Can anyone give me any tips with this (I know I asked about this before). I've been doing the N1 kanzen books and finding one problem. I would love to srs some of those key points in the book. Not sure why but I have this urge to use the SRS to learn things in the book. I guess I like to learn everything via digital means. I'm doing tae kim grammar at the moment but I feel I could srs grammar points specifically relating to N1,N2.

Currently what I'm doing:

SRS for 40mins per day (20mins for vocabulary deck and 20mins for sentence+production deck(same deck). I do 15 tae kim grammar sentences+5 production cards (J-J heisig cards, just so I can get back into the mood of writing).

Listen to JPN as usual, read news,articles online,etc.

Plus trying to do those books for N1 everyday.

Goal for N1 is just pass it and get it. That's my goal.

What's the question?

comeauch Wrote:What's the question?

My mistake. Any tips for the grammar part. That's my main concern. I did a few chapters for the kanji section and grammar section for the kanzen master for N1. Feel like I should SRS these (also bought some mock tests for N1). I'm basically asking anyone who has taken N1 and what kind methods can be used to better equipped for the N1 JLPT test.

Since the test is in December, I know there isn't much time left. I'm fine with kanji and vocabulary. I'm reading a lot so I can better equip myself. The listening book for N1 is really useful. So that leaves the grammar section. I'm basically "studying" the test itself, so I don't get hit too hard(the marks).

My advice is to *not* study for the test itself..
(Although taking one or two practice tests is probably a good idea just to know what's up. Unless you've already taken it before. In which case I guess you know what's up.)
I think the biggest thing lacking in learners of language is flexibility and the best way to gain that flexibility is to forget the basics (by making them a part of yourself. actually *forgetting* the basics would probably not be so good). Then just accept new usages and points as they come along! Study all the basic grammar, study the N1 grammar, make it all a part of yourself and then just conform to Japanese as it exists. (Easier said than done, right? Yeah.. D

It sounds like you're doing everything right otherwise?

Definitely anki the grammar points from your books. Digital dependency though it may be, that's a good way to make them natural, I think! And then just read/listen as you are! Purposefully read hard material like philosophy and other abstract readings, novels for adults, news, etc. But it seems like you already do that so... winning?

If you can read those things with little dictionary help then N1 shouldn't be (too) difficult. The listening, at least, is sadly forced as is all test-listening. Luckily that makes it easy.


[the secret to kicking names and taking ass on the N1-- adopt/create a japanese brain!]

(So I guess this post is old and the JLPT is right around the corner but my 2 cents have been dropped and there's no going back noooooow! D: D

I always love your 2 cents doc, and wish you would go about dropping them more frequently.

I think it is worth studying for the exam, because as with many exams, it's more about how good you are at answering the specific question format than how knowledgeable you are about the topic. The reading section is particularly horrible without practice, even if you can breeze through the texts. If you use the KM spreadsheets and do enough grammar questions, you can still pass that section easily, even if you can't actually produce grammatical sentences yourself.

If you want some real preparation for the reading, try the 国語 section of past センター試験 papers. The format and language is almost identical to the N1 reading section, but the texts are almost double the size.

That said, the majority of the time should still be spent getting exposure, learning vocab and generally just learning Japanese, but forgoing focused study for the test is likely to take 10-20% of your score no matter how good you are at the language. I was reading books and news all the time, but I still got a crap score on the reading.

Javizy Wrote:I think it is worth studying for the exam, because as with many exams, it's more about how good you are at answering the specific question format than how knowledgeable you are about the topic.

True.. especially for the normal person in all of us who hates taking tests, however..

Javizy Wrote:That said, the majority of the time should still be spent getting exposure, learning vocab and generally just learning Japanese...

Also true!
I'm not sure about neglecting focused study taking considerable chunks out of your score. (Aside from completely neglecting to prepare for the test format at all. The practice tests you can buy from various companies seemed to have worked for me. I took one of those a week or two before the test and felt prepared when I saw the real deal.)
But I could, of course, just be crazy. This possibility is... great. This is just my personal experience with the test.

And certainly looking at センター試験国語 tests would be good as well. They're all more than likely going to be harder than N1 and looking at them is the right mindset, after all.

I took the test in July 2011 and my impression was that- with a command of the language adequate to make educated guesses Japanese-person-style about answers to the difficult questions and a knowledge of the format- the test itself wasn't bad at all. I did well, I hate taking tests.. never again!



@SammyB -- Haha, thanks.. But I really hate the way I sound when I'm talking about language learning so I try to refrain from existing in the community. I'm too ambiguous. Like an arrogant language learning hippie. Just go with the flow maaaaan. (Note: While not arrogant, I am probably a language learning hippie).
ohwell..!

I'll be honest, I don't think I'll pass N1 this time around. I just didn't prepare enough for it. I could make up excuses saying I had work+school to deal with but I should have actively prepared for it. All I really did was the usual stuff I usual do. Do my srs reps,immerse[via games,internet,etc].

Next semester I'm only taking 2 courses as a oppose to 4, so I should have more time but I'm trying to get used to a different routine nowadays(it's more about active production and grammar]. I recently had an interview in Japanese for a school and the interviewer pointed out my flaws with Japanese. He honestly said to me your grammar and speaking are lacking but it won't take long for you to pick it up.

Then again, for the N1 the reading and the listening take up a huge portion of the test but I did a few mock tests and didn't do so well. So I have a feeling this time around, the N1 won't be within reach(I won't get it). But that doesn't phase me. I have gotten far and will keep going until I reach the goal

drdunlap Wrote:I took the test in July 2011 and my impression was that- with a command of the language adequate to make educated guesses Japanese-person-style about answers to the difficult questions and a knowledge of the format- the test itself wasn't bad at all. I did well, I hate taking tests.. never again!

I took my test at the same time, and I'd largely agree. I did very little preparation and basically ended up making educated guesses like you describe. This meant that my reading score was pretty poor though, because the test was a far cry from the leisurely novel/news reading I did leading up to the exam. That's the only reason I stressed a bit more focused preparation. I had an app of grammar questions and went through the N2/N1 KM workbooks, so I guess I had more than educated guesses to work with there, but that section is by far the easiest.

Become fluent in Japanese before you take the test.

And then it will be a piece of cake. Or else it's probably just a waste of money

I agree with the idea of studying for the exam. My grammar sensei said the same thing as Javizy. Aside from teaching us the Kanzen Master grammar points, he'd give us tips about "hacking the JLPT" -- making intelligent guesses, process of elimination, etc. Also, he said, if you don't know the answer, leave it (don't spend too much time on something) then go back to your blanks later, choosing only one letter instead of shading random letters for every blank item that you missed.

sherlock Wrote:Also, he said, if you don't know the answer, leave it (don't spend too much time on something) then go back to your blanks later, choosing only one letter instead of shading random letters for every blank item that you missed.

This is great advice- as wasting time is a big reason for many people doing poorly on the test.

Realism Wrote:Become fluent in Japanese before you take the test.

And then it will be a piece of cake. Or else it's probably just a waste of money

This is my favorite advice. Although the definition of "fluent" is up for debate as usual. If you can read/watch/listen to (although the N1 listening is a joke if you can do this) native material without *too much* trouble then you're ready to take on the JLPT N1 for real. Of course, if you can do this, there's not much point in taking the test...

I took/passed with flying colors (自慢ちゃうわ主張の裏付けや!!), the N1 after I was reading newspapers and novels in Japanese as a regular thing. I took it because my close friends were taking it and I figured I'd go ahead and see what it's like. I wanted to know if the rumors (archaic grammar/words that even Japanese people would get incorrect) about the N1 were true (they aren't).

"Hacking" the JLPT is certainly possible with educated guesses.
However, in this case, (I believe) "educated" means "being used to Japanese."

Use JLPT textbooks and smart phone/tablet apps. The apps are particularly useful because you don't have to waste time looking up answers (not to mention, you can avoid the grueling process of inputting sentence after sentence into Anki).

The best way to study for the JLPT is to study for the JLPT. Since many of the same kanji, vocabulary, and grammar questions (文字・語彙・文法) tend to reappear (of course, they're reworded), taking all the previous exams will give you a marked advantage. The readings are all essays as well, and so the style and structure is much different than novels or news.

I also recommend studying at a lightning pace. Don't take several minutes deciding between two or three possible answers for a particular question. If you don't know it, just choose an answer and continue. You should only spend one minute at most on a single question, maybe two for those fill-in-the-blank questions (the ones with a star). The reason you don't know the answer is because you lack exposure, not because a lack in guessing ability. Therefore, quickly solving problem after problem is the best method to fix that deficit.

A friend of mine used the above strategy to study for N1 and he scored 175/180 (he didn't even use SRS!). He solved about 200 questions a day, five days a week for three or four months before he exam. However, he is Korean, so I don't know to what extent this affected his score. Regardless, his score lends credit to his method.