. Now that really doesn't seem like an issue at all.

The level 1 books I can read quite easily and quickly. I just started some of the level 3 ones. I'm amazed at just how long they are! I sometimes don't always understand everything, but I do understand enough of it to enjoy it. Overall, I really recommend this series.

See y'all in a month.

Inspired by others on this thread, I too signed up for the JCAT.
Then I immediately got the flu and have been laid up for about a week without studying at all.
I'm just starting to come back around, but have a bunch of reviews to dig myself out from under.

No, of course, my girlfriend has the flu, so I'm nursing her back to health.
I'll try the JCAT maybe next week.

So I finished section 4 of my remedial grammar book today, well ahead of schedule. (I'm aiming for 1 section a month). Decided to post to commemorate it.

I also found a nice language group in my city. It's a social group for Japanese expats, with a strict "no english" rule. Even better, it seems to mostly contain regulars, so I get to avoid the repetitive self-introduction problem that I've had at most language meetups I've been to.

Small success story: I was watching the latest episode of DBS, and I noticed a small translation error in the subtitles. I checked it, and I was correct! YAY!

What is DBS?

Dragonball Super. I know what you're thinking, but hey, I'm only at N5 level. For now

Awesome updates everyone! Ever since my horrible J-Cat score, I've come up with a plan to tackle my weaknesses:

Grammar
1) Read through "Japanese the Manga Way"
2) Genki 2 and "200 Essential Japanese Expressions"
3) Tobira
4)Nihongo Challenge N4 Grammar Reading JLPT
5) N3 material (Sou Matome) and Nihongo Mon 500 intermediate

My goal is to hit N3 material by July, a month before I retake the J-Cat. I know there will be some overlap with each step but I'm ok with that as it can work as reinforcement. If anyone can comment on my grammar plan I'd greatly appreciate it

Vocab I'm using core 2k/6k with a separate vocab deck I find from native material (manga, anime, drama, etc). Kanji is RTK, listening is just the native material I've been watching. I'm not too worried about these aspects as I know I will progress. Grammar is my priority hence the detailed plan.

(2016-02-14, 4:53 pm)Raschaverak Wrote: Dragonball Super. I know what you're thinking, but hey, I'm only at N5 level. For now

I think that I've heard of dragonball, but I'm haven't read/seen it myself. Do you recommend it?

Well that depends what you are looking for to get out of an anime. Just for sheer entertainment, and overall amazing story line, and spectacle, yes. Dragon ball series is a MUST for anyone who wants to watch anime. Start with it. It created a new trend, new standards, ect. in the anime industry.

However I believe that the DB show is much more that this. Since every person is different, I can't say that what I've actually learned from the show is the same what you will / can learn, but I do know that it helped me in many ways (in real life), ways I did not even realize back in those days. For me it was a life-saver, literally. But that's enough hype, you should decide for yourself

(2016-02-14, 5:06 pm)ariariari Wrote:

(2016-02-14, 4:53 pm)Raschaverak Wrote: Dragonball Super. I know what you're thinking, but hey, I'm only at N5 level. For now

I think that I've heard of dragonball, but I'm haven't read/seen it myself. Do you recommend it?

I've only watched Dragon Ball and some of Z; it's fun, but holy cow, it's drawn out (hundreds and hundreds of episodes; the first two shows alone span a total of 444 episodes). I think that this probably makes it an ideal show for studying though, since the situation is constantly being reviewed. Even better, you don't get penalized for missing a couple words, since the plot moves at a snails pace, so you can sit back and watch without rewinding too often.

OK, you guys have sold me on it. I still haven't watched my first anime, and it's on my "things to do before I take the n3" list. It turns out that my local library has "Dragon ball Z Tree of Might ; Lord Slug" in Japanese. I just put a hold on it.

(2016-02-14, 8:07 pm)ariariari Wrote: OK, you guys have sold me on it. I still haven't watched my first anime, and it's on my "things to do before I take the n3" list. It turns out that my local library has "Dragon ball Z Tree of Might ; Lord Slug" in Japanese. I just put a hold on it.

Ehhh.... okay....

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend Dragonball Z for either entertainment or education, but a lot of people do enjoy it. And it's not exactly difficult material although it is perhaps hard to approach as a beginner because it's distinctly not what you find in textbooks.

If you want listening practice that's actually relevant to the JLPT I would watch things that are more slice-of-life and have a decent amount of normal conversation. But if you enjoy Dragonball then, hey, it's still Japanese listening practice and you're enjoying yourself.

On the other hand, if you do find yourself hating dragonball.... please don't judge all Anime based on that one show. It's pretty unique.

Those many episodes of Goku making the spirit bomb @_@ based on 5 minute event lol

The slice of life anime I first watched was Baby Steps. No one has super powers, just teens playing tennis that will be the second manga series I plan to read as it has 30+ volumes.

Shirokuma is pretty much also slice of life with the exception of cute animals talking. That's the reason I chose to read those series (I love animals). I first tried to read Sailor Moon a year ago and failed. So now I'm trying to work my way up to fantasy manga. Anime, I'll watch whatever genre I find interesting though I do watch in English subs first for comprehension and later Japanese subs.

Hmm, slice of life anime. Death Note perhaps? I would say from Japanese learning perspective, it's definitely harder than DB/DBZ/DBS.

Good starting SOLs are like Tamayura, Hyouka/K-on, 一週間フレンズ...

I just signed up for the free trial at crunchyroll, which seems to have a large library of japanese anime with japanese subtitles. that's probably better than getting them from my library. I suspect that it will be hit or miss with finding one that I like, especially considering my language level. So this should let me do a lot of experimenting easily.

Update, within the first 5 minutes shirokuma kafe had me laughing out loud. Something about watching a polar bear applying for jobs on the phone, and having exchanges like "Do you have any related experience?" "No", "Do you know how to use a computer?" "No" made me chuckle.

Another month, another Anki Stat Report

As of February 15:
---Kanji---
Total mature: 556
Number matured this month: 175
Average matured per month: 276
---Vocab---
Total mature: 955
Number matured this month: 502
Average matured per month: 478
---Grammar---
Total mature: 16
Number matured this month: 16

I really wanted to kick the study into high gear starting around the end of January, but since I've been sick, everything has taken a back seat to doing absolutely nothing. I'm feeling much better now and have finally dug myself out of my Anki rut, so once I get my neglected apartment back in shape, I should be able to get back to it.

I've only gotten through the first two lessons out of 新完全マスター文法. This week, I want to get through lessons 3 and 4, とびら chapter 1, and take the JCAT.

@トリピー Those are some pretty impressive numbers!