Yeah, it helps keep me focused study-wise, but it also helps with some job applications. Now that the BJT is dead, it's pretty much the only game in town for an employer to go by. (Well, there is the J-Test, I suppose...) But I don't want to derail the thread.

@mutley N2 was similar. Lots of reading, and very little time to do it in. I need to work on expanding my vocabulary and improving my reading speed. Those were the two things that did me in if I didn't pass this past December.

~160 days until 7/3/2011. (At least that's the count from the US.) So it's time to get moving.

I'm studying for 2kyuu at the moment. Will take it in december, so I think I have plenty of time.

-still have to study 3kyuu vocab list (half way through)
-grammar with "somatome" grammar book
-studied an integrated approach
-studying Tobira (lesson 6) to really nail the intermediate level
-Learn 25 new grammar/vocab cards a day

You guys say that you gain vocab with reading, you add the vocab into anki right?

@Carolina Yeah, that's the idea. Read a lot of stuff. If you run across words you don't know, add them into Anki. Reread the same stuff you didn't know a month or two later, when you know the vocabulary better, to see how much better you comprehend it.

rich_f Wrote:@Carolina Yeah, that's the idea. Read a lot of stuff. If you run across words you don't know, add them into Anki. Reread the same stuff you didn't know a month or two later, when you know the vocabulary better, to see how much better you comprehend it.

Thanks!
I will try to do one article a day from now on. Hopefully I will not give up.

Im new to the JLPT test. I think I will be trying the N4. I was wondering what is the best site to get all the info of where and when? Maybe its due to the long time until the test but I would like to have some idea. I'm in USA so I'm assuming no July date?

Thanks

@Superfreek: No USA July Date.

Speaking of which, I'm finding it's not quite so easy for me to apply for the Summer JLPT in Japan as I thought.

I need to find someone in Japan (preferably Tokyo) to send in the Application for me, and be the address and telephone number for me. Fun.

Apparently, the hosting organization, JEES, does not accept applications sent in from abroad, and you have to have a JP phone number in addition to a JP address. God forbid you actually just pop in on an airplane, take a test, and have them send it to you without a resident helper of some sort. -_-#

WHY do they go out of their way to make it a pain in the ass, when they KNOW that there are so few places that offer the bloody test more than once a year???

No wait, I already know the answer to that. I've had enough interactions with Japan to understand that it's just one of many of "one of those things." *sigh* SO frustrating dealing with this country sometimes.

Time to start imposing on people, I guess. Ugh.


EDIT: the nugget of info can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this page:

http://www.jees.or.jp/jlpt_e/index.htm

Then selecting "Application Procedure" from the drop-down box for the JLPT FAQ. Then it's around Q7 or so on the page that pops up. You can't directly link to the page for some reason. I suppose it's custom-generated.

I'm thinking I might take the JLPT this year. Not sure which one to take for my first one, I'm thinking maybe N4 because I could answer, quite easily, some of the questions in the online N5 examples.

I'm going for JLPT 1 this December. I'm practicing via taking all the past tests online+all the levels as well(practice tests). This should definitely prepare me/go over grammar as well(put it in my production deck)

I know this question has been asked a million times but I don't really know how to judge it with the new test format. If I did Genki I and II would I be at a suitable level to take N4?

Additionally, does anyone know when you can sign up for the JLPT in England -- and is it only in London?

Tykkylumi Wrote:I know this question has been asked a million times but I don't really know how to judge it with the new test format. If I did Genki I and II would I be at a suitable level to take N4?

I think Im going to be around the same level as you are. I should have RTK finished in 2 weeks. Then Im going to try to finish up Genki before starting 2001.Kanji.Odyssey series.

So my plan...Im done wit the Genki series by June. Starting the Kanji Odyssey around end of June. I wonder what level to test at in December? Right now Im studying around 2-4 hours a day. (weekends off just reviewing.) Im just guessing I should try JLPT4...

To answer your question: Yes it should be enough.

N4 covers around 300 kanji, elementary grammar and around 2000 word vocabulary. With the Genki series you should be there. Though I would focus on vocabulary and reading over grammar -- that was my mistake for N2.

I don't think Genki I and II alone is enough. I learned that the hard way many years ago when I tried to do the old 3級 (now N4) while I was taking what the Uni called "Intermediate Japanese," and that was after Genki I and II, and into some wretched Intermediate Japanese book by Bonjinsha.

I'd recommend KO, yes, lots of reading, lots of listening. Get some decent JPLT prep books to cover what Genki I and II will invariably NOT cover. (Like vocabulary and grammar bits that Genki just doesn't get to.)

The "毎日の聞くとり50日 Everyday Listening in 50 Days" series is *really* useful for listening training. (The 新 series is for intermediates... don't pick that up by mistake.) It's a little pricey for both volumes (I think it's 2000 yen per volume), but I think it's well worth it. I loaned my copy to one of my classmates who was really weak at listening, and he managed to pass the N3 listening section because of it. ISBN for 上 (first part) is : 978-4-89358-752-7, 下 (second part) is : 978-4-89358-753-4.

You may not be able to get it from amazon.co.jp, but maybe from kinokunia or bk1, or bonjinsha directly.

Also, the old red 3級　Kanzen Master grammar book is good for review, if you can still find it.

毎日聞きとり is a great series I agree.
I got the intermediate (pre-intermediate in reality I think) and I really liked them.

July JLPT applications are apparently out. I just ordered mine from the Bonjinsha website. They will ship it to the US via EMS... of course the *fun* part is that I need to have it mailed from *inside* Japan. (Thanks JEES, for that kick in the head. As if you didn't make it hard enough to take the damn thing from overseas to begin with.)

Still working on acquiring a temporary Japanese Address and Phone Number for the purposes of the exam. According to the JEES website, I should just use my relatives in Japan. That's a great idea... except for the fact that I DON'T HAVE ANY.

*Sigh*

Does anybody have any suggestions for businesses I could use in Japan (preferably in Tokyo) that would offer some sort of "virtual office" thing-- like a mail forwarding/phone number I can use for the exam kind of thing where they'll also mail the application for me? I only need it for long enough to mail the application, get my exam ticket, and get my results in September.

Woops, I forgot to say -- thank you Gyuujuice and rich_f! I'll probably try and get through genki I and II and move onto KO. 毎日の聞くとり50日 looks interesting, I'll have to see if I can scrape together the money... I still have to buy Genki II and pay for the JLPT D:

Yeah, it gets pricey.

Of course, it all kind of fades into insignificance in light of the earthquakes/tsunami.

Oh, I managed to figure out how to get a phone number in Japan. Fortunately, there's always the "virtual" route, using a VOIP provider. (I did the headdesk maneuver a few times when I realized that I had forgotten that.)

Now the fun bit is finding a good one. I'd rather use something other than Vonage, but that's the default choice unless I find something better. I can just have it forward to a US Vonage number, which would then forward to Google voice, which would then send me an email if someone calls me.

Downside is the cost. Vonage ain't cheap no matter how you look at it.

I looked at Skype, but I didn't see an option to get a virtual phone number for less than $50/month. (Unless I missed something?)

As for the address, I'll probably go with Pak-Mail, once Tokyo starts functioning again...

Then again, I'm starting to think about taking the test in Kyoto. There's a Pak-Mail in Osaka, IIRC, and Kyoto rents are generally cheaper, based on the places I've checked.

oops.

>apply for July's JLPT by accident
>feel like a complete idiot.

I think I got a bit carried away...

I should wrap up KO2001 this month.

What else is a good way to pick up vocabulary? I like the KO2001 style of learning one kanji, multiple words. I also find that natural sentences stick much better after exposure from KO2001.

Trying to prep for JLPT N1 in December, although I'd probably say I'm halfway to JLPT N2 level right now. Should I get N2/N1 kanji books, or vocabulary books?

kainzero Wrote:I should wrap up KO2001 this month.

What else is a good way to pick up vocabulary? I like the KO2001 style of learning one kanji, multiple words. I also find that natural sentences stick much better after exposure from KO2001.

Trying to prep for JLPT N1 in December, although I'd probably say I'm halfway to JLPT N2 level right now. Should I get N2/N1 kanji books, or vocabulary books?

that sounds good. Yea get books and take practice tests and practice for each section(listening,reading)

Kainzero, how much vocab do you have? I'm aiming for 2kyuu in december, I'm now studying grammar and 2kyuu vocab/reading books are on the way (plus I'm adding vocab from jlpt lists). If I continue like this I'll have 2kyuu level soon.

I think vocab is my weakest point, and must be around the 3500 mark.

My deck has 4200 sentences (grammar, vocab, each vocab sentence might have 1-3 new words, most have 1-2).

Other than this I've been reading the news and shadowing 2kyuu unicom grammar book and a shadowing book.

I'd say I can understand 80% of the 2kyuu grammar, but to use it is another story...though I hope shadowing takes cares of that with time.

I'm sure I'll be able to pass 2kyuu, but to be honest, I'll take 2kyuu, but I think that right after finishing these books and reviewing them with anki and physically I'll start studying for 1kyuu.

kainzero Wrote:What else is a good way to pick up vocabulary? I like the KO2001 style of learning one kanji, multiple words. I also find that natural sentences stick much better after exposure from KO2001.

There is another method which is quite similar to this that I use.

It's looking up a kanji in http://jisho.org/, select common words, and learn everything. Repeat this 2000+ times... (looking for example sentences online if they're not in the tanaka corpus)

CarolinaCG Wrote:Kainzero, how much vocab do you have? I'm aiming for 2kyuu in december, I'm now studying grammar and 2kyuu vocab/reading books are on the way (plus I'm adding vocab from jlpt lists). If I continue like this I'll have 2kyuu level soon.

i don't really know. if we just go by decks then ko2001 is currently at 2912 cards. still, there are words made from kanji i already know and that i can pronounce fine, but i don't know what it means.

i know that recently people have been making a big deal out of the number of words that they know, but i'd rather not put weight into the raw number. 10,000 vs 20,000 etc... i just know i have to learn more to read what i want to read.

it seems like you're in better shape than me, i'm only halfway through kanzen master grammar 2kyuu and there's still a lot of stuff i don't get. and i'm planning on 1kyuu? i'm screwed. -_-;

i am not focusing on production though, so it's not so bad...

@dizmox: i'm not a fan of the tanaka corpus sentences in jisho or on tatoeba... they sound weird sometimes.

Yeah... not a big fan of Tanaka either. I tend to use the Yahoo.co.jp dictionary sentences, because they're short. (Or I pick the short ones, anyway.) That, or the Eijiro stuff from ALC, although the alc.co.jp stuff can be a little odd, too.

Another thing to try is to download some theoretical light novel text files from the theoretical thread, and search for the vocab you want to use in a sentence, and just pull it from a light novel you like. It's not the fastest way to do it, but the sentences might be more interesting. (Might not...)

On the Summer JLPT application front, I found a few services that will give you a phone number in Japan and forward it to Skype or a land line somewhere else, none of which are Vonage, all of which are much cheaper. (Woot.)

http://www.jetnumbers.com
http://www.virtualphoneline.com
http://www.sendmycall.com

EDIT: Duh. Skype does it, too... and feels slightly less shady than those guys.
EDIT2: No, wait. They only do it if you already live in Japan. Useless.

So once things settle down a bit in Tokyo, I can start getting my Summer JLPT application together... if Bonjinsha actually got my order in before the Big Quake?

I'm gonna try level 1 in July and maybe in December too.
I've had a break from this site for a few years as I had other priorities, but I'm gonna nail RTK in a few months

N1, second round. This time in London. Next weeek I'll start searching for cheap-flight