Then came the idea to document as much as I could of my
study preparations, in order to help future test takers. That's when I
decided to make a guide to passing N1, as well as other JLPT articles.
As with the N2, the exam is divided into three sections: Vocabulary/Grammar, Reading and Listening.
Before we get to how I passed, first I want to clear up some common misconceptions test takers have about N1.
Misconceptions about JLPT N1
N1 is hard for Japanese people to pass.
Any person who has graduated from a Japanese middle school should be
able to not only pass it, but pass it with flying colors. If they say
that they couldn't pass it to you, they are just being polite, or else
confusing N1 with the highest level of the Kanji Kentei, a kanji exam
meant for Japanese people.
N1 uses obscure vocabulary and grammar which you never see in real life.
Nothing on the N1 is obscure. It might be more common in writing than
speech, but nothing is really rare. I've seen some of the "obscure"
grammar people complain about appear in anime and TV commercials. If
they seem rare, you need to give yourself more exposure to authentic
Japanese.
If you pass N1 you are better at Japanese than Japanese people
If this was true, then the exam would be all but useless! The point of passing the JLPT is to show that you can understand the Japanese which Japanese people write and speak. Whoever said this might be confusing N1 with the Kanji Kentai level 1.
N2 and N1 are both "advanced" level
N1 is the only level of the test which is "advanced". N2 is "upper-intermediate"
Vocabulary
What you will need:
- Anki (assume you will need this for most sections)
- A N1 vocabulary book (I used the old 1kyuu kanzen master one because I could get my hands on it easily, but the new N1 version is likely better for N1 study)
- Access to Kenkyuusha J-E dictionary (I used the 大 version, but the smaller 中 version is useable for free online) or another source of Japanese sentences
The first thing I did was to start going through the
vocabulary deck, adding the most memorable example sentence from
Kenkyuusha for each word on the front of the card, and creating both a
reading card (where I had to read a word correctly), and a writing card
(where the word was replaced with hiragana, and I had to write the kanji
correctly) for each word. While the JLPT does not have a writing
section, knowing how to write kanji can make it easier to tell similar
ones apart when reading. A skill which will be tested on the JLPT.
I should mention that throughout my test preparations I was
still reviewing my older Anki decks from N2, as well as the oldest ones
from CORE 2000 and CORE 6000, but the number of daily due card reviews
for those were very low, since I had been reviewing them for a while.
I went through the vocabulary book and entered all of the sentences, and definitions from there into another Anki deck.
All of this took a few months, so I did it while studying
grammar as well, but vocabulary is the more important of those two. One
can pass N1 while having a large vocabulary and a small grammar
repertoire, but it would be very hard to do the reverse, which is why
vocabulary should be everyone's first priority.
Grammar
What you will need:
- A N1 or 1kyuu grammar book. I used the old 完全マスター 1kyuu book for grammar, entering everything into it's own Anki deck.
Most of the N1 grammar is only used in writing, so as with the reading section it helps to read a lot.
Make a grammar Anki deck and review it a lot, while using quiz apps and the grammar section shouldn't be too hard.
Reading
What you will need:
- A N1 or 1kyuu reading comprehension book. I used the kanzen master 1kyuu one.
- Newspaper editorials or newspaper apps.
- Books in Japanese.
I went through the reading book while reading editorials
regularly, and reading some novels and short stories. Every time I found
an interesting word it was added to Anki. Reading was my greatest
source of new words, and a lot of words in the N1 vocabulary section
were things I saw in books first. For editorials pick anything, but for
books try to find one which you really like, to the point of it being
hard to put down. If you like something, you will naturally read more of
it than if you didn't.
Android Reading Apps:
- Vertical Text reader - Aozora Bunko formatted txt files viewer.
- Aozora provider - Makes downloading txt files from Aozora Bunko easier
Android Dictionary Apps
- EBPocket/ EBPocket Pro - EPWING dictionary files viewer
- Droidwing
- Aedict
Listening
For listening I started watching dubbed Powerpuff Girls.
No, really. I found that the sample listening section on the site was
too fast, so I began watching dubbed Powerpuff Girls cartoons (in which
they talk surprisingly fast) and fast talking video bloggers on Youtube.
The idea was to surround myself with such fast talking Japanese that
the listening section would seem slowed down in comparison, and it
worked!
The problem now was that I wasn't used to listening to
audio only recordings in Japanese. I was using people's mouth movements
to help understand what words they were using, and the visuals usually
gave clues as to what they were talking about. I needed to go audio
only.
The answer to my problems was listening to podcasts and
talk radio every chance I could get. Not only actively listening to
them, but having them play as background noise to whatever I was doing.
Tunein.com, as well as the Tunein android app was perfect for this. I
left it playing in the background whenever I could. The thing with
listening in a second language is that oftentimes people actively
"listen", instead of passively "hear" and understand something.
Switching into active listening mode takes a few seconds to get into. A
fact I wasn't completely aware of until I did my first N1 practice exam.
Active listening is not good enough for JLPT N1. You will not have
time. Each audio track is only played once. If you have to try to
listen, you will generally miss the first few seconds of each track.
Ironically, actively listening while nervous actually caused me to
mishear things more often.
The point of leaving podcasts or talk radio on in the background is to force you from going to active listening mode when hearing Japanese.
Try to find media with more than one person talking, then
at random times while it is playing in the background try to ask
yourself questions like these:
- What is the topic of the conversation?
- What does person A think about it?
- What does person B think about it?
- Which points do person A and person B agree on?
- Which do they disagree on?
Reviewing
Taking the Exam
Do not spend the night before the exam cramming. The
benefits of any words you pick up from a few extra study hours will be
outweighed by how sleepy you will feel the next day.
On the day of the exam be sure to do some questions from a
quiz app or book to warm up. You wouldn't want to warm up on the first
questions of the actual exam!
Bring a light snack and water to the testing center to have
during the break. You wouldn't believe how drained you feel after two
hours in the testing room. Snacks aren't allowed to be eaten during the
test, but water is fine if it's in an unmarked bottle. Everything
besides pencils, a photo ID, an analog watch, and water must be kept
under your seat.
Also, the testing room is usually a large classroom with
lots of overhead lights. These lights can get very hot as the test goes
on, making the room feel like a sauna at times. Wear light clothes or
layered clothes which can be taken off easily if needed.
In the end, the JLPT, especially N1, is an endurance test
just as much as it is a Japanese test. It's not just about "How much
Japanese do you know?" it's "How much Japanese can you remember during
three hours answering exam questions in a hot room with a bunch of other
nervous test takers?".
That said, it does that a lot of Japanese knowledge to pass. The test questions are really asking "Japanese people have seen everything in here a million times. Have you?" If not, expose yourself to Japanese more.
That said, it does that a lot of Japanese knowledge to pass. The test questions are really asking "Japanese people have seen everything in here a million times. Have you?" If not, expose yourself to Japanese more.
Those who pass N1 should be able to follow along with most
things they read and hear in Japanese. This is what most people dream of
when they start learning the language, and that is something much more
valuable than any JLPT certificate can give.
This is the third and final article in a short series of posts for JLPT week.
If you have any questions about JLPT testing, or perhaps some stories of your own experience with JLPT, please check out my JLPT Q&A thread to continue the discussion!
This is the third and final article in a short series of posts for JLPT week.
If you have any questions about JLPT testing, or perhaps some stories of your own experience with JLPT, please check out my JLPT Q&A thread to continue the discussion!
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