In approximately 4 months from now I plan to sit the JLPT1. At that time I will have been studying Japanese for a little over 9 months.

What I have done:

RtK
Tae Kim
KO2001
KM2kyuu Grammr (in progress, 50% done)

What I plan to do for preparation:
KM1kyuu Grammar
Work through 6000 word vocab list (getting example sentences from my 研究社 EPWING dictionary), at a pace of ~65 a day, starting in September

I'm interested in hearing whether there is anything else I could do that would be useful for sitting the exam, comments, discussion etc. I'm not actually all that interested in the exam itself, per se. I just think that studying for it happens to coincide with my goal of maximising how much Japanese I can learn in a given period. But because I'm not all that interested in the exam I haven't spent all that much time specifically examining it, so I'm not sure if I've left something out that would be useful in passing it.

PS. I've found I can sustain a pace of adding 200/day [if I'm on holidays and completely free], and have personally done so for a period of over a month. So just for kicks, at that pace...

RtK1 (100/day): 22 days
Kana: 1 day
Tae Kim: 5 days
KO2001: 22 days
KM2kyuu: 4 days
KM1kyyu: 2 days (I'm not sure how many sentences this is, but the spreadsheet I have indicates that it is only ~300 compared to ~800 in KM2kyuu)
6000 word vocab list, 200/day: 30 days

Total: 86 days....just shy of 3 months. Ahibba should be pleased

EDIT: Just to be clear, having done what I've done I do believe JLPT1 is physically possible in 3 months, but the above calculation was mostly done for fun. If you want to talk about that, feel free to do so in the JLPT1 in 3 months thread. But I'd rather if this was focused on what I feel is the much more reasonable goal of 9 months

Do some sample tests. The test isn't composed of flashcards and it's a whole different thing to do reading and listening comprehension tests within the alloted time.

Sure you can maybe cram the required material in 3 months, but understanding and passing the test is another thing.

3 months!? Doing the test is easy. Passing is the hard part.

I have to say I am jealous. You've quite literally raped Japanese.

I wonder, though. How fairs your fluency? Auditory fluency that is...

I've got a whole bunch of sample tests (about 10 or 15 of them), and was planning on going through them in October ish. I forgot to mention that.

I've looked through some of them briefly and it seems to me that the more difficult sections are likely to be:

Listening. I've heard the audio quality is not very good, and there is very little context to the passages so its hard to follow. Also, this is the section which I'm least able to effectively prepare for in my opinion.

Reading passages. Simply because it is unlike the rest of the questions, which mostly seem to be of the "fill in the blank" variety and are therefore easier to prepare for and answer.

kazelee Wrote:3 months!? Doing the test is easy. Passing is the hard part.

I have to say I am jealous. You've quite literally raped Japanese.

I wonder, though. How fairs your fluency? Auditory fluency that is...

Listening is by far my weakest area I would say. Everything I have done up till now has mostly been focused on building reading comprehension (RtK, KO2001-and I don't do production cards for KO).

blackmacros Wrote:Listening. I've heard the audio quality is not very good, and there is very little context to the passages so its hard to follow. Also, this is the section which I'm least able to effectively prepare for in my opinion.

From what I can tell listening seems to be the easiest part of JLPT (1). At least that's the impression I got from previous tests. Sometimes they throw some curveballs, but all in all.. pretty easy. Don't worry too much.

Haha, I dunno what to tell you. But if you pass you'll have proved me wrong--I think I said somewhere that doing the JLPT1 in less than a year was near impossible.

So, good luck to you.

I don't think you're going to be able to pass it, because of the reasons Jarvik7 pointed out. What you need, and probably can't fit into your crazy schedule, is LOADS of listening and reading. The listening part of JLPT is generally considered the easiest part since, compared to what comes in the reading comprehension parts etc, it uses quite simple vocabulary etc. The problem is that:
1. Native speed, almost at least.
2. Pretty bad quality.
3. You only hear it once.
4. They trick you. Even if you understand it all, you still have to analyze it to get the correct answer. Miss too much, and you simply have to guess.

If you're lucky, your SRSing will have gotten the words and especially the grammar rooted deeply enough that you can get very good score on those parts, and in that case, you might be lucky and pass the 70% grade, but I wouldn't keep my hopes up too much if I were you. Go for it and do your best, but be ready for failure because it's a massive challenge. My only advice is to make enough time to read and listen in massive doses, and not just to simple material. If you expect to pass JLPT1, you should probably be able to read real novels, not light novels.

Tobberoth Wrote:Go for it and do your best, but be ready for failure because it's a massive challenge.

Thanks, I think this is good advice. If I don't pass, well thats ok. If I was doing this just to pass the test then it wouldn't be worth it. I'm doing it because I think the process of preparing for it will be helpful for developing my Japanese. Even if I don't pass, I'll come out of it with a grip on JLPT 1 & 2 grammar and an extra ~6000 words under my belt. Thats not too shabby.

In relation to your other points, I agree that the reading/listening portions will definitely be the areas where it will hurt me. These sections of the test are much more 'real' than the fill in the blank type questions seen elsewhere on the test. How much of the final mark are they worth, by the way? I've heard Unicom offer some reading preparation books, are they useful? I'm also thinking of picking up 1Q84 for some extra reading practice; I was browsing through it the last time I was at my local Japanese book store.

As a side note, I considered going for the 2kyuu but decided against it. I think I would definitely be able to pass that with another 4 months preparation, and since I don't have a pressing need for the pass certificate I figured I may as well aim high.

I agree that you should just shoot for the top. You'll easily have the knowledge base required for JLPT1, you'll just have to put it all together. If you fail then who cares? It is good experience either way. Good luck.

I just came across you post, and I must say it sounds like a really hard task.

I'm not sure if you came across this post: http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=752
Its a list of links for free audiobooks, with transcriptions and translation links as well. It could help you with the listening part. I think the best way is to listen to the audio while following the transcription.

Also there is a website which has Japanese drama without subtitles for download: http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/torrents.php
Its a fun way to improve your listening.

I hope this helps! Good luck~

I've done simulations of JLPT before and I have a very similar view to you. The problem of doing JLPT won't be remembering all the content, it will be speed. The time you have to solve the test is short, so you'll need some fluency in reading and listening.
I really don't think it's impossible, but it is a challenge.

With all the determination displayed by blackmacros here, I almost feel like aiming for 2kyuu this year.

activeaero Wrote:I agree that you should just shoot for the top. You'll easily have the knowledge base required for JLPT1, you'll just have to put it all together. If you fail then who cares? It is good experience either way. Good luck.

Thanks for the support

melchan Wrote:I'm not sure if you came across this post: http://forum.koohii.com/showthread.php?tid=752

I hope this helps! Good luck~

Thanks! I'd forgotten about all that wealth of reading material sitting nice and patiently over there.

mentat_kgs Wrote:I've done simulations of JLPT before and I have a very similar view to you. The problem of doing JLPT won't be remembering all the content, it will be speed. The time you have to solve the test is short, so you'll need some fluency in reading and listening.
I really don't think it's impossible, but it is a challenge.

Yes, it seems to me that I'll have the content required to pass; the problem will be being able to put it all together under the pressure of a time limit.

BlackMacros, I easily managed JLPT 2 in 6 months of studying that doesn't really count as 6 months because of my mental problems.(I spent 3 months before that thinking all Japanese all the time method actually would let you be able to eventually read Philosophy papers and just set with a dictionary reading Manga never remembering vocab and never making progress. Before that I couldn't read but had a good grasp on everyday conversation)

Will Find out my results soon but Hopefully I managed JLPT 1 when I took it in July.

Here's what you do:

Vocab - Collocations are the way to pass this(even more so then sentences). there are tons of vocab that have essentially the same meaning.(here's why just studying a E-J Flashcard program will do you no go) you'd have no problem understanding them, but they are generally used with different words, you're going to be tasted on what words they normally work with.

Reading: Time is the killer here, If I had double the time I could have easily gotten 90% on the 1級 Reading part for sure. learn to speed read. Be sure you have the real basics of は　AND　が　down and how clauses/nouns work in long sentences. read ACADEMIC essays, this is far more important preparation then reading novels/stories.!

Listening - Know by heart how Japanese negate things with double negatives and intonation. Also brush up on your shapes and number skills.

All in all the test can easily be beaten if you just want to study for the test, but these are strategies that will help you out in real life.

Good luck!

koyota Wrote:BlackMacros, I easily managed JLPT 2 in 6 months of studying that doesn't really count as 6 months because of my mental problems.(I spent 3 months before that thinking all Japanese all the time method actually would let you be able to eventually read Philosophy papers and just set with a dictionary reading Manga never remembering vocab and never making progress. Before that I couldn't read but had a good grasp on everyday conversation)

Will Find out my results soon but Hopefully I managed JLPT 1 when I took it in July.

Here's what you do:

Vocab - Collocations are the way to pass this(even more so then sentences). there are tons of vocab that have essentially the same meaning.(here's why just studying a E-J Flashcard program will do you no go) you'd have no problem understanding them, but they are generally used with different words, you're going to be tasted on what words they normally work with.

Reading: Time is the killer here, If I had double the time I could have easily gotten 90% on the 1級 Reading part for sure. learn to speed read. Be sure you have the real basics of は　AND　が　down and how clauses/nouns work in long sentences. read ACADEMIC essays, this is far more important preparation then reading novels/stories.!

Listening - Know by heart how Japanese negate things with double negatives and intonation. Also brush up on your shapes and number skills.

All in all the test can easily be beaten if you just want to study for the test, but these are strategies that will help you out in real life.

Good luck!

Thanks koyota! That sounds like some real solid advice for test prep. Numbers are a headache in Japanese. Double negatives are also a lot of fun.

koyota Wrote:Vocab - Collocations are the way to pass this(even more so then sentences). there are tons of vocab that have essentially the same meaning.(here's why just studying a E-J Flashcard program will do you no go) you'd have no problem understanding them, but they are generally used with different words, you're going to be tasted on what words they normally work with.

Reading: ... read ACADEMIC essays, this is far more important preparation then reading novels/stories.!

Good luck!

Thanks for the very helpful advice!

When you talk about collocations, that is which words often go together right? Like "fast food" is correct, not "quick food". Is there any way you recommend studying for that in particular, other than to pay attention when I'm reading and attempt to consciously note it?

Also, any hints on where I can find some Academic papers in Japanese? Would I be better off going to my University's library for this, or are there many available online?

Thanks for the encouragement

Yeah KM is for the grammar. I'm not really sure how I could study colloquialisms, other than just through the regular reading and immersion I try to get done. I thought about getting KiC but I figured it would probably actually be quicker to just use my dictionary to get example sentences for a JLPT specific word list. I've got ~6000 words to go through so any word that I can't find a good sentence for straightaway I'll just move on and not waste time on it. The chances of that one word being important are very very low.

PS. Check your email.

If you pass, I'll officially hate you.

Good luck!

It's impossible. You can't do it. No one can do it. Don't even try! You're a fool for even thinking it! Why are you studying Japanese anyway. Learn Chinese or Spanish.

I will also be very interested to see how well you perform on the test. I admit to a certain scepticism about whether passing JLPT1 in less than a year is possible, but given the right evidence I'm prepared to eat humble pie.

Blackmacros how many hours a day do you study? Do you have a job? After working a full 8 hour day and a long commute, I find the lack of energy my biggest constraint.

I'm a Uni student. 15 contact hours a week. That leaves a significant amount of time to dedicate to my hobby of choice. Unlike most 18 year olds (I can officially say that as of yesterday btw! ) I choose to spend that time on Japanese, not drinking

To actually answer your question: when I was on holiday I spent ~8 hours a day studying. Now that I'm back at Uni I probably spend between 2 and 4 hours a day studying (inclusive of reviewing).

Also, nest0r, I already passed the SLPT0 (Spanish Language Proficiency Test 0=ultimate spanish mode). Being a much easier language I only had to study for 7.3 seconds, obviously. I was going to learn Chinese but I was put off by the fact that hardly anyone speaks it; I'd be better of learning Latin ya know?

As for passing the test, it will happen or it won't. The reading/listening sections will be what makes or breaks me.

Also, looking through some practice tests I notice there are a few different types of questions. One's where you're presented with some facts and need to analyse them. Eg. they give you a word, and you provide the reading. I find these pretty simple. I do much, much worse on the fill in the blank questions where they leave a gap and I need to fill it with the appropriate thing.

blackmacros Wrote:Unlike most 18 year olds (I can officially say that as of yesterday btw! ) I choose to spend that time on Japanese, not drinking

Happy (non-alcoholic) birthday!

Thankyou

You should do what I did in university and drink with Japanese people.

I'm with Jarvik. 一石二鳥, you know?