Hmm... it might just be easier to pick one up when I get to Tokyo on 9/26. There's a Kinokuniya right over by Takashimaya Times Square in Shinjuku, about 400m from the hotel I'll be staying in for 3 days. If I try to order somewhere online and have it shipped to the US, odds are that it will wind up getting here after I've already left.

I bought my N1 drill books and my application today. I spent like 20 minutes thumbing through the drill books and then trying to search out the application, and I was going to ask someone. Then I saw them in the impulse section next to the checkout desk. Yay, I'm all set.

I got the very serious-looking set of 4 日本語能力試験N1●N2 ”試験に出る” シリーズ drill books from 桐原書店／Pearson. They seem non-gimmicky, and I like that they comprehensively cover N2 and N1 material since I do need a refresher. It's been 3 years since I passed N2. I may also end up buying another half set of drill books for more listening and reading drills because of how reading-focused the new test format is.

edit:

Exciting news! Starting with the July test next year in Japan you will be able to register for the JLPT online, and even pay for the test at a conbini!

erlog Wrote:Exciting news! Starting with the July test next year in Japan you will be able to register for the JLPT online, and even pay for the test at a conbini!

Wow! Maybe one day we'll be able to check results online too...

Wow. Only years behind the rest of the world.

rich_f Wrote:Wow. Only years behind the rest of the world.

You'll totally be able to.

Hey guys, question about applying for the exam in the US. The JLPT website recently posted the application form and I was wondering is it OK to go ahead and send it in, or do you need to make sure it arrives there between Sept 1-30.

Hoping to take the test in Atlanta and I want to make sure I can get a seat before it fills up.

rich_f Wrote:@Carolina: for N2, 3-A makes a really good mock test that really gets the listening portion of the test right... at least as well as a mock test can. It runs about 900 yen. It came pretty close to the same difficulty of the summer 2011 N2.

If nothing else, it would be good practice.

ISBN: 978-4-88319-557-2

So, I bought it a few weeks ago and today I made it.

In the moji, goi,bunpou/dokkai I got 55/75. In the listening part I got 24/32. It this a pass?
I made the test with time limit, and pressure got in the the last 40 minutes, but I finished it 4 seconds before the timer rang.
The worst part was reading (time pressure).

I want to make more mock tests, could you give me some mogi test book recommendations?

I used the N1 version of this book:合格できる日本語能力試験N2. It has a load of each type of question and gives you a 'strategy' for each one. Then at the end it has a practice test so you can time yourself.

pudding cat Wrote:I used the N1 version of this book:合格できる日本語能力試験N2. It has a load of each type of question and gives you a 'strategy' for each one. Then at the end it has a practice test so you can time yourself.

Thanks!

But how do I do the math? I went to the 2010 jlpt thread and the ones who took N2 got xxx/130. But the has less than that number of questions (75+32=107).

I think it's a weighted score to take into the account that the difficulty level will be different each year. Therefore you don't get one point for one correct question. You can read about the scoring system here. Just try your best!

pudding cat Wrote:I think it's a weighted score to take into the account that the difficulty level will be different each year. Therefore you don't get one point for one correct question. You can read about the scoring system here. Just try your best!

Yeah, there's no way to calculate what score you'd get without having the scores for each question (which depend on how many people got them right). Having said that, the mark i got as a straight percentage on old JLPT2 tests was pretty similar to my final official mark for N2. Just calculate your score as a percentage and make sure you've got a decent margin above the pass mark and you'll be fine. Oh and make sure none of your sections put you in danger of a technical fail due to missing the per section pass mark.

BTW, if you're happy doing the old test rather than the new format, this site is great:

http://ngoilaibennhau.net/jatest/index_4.php

It's important to get used to the new format, but at the end of the day, it's testing the same japanese. If you can do the reading sections of the old JLPT, especially under the time constraint of the old test, you'll be fine on the new one.

zigmonty Wrote:BTW, if you're happy doing the old test rather than the new format, this site is great:

http://ngoilaibennhau.net/jatest/index_4.php

It's important to get used to the new format, but at the end of the day, it's testing the same japanese. If you can do the reading sections of the old JLPT, especially under the time constraint of the old test, you'll be fine on the new one.

I'm incorporating those questions into my anki sentence deck

ta12121 Wrote:

zigmonty Wrote:BTW, if you're happy doing the old test rather than the new format, this site is great:

http://ngoilaibennhau.net/jatest/index_4.php

It's important to get used to the new format, but at the end of the day, it's testing the same japanese. If you can do the reading sections of the old JLPT, especially under the time constraint of the old test, you'll be fine on the new one.

I'm incorporating those questions into my anki sentence deck

Funny you mention that... there was a website that had a similar quiz structure for JLPT grammar and vocab (forget the site). It was my understanding that the questions were all from past exams (they certainly feel the same).

Anyway, so that site also had the questions available in spreadsheet form. Last year i downloaded them all and converted them into anki decks. So, I've got decks for vocab and grammar for JLPT 1, 2 and 3 (old levels). The number of questions in each varies a bit, between about 300 and 1200 questions. They're simply question and options on the front and answer on the back, no explanation.

If anyone wants them, i could upload them somewhere.

ta12121 Wrote:

zigmonty Wrote:BTW, if you're happy doing the old test rather than the new format, this site is great:

http://ngoilaibennhau.net/jatest/index_4.php

It's important to get used to the new format, but at the end of the day, it's testing the same japanese. If you can do the reading sections of the old JLPT, especially under the time constraint of the old test, you'll be fine on the new one.

I'm incorporating those questions into my anki sentence deck

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that site! It'll definitely come in handy =)
I just took a couple of JLPT 1 tests, and found out that 聴解 and 語彙 was really, really doable, only a couple of mistakes.
However, I REALLY struggled with the reading and grammar sections.
I'm going to start using the 総まとめ series for grammar, but I seriously need to up my reading. It's not that I can't read it, it's just that I can't remember it well enough to answer the questions. And the questions are just... really hard. Haha! Any tips or tricks for upping my game in this area? I need those 19 points, haha!

Zorlee Wrote:It's not that I can't read it, it's just that I can't remember it well enough to answer the questions. And the questions are just... really hard. Haha! And tips or tricks for upping my game in this area? I need those 19 points, haha!

It might be an obvious hint the only thing I can think of (aside from reading a lot) is, in the exam, always look at the bottom right of the reading passage before you start. The title of the article will be there so you'll have an idea of what it is you're reading about. I see you've ordered the 合格できる book as well so hopefully that will provide you with some reading strategies

I don't think anyone's said it yet, but the results for July 2011 will be mailed out September 2nd.

Whee. (Also translated as: ***** finally.)

I imagine it'll take SOAS an extra few weeks to mail them to us. -.-

dizmox Wrote:I imagine it'll take SOAS an extra few weeks to mail them to us. -.-

Liar! They'll teleport our results to our mail boxes in no time :/

zigmonty Wrote:Anyway, so that site also had the questions available in spreadsheet form. Last year i downloaded them all and converted them into anki decks. So, I've got decks for vocab and grammar for JLPT 1, 2 and 3 (old levels). The number of questions in each varies a bit, between about 300 and 1200 questions. They're simply question and options on the front and answer on the back, no explanation.

If anyone wants them, i could upload them somewhere.

Could you upload the 1kyuu ones somewhere? ^-^

zigmonty Wrote:

ta12121 Wrote:

zigmonty Wrote:BTW, if you're happy doing the old test rather than the new format, this site is great:

http://ngoilaibennhau.net/jatest/index_4.php

It's important to get used to the new format, but at the end of the day, it's testing the same japanese. If you can do the reading sections of the old JLPT, especially under the time constraint of the old test, you'll be fine on the new one.

I'm incorporating those questions into my anki sentence deck

Funny you mention that... there was a website that had a similar quiz structure for JLPT grammar and vocab (forget the site). It was my understanding that the questions were all from past exams (they certainly feel the same).

Anyway, so that site also had the questions available in spreadsheet form. Last year i downloaded them all and converted them into anki decks. So, I've got decks for vocab and grammar for JLPT 1, 2 and 3 (old levels). The number of questions in each varies a bit, between about 300 and 1200 questions. They're simply question and options on the front and answer on the back, no explanation.

If anyone wants them, i could upload them somewhere.

please do, that would make our lives easier(I mean for everyone).

Bokusenou Wrote:

zigmonty Wrote:Anyway, so that site also had the questions available in spreadsheet form. Last year i downloaded them all and converted them into anki decks. So, I've got decks for vocab and grammar for JLPT 1, 2 and 3 (old levels). The number of questions in each varies a bit, between about 300 and 1200 questions. They're simply question and options on the front and answer on the back, no explanation.

If anyone wants them, i could upload them somewhere.

Could you upload the 1kyuu ones somewhere? ^-^

looks like someone agrees with me. It would be a huge help for everyone here. And plus since I got my laptop(new). I can finally edit/use the srs/computer as long as I want. So my srs pace will be back to the regular ways

Morrolan Wrote:I don't think anyone's said it yet, but the results for July 2011 will be mailed out September 2nd.

Whee. (Also translated as: ***** finally.)

When I took JLPT1 in Dec2009, I never got the results until the end of MAY. The initial send-out got lost in the mail (more likely they screwed it up since JP post is damn reliable) and I had to apply by mail to get them resent.

Jarvik7 Wrote:

Morrolan Wrote:I don't think anyone's said it yet, but the results for July 2011 will be mailed out September 2nd.

Whee. (Also translated as: ***** finally.)

When I took JLPT1 in Dec2009, I never got the results until the end of MAY. The initial send-out got lost in the mail (more likely they screwed it up since JP post is damn reliable) and I had to apply by mail to get them resent.

Ok? When I took the 2010 December exam I got the results soon after the mailing date. I was just giving people who haven't checked the site lately a head's up.

I was making a comment on the slowness of JLPT processing (re your "***** finally").

Why so defensive?