My current study schedule gives me about a couple of hours a day however that includes forum time

Anyway, I'm spending less time reading for pleasure these days as the JLPT is less than 3 months away.

With that in mind, I am reviewing the grammar patterns in cloze sentences on Twinkle. Prior to going to bed I spend 10 minutes or so listening on my iPod to the CDs that come with the UNICOM 文法編 book (some of which I'm drilling in Twinkle).

I'm not yet hitting the books designed for to practice for the reading section yet. But am going to spend some time reading from the NHK site recommeded by takoman on another thread. As the texts are fairly short, I simply copy and paste them into the reading section on this site.

Obviously, I'm also trying to keep my reviews on this site ticking over too...

Any other exciting study plans out there?

I'm also shooting for the 2級 this year and have amassed a collection of study books (more than I can realistically get through I'm afraid). My current favorite for vocabulary is "The Japanese Language Profiency Test まとめて覚える漢字単語ドリル ２級" by Unicom . It's got kanji organized by main primitive (similar but not exactly like Heisig Vol2) with example words and lots of example sentences to see how to use the words in context. What makes the book so cool to me is that the furigana and the english translation (main words only - no translations for sentences) are in red text and the book comes with one of those red plastic sheets that you place over the page so you can't see the text in red. This lets us read the sentences without seeing the furigana letting us practice how to say the kanji. The sentences are not too hard (not too easy either) so that (in my case) I usually understand the meaning without a problem.

This is a good 2級 book for the train and other times when you don't have Internet access.

I'm simultaneously working through the 5級, 4級, and 3級 Kanji Kentei books, in preparation for my 3級 test at the end of October. Also using 漢検DS, which I've found to be quite better than I initially thought it was.
I'm working on the JET Translation/Interpretation course, which is kicking my @$$ time-wise.
And I'm reading 「ねじまこ鳥クロニクル」 by Haruki Murakami, which I entirely consider to be studying.


If you'll allow me to impart a bit of advice, Synewave, I've taken the top two levels of the test, and the only two sections I specifically studied for were grammar and kanji. Prep books are nice, but as far as the reading section goes, there's no substitute for real reading. I encourage you to read whatever test-taking strategies your reading-section books have to offer (I gleaned some useful advice from my SAT-prep days), and go through some sample problems (my past test books helped me get the feel of the test), but if you have to choose between finishing the prep book and doing a bunch of reading for pleasure, I'd recommend the latter. If anything, it'll make the test feel like less of a chore and less artificial.

Thanks for your advice Jimmy (that is your real name, right? Obviously mine isn't synewave!). My idea was to stop reading books for a few months and just get these grammar points memorized. Then when I go back to reading I hope to see an improvement. In the meantime I'm still reading authentic texts on news sites.

Anyway, this caught my attention.

JimmySeal Wrote:I'm working on the JET Translation/Interpretation course, which is kicking my @$$ time-wise.

Can you start a thread on this and tell us a bit more about the course? Is it only for current JETs? Is it a course you are taking or do you mean you are responsible for some of it?

Does sound interesting. I second a vote for jimmy to "prey tell"

Yes, Jimmy is my real name, but Seal isn't my last name.

synewave Wrote:

JimmySeal Wrote:I'm working on the JET Translation/Interpretation course, which is kicking my @$$ time-wise.

Can you start a thread on this and tell us a bit more about the course? Is it only for current JETs? Is it a course you are taking or do you mean you are responsible for some of it?

I doubt that it merits a thread of its own so I'll just answer your question here but I'll put up the flag.

It's a course that I'm taking that's offered by CLAIR to current JETs (but not 1st years). It consists of 6 books (6 months) of 20 lessons each. Each lesson consists of:
-translate a small passage into English
-compare your translation against theirs, reading their notes about certain sentences
-read a blurb on a daily grammar point
-translate another small passage, related to the first, and again compare with their answer
-translate an English sentence into Japanese
-then there are two interpretation exercises which involve listening to a Japanese recording on the CD and quickly producing it in English. Again, sample answers are provided for reference
-and lastly, another grammar point

At the end of each book there is a test with translation and interpretation exercises (a tape is provided for recording the interpretation answers) that I have to mail in to be graded by a certain deadline.

In mid-December, there is a 5-day conference where all the people taking the course gather at a training center outside Otsu city to watch a few lectures and practice what they've learned.

It's a valuable learning experience, but a ton of work.

Studying for JLPT has suddenly become low priority. I have been told that I have to pass 証券外務員資格試験 and reeeeaaaaally quick: like, yesterday... Five rather thick volumes　on 「金融商品取引法対応」 have landed on my desk and they have to be learnt by heart, more or less. I went out to buy a single-volume cheat manual but it doesn't seem much help...

Althought most exam questions seem to be common sense plus some knowledge, the pressure is great because failing would be unacceptable. Has anyone here passed this exam (一種 or 二種) and cares to share the experience?.. (>_<)

I've taken those. It was a #"%&$' nightmare. It's considerably harder than passing the US Series 7 IMO.

You are taking it in English I suppose? The English study material I had was awful, very badly translated and edited. The questions on the test itself are riddled with translation errors. If you can read Japanese reasonably well, that helps, as you can see the original Japanese question.

I think the best strategy is to look through all the sample questions several times. That will give you the best idea of what you really need to know. You especially have to focus on the high point value questions rather than the T/F. They are worth more, the same types of questions come up repeatedly, and you won't guess right very often if you don't know the answer. It's not worth the effort trying to slog through all of the study material. A lot of the material hardly ever shows up on the test, whereas minute details (the trading units for a particular security, for example) are sure to be there. I'm not sure how much the new FIEL will be reflected on the exam. They may not have made up new English questions yet.

If your company wants you to pass the test, they have to give you plenty of time during the day to study. Common sense will not get you far. Exams prepared by Japanese tend to feature lots of trick questions. Don't expect to pass if you work a full day, and study only nights/weekends. You especially want to spend all day cramming the details into your head right before the test.

The day you (hopefully) find out you passed the Series 2, sign up for the Series 1. 80% of the material is the same. I think 1 is actually easier than 2 since there are a couple of high point questions that always show up. You want to take it before you start to forget the other material.

Brose senpai,

Many thanks for the valuable insights. I am planning to take the test in Japanese, actually, since I have heard that the English version is truly awful. Also, I'll have to go on using that stuff in Japanese so I might as well concentrate on it now. The actual language doesn't seem to be that bad.

The test has now been suspended because they are preparing the new questions in accordance with the new rules.

I went through the law books and there is no way I can remember all that stuff so I have bought a few books that offer strategies for passing (ikkai!!!) - they are probably my best bet for now...

I will let you know how I'm getting on...

I try to get in at least an hour a day with the Nintendo DS studying kanji. It's been Kanken DS 2 lately, with a bit of 漢字の渡り鳥 or 必殺カンフー　漢字ドラゴン when I need something more exciting.

That's prep for Kanken 準２級 which I am taking on Sunday.

I also read the paper every day and try to have a novel or non-fiction book with me at all times. Currently I am reading the second 空の境界　book by 奈須きのこ. It's a pretty involved story, so it's good fun.

ETA
JimmySeal,
Glad to hear you are enjoying the Trans/Interp course. I took part in it about 3 years ago and had a fantastic time. The week-long seminar in Otsu is unbelievable. The classes are excellent and it's a great place to make some connections.