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| Warukunai desu yo | |
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5.10.2008
3:40 PM | Link |
You may remember that I was a disappointed in my scores on the 2007 Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 3, but since then I've been really curious to find out how the rest of the world did on the same exam. Every year they publish a set of statistics with that information, and this week I noticed the results were finally available online, so at last I can compare myself with the rest of the world! The numbers I'm interested in are the average scores for overseas examinees, and there were around 113,000 of them last year. I'm really happy to say that my scores were above average in all three parts of the test, so I feel much better now! My writing/vocabulary score was 84, while the average was only 69, and my reading/grammar score was 163, while the average was 126. Best of all, now I have proof that the 2007 listening comprehension section was really terrible - the average score was a mere 39 points, which makes my score of 48 seem much better! So overall, my total score of 295 looks nice compared to the average score of 235. I've really been enjoying my Japanese studies this year, and now it feels even better to know that my Level 3 results were definitely OK since the test was pretty difficult. Now I have new determination to pass Level 2 someday, most likely in 2009 - I'm definitely going to spend this year enjoying Japanese without cramming for the exam! While I'm on the subject, this week I had my last lesson with my tutor Mikie, who is moving to California soon. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher at this stage of my studies - her kindness really helped me through some tough spots and encouraged me to continue studying! I'm thankful that my pal Kumiko is my new tutor, and we are making fantastic progress and having fun, but I'm definitely going to miss Mikie-sensei! |
| Yamenai! | |
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3.01.2008
10:20 PM | Link |
 Studying Japanese has been one of my major activities for the past several years, but lately I've been having a tough time. I always feel frustrated when I try to speak (even though I have two spectacular tutors), and I'm often too lazy to do the hard work of attempting to express myself by writing, so I don't feel like I've progressed much, especially this year. One of my goals for this year was to have more fun with studying - to find new ways of studying as a kind of enjoyable game - but instead, I feel like my studies have a lack of direction, which drives me crazy sometimes!I received my results for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3 that I took in December, and I was a little disappointed. I was well above the passing score, so I have a nice certificate to frame, but my scores were just so-so. Actually, looking at the statistics from 2006, I'm way over the average mark, but I just wanted to do better. I made an 84 out of 100 in vocabulary and a 163 out of 200 in reading comprehension, but my listening comprehension was only 48 out of 100 (kind of embarrassing!). So, my total score was a high C grade, but since I'm such a perfectionist (probably because I was my high school valedictorian), I was a little bummed. On top of that, my work week was a little crazy, so I've been in a negative state of mind that made me consider just quitting Japanese all together. But since then I've changed my mood, and I definitely want to continue studying! I just need to really chill out and treat my studies as a hobby, because that's exactly what it is. I have a strong love of Japanese culture, and I've always enjoyed enhancing that by learning how this beautiful language works - I just need to remember that motivation! I'm really moving along towards finishing Rosetta Stone Level 2, and my pal Kumiko is going to assign me some fun essays to write for homework. It's always hard to balance my time and keep my over-obsession in check, but I'm going to do it! |
| Tadaima! | |
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12.04.2007
12:56 PM | Link |
I'm back from Los Angeles and the JLPT Level 3 test is over! Overall the exam was difficult, but I feel like I did well. I think the best thing about the experience was it clearly showed me how to re-focus my studies. For example, I think I spent too much time on grammar and not enough time on vocabulary. Even though I drilled myself on the 700 Level 3 vocabulary words several times, I didn't really learn them all, and of course they chose to use a few words that I didn't remember (but now I will never forget them!). I'm glad I went over the tests for the previous three years, though, because I was able to recognize how certain questions were structured, especially in the Reading Comprehension section. Listen Comprehension was crazy (as expected), but I'm hoping I made some good guesses! When I get my test results at the end of February, I'll be sure to post them here. Of course, after the exam, my mind was racing with all the things that confused me, but now I actually feel more energetic about studying, and I'm ready to really gain some ground in 2008! Labels: jlpt |
| Ittekimasu! | |
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11.30.2007
7:35 AM | Link | Tomorrow I'm leaving for Los Angeles to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3 on Sunday! I feel like I'm a little more prepared than when I took Level 4 last year, so I'm looking forward to the experience (but I'm not looking forward to waiting until March for the results!). I'm glad that I've stuck with it and studied all year, and it's great to know that my pals are cheering me on, too. My pal Kumiko sent me a Japanese e-card, and my pal Melinda went all-out and surprised me with a "good luck kit" full of snacks and Christmas goodies! I'm going to enjoy the trip, especially seeing Dae and Ernesto again, and when I come back I'll be in full relax mode! |
| JLPT 2007 signup | |
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8.06.2007
11:07 PM | Link | I've officially registered for the 2007 Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 3! It's pretty exciting to actually be signed up, even though it only took me two minutes to register online. I think this year is going to be much smoother, since I'll be familar with the testing location on the USC campus and how the whole process works. Unfortunately, I didn't study at all this weekend, but I'm hoping to make up for lost time really soon! It's time to really get serious about focusing my studies on the test itself, and I'm looking forward to it. December 2nd is coming up fast! |
| A little more progress | |
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7.31.2007
7:54 PM | Link |
Here we are at the end of July - it feels like 2007 is really flying! Now I officially have four more months to study for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3, and I also have to really get moving on my usual end of the year video project at the same time. Today I took half of the 2004 Level 3 exam, and I did pretty well, but I think I need to specifically study whatever vocabulary I don't already know (rather than the complete word list). I'm going to start focusing my studies on sample exams for the next month or so, so I can start to judge how I'm doing! Besides studying and staying busy with my bands, I did manage to completely finish my Astro Boy 8-DVD set (yatta!). I also hit a nice milestone with my de-cluttering project - I've now been through each and every room, closet, cabinet and drawer in the entire condo, getting rid of everything I don't need and organizing the rest! I think I need to make another pass at the garage, but it's still a wonderful feeling. There are other goals that I wanted to accomplish in 2007, and I'm not sure if I have the time, but at least every day brings a little more progress, and there's always 2008 ahead of me! Labels: decluttering, jlpt, life |
| Maiasa no benkyou | |
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7.03.2007
6:35 AM | Link |
 I have about five more months of study before I take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3, so I'm starting to get a little more serious about how I spend my study time. Recently I've got kind of a morning routine going that takes up quite a bit of my free time before work, but I think it's worth it (even if I do have to get up early!). First, I go over a few new points from my grammar book and answer a few sample questions. It seems like there are so many new constructions in Level 3, and many of them blend together to confuse me, so this is really important! Next I work on my kanji, which I'm studying two different ways. I've started working through Heisig's famous book Remembering the Kanji, because I really want to just get all 2,000 essential characters out of the way. So far I'm really enjoying the method (even though some of the memorization techniques are a little goofy), and I've using some new flash cards to work through 100 characters a day, rotating 10 new characters in and out of the group. In addition, I'm using the awesome Speedanki.com website to go over the specific Level 3 kanji combinations, and brushing up on Level 4 kanji at the same time. Finally, I've been making tons of computer flash card sets (using iFlash) of Level 3 vocabulary, studying them in groups of 30 words. I think if I continue with this routine for a couple months before practicing with more JLPT sample exams, I will really see a difference! Hontou ni ganbarimasu!
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| JLPT statistics | |
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4.19.2007
7:11 AM | Link |
I recently realized that statistics for the 2006 JLPT are now available online, so now I can compare my scores to everyone else! I'm definitely happy with my scores, but seeing them in this light makes me feel even better. For Vocabulary & Kanji, the average score was 73.3, and I scored 93. For Listening, the average score was 53.2, and I scored 76 (I was interested to see if everyone else had the same trouble I did with this section, and it appears so!). For Grammar & Reading, the average score was 131.6, and I scored 186. Finally, the average total score was 258.2, nearly 100 points lower than my score of 355. (By the way, 55,957 people took the test worldwide, which is amazing!) Not bad, but I'm actually shooting to do even better on Level 3 in December! Labels: jlpt |
| Suburashii mise | |
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4.16.2007
10:02 PM | Link | Today I received some new JLPT study books from The Japan Shop, so I thought I would mention their fantastic service! They have a great selection of learning materials and other cool Japanese items that I can't find anywhere else, and everytime I have ordered from them they actually ship the same day, and even their least expensive shipping method arrives in only a couple days, nicely packed with care. I'll definitely continue being a customer of The Japan Shop as long as I'm working on the JLPT, so they can expect several more years of business from me! |
| The Preparatory Course for the JLPT, Level 4 / Unicom : 4 of 5 | |
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4.08.2007
7:26 AM | Link |
 Wait a minute, didn't I take this test already? Well, I bought this book from The Japan Shop on sale only a month or so before the exam, so I only had time to begin looking it over, and since I always have such a desire to completely finish a book once I start, I had to finish studying it! I really think this book is a great study aid, since it does a nice job of presenting each grammar point individually with lots of examples. My other study aids for Level 4 were mainly sample exams, which are totally useful, but I really like going over the details one by one. Since this is a Level 4 book, there's a little English thrown in, but in general everything is kana, as it should be. The price of this book is kind of expensive, mainly because it comes with two CDs (which I haven't even listened to, honestly), but I still think it's worth it to get a nice overview of everything that encompasses Level 4 Japanese. My only complaint with the book is that all of the sample questions have the answers clearly displayed at the bottom of the same page, making it less than ideal for testing yourself, but the amount of exercises provided more than makes up for the inconvenience. I'm definitely going to keep using this Unicom series in the future. In fact, now that I've totally finished this book cover to cover, I'm ready to hit the Level 3 book!
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| Daiseikou! | |
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3.07.2007
7:51 AM | Link |
 I finally got my results for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (Level 4) that I took in December, and I'm happy to say that I'm officially certified! They sent me a really nice certificate that I'm definitely going to frame, and I hope some day to have a few more levels complete to hang right next to it. My dream goal for the test was to make an A, but I actually figured I would make a high B, and that's exactly what happened. My overall percentage was an 89% (only one point away!), mainly because my listening comprehension score was lower than I expected. The listening questions were definitely harder than the ones I practiced, but I'm still happy with how I did. Here are my scores:
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| Owarimashita! | |
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12.04.2006
10:30 PM | Link | This weekend I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 4, and it was a great experience! It was nice to have a pal like Dae to drive me to the USC campus, and it was really easy to find the building and my classroom. There were tons of test-takers of all ages, including some older guys like me, and even several really young kids with Japanese mothers dropping them off for the exam (and there were plenty of cute Asian girls, too!). On the first section the 25 minute time limit was barely enough, so I paced myself better from then on. One question had to include the one kanji that never showed up on any of my sample questions, of course! Next was listening comprehension (via CD), which was really tricky - I think it was more difficult than what I studied, but I guessed when I had to. Finally, reading comprehension, which is usually tough, turned out to be the easiest for me. There were definitely questions that I had trouble deciding between two answers, but maybe I picked the right ones! Anyway, it's over and I'm glad that I took the exam - now I just wish the results would be announced before March (such a long wait!). I'm definitely going to take Level 3, and I'm looking forward to studying next year! |
| Ringo ga ikutsu desu ka? | |
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11.21.2006
10:21 PM | Link | The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is just around the corner! Lately I've been so busy with Christmas stuff that I haven't really been studying, but I'm reserving lots of time next week to take the sample tests again. Tonight I had a lesson with Mikie, and we concentrated on some sample listening comprehension questions. She read a script from one of my study books, while I listened and answered the questions in the same way I will during the actual test. I was really happy that I got almost all of them right! There were a few words I didn't know, but I was able to guess from the context, so I feel good about it. I need to watch out for tricky math questions ("I bought ten apples. Yesterday three friends at one each, and today I ate two. How many apples do I have?"), because my translating ends up falling behind and I miss the next important detail in the question! After Thanksgiving weekend is over, I'll be ready to really study again - I'm looking forward to the feeling of accomplishment! |
| Mainichi benkyou shimasu | |
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9.22.2006
10:55 PM | Link | Here's a quick update on my various adventures in studying Japanese. I've been taking a few complete sample tests for the JLPT Level 4 (including listening comprehension from CDs), and I can usually score in the 90s. They only require a 60 to pass, but the old "grade monster" in me really wants a 90-something! Anyway, because of those results, I'm not thinking about the test too much (but I will still work on it weekly, I think), and instead I've been watching tons of Japanese TV! Granted, 90% of the stuff I'm watching features Hello! Project, but it still covers a wide variety of situations - game shows, cooking shows, talk shows, comedy routines, and so on. While I watch I write down words to look up later, and I save the slang or weird expressions for Kazki to explain to me. Tutoring with Kazki and Mikie is great as usual - lately Mikie and I have been walking step by step through my 2005 trip to Japan via a photo book I had printed, and it's so much fun that I'm going to make books for my 2003 and 2001 trips, too! I think I've had about four dreams where I'm speaking Japanese (of course, it's easier in the dream), and I'm trying to avoid the translation temptation - I'm hoping the meaning (when I read or practice conversation) will just "sink in" without trying to construct an English sentence in my head. I'm happy things are still progressing! |
| Atarashii benkyou | |
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3.17.2006
9:48 PM | Link |
 My Japanese lessons with Kazki have taken a new turn, and I'm pretty excited about it! We've been working on conversation for the last several months, but I still have lots of "holes" in my grammar and vocabulary. So, Kazki prepared a lesson where I had to come up with synonyms for words such as "easy", and then use them in sentences, both as adjectives and adverbs. It was really great, and it made me think about getting serious and taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at the end of this year. After doing a little research, I've decided I definitely want to do it, so now there's a new direction to my studies. For example, I found on KanjiStep an online placement test for Level 4 (the easiest of four levels of the JLPT) that I took to see what I could do - I passed, but there were plenty of areas that I need help in. So, I printed the test for my last lesson and Kazki and I went over my mistakes - it was so helpful! I also just bought some great testing books from The Japan Shop, and I'm excited to be studying those now, too. I guess I will finally learn some kanji! The test isn't held until December, so it's going to be a long wait, but I'm just happy to have a new compass to follow in my studies.Labels: jlpt |
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