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stormsewerI'm going to try using a cut for the first time.
I thought about talking about this stuff at the other place, but it's a little too uninterestingly self-absorbed.
So, I'm taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験) in December. There are four levels, 4 being the lowest and 1 being the highest. I'll be taking level 2 this time. Most JETs seem to consider passing level 2 to be a feat that few mortals will ever accomplish, and passing level 1 seems to be considered akin to joining the ranks of the gods themselves. There are stories- legends, really- told around campfires of great ALT heroes who achieved this unbelievable success, but most now doubt their veracity.
Of course, I don't think it's that hard. Also of course, I have something of a talent for language and I've been studying Japanese for a while now. Most JETs come to Japan knowing jack about Japanese (and many of them never get far beyond that).
I administered last year's level 2 test to myself yesterday and passed by a wide margin. My total score was 318 out of 400 points, or about 80%. You need 60% to pass. Surprisingly enough, I did the best on the listening section (87%). Compared to the listening comprehension challenges I'm presented with on a daily basis at work (or watching TV, for that matter), that stuff really wasn't that hard. I got an 82% on kanji reading and vocabulary. And, also surprisingly, I got a 75% on the reading comprehension and grammar section (which is weighted two times as much as the other two sections). I traditionally kick more ass on reading comprehension than anything else (it's so easy- the answers are RIGHT THERE!), you see. Though, looking at that section more closely, I got 86% of the reading comprehension questions right (though I think I should have gotten them ALL right) and only 55% of the grammar questions right. Looks like I need to work on grammar.
You might think that perhaps I should be taking the level 1 test instead of the level 2 test. You'd be wrong, though. The gap between the "pretty good" Japanese of level 2 and the "really darn good" Japanese of level 1 is pretty huge. At the moment I only know about half of the kanji you're expected to know to pass level 1; I've still got a thousand or so yet to memorize. Also, the cut-off line for passing level 1 is 70%, as opposed to 60% for the lower levels. If I studied really, really hard between now and then I might have a (probably slight) chance of passing it this December, but I know that passing level 2 is virtually assured. I just want to get myself on the map for now and give myself another year to make sure I'm really ready to take on level 1 next year.
In order to attend a Japanese university, you must have passed level 2. So, after December I should be good to go if I decide that I'm so inclined...
My Japanese has really come together recently, somehow. I can now speak to anyone about most anything without that much more mental exertion than I'd use speaking English (unless they're speaking really fast in a dialect, in which case it's still really hard). Used to be, even when I first got here this time around, that speaking Japanese for too long at a stretch always made my brain feel like it was on the verge of overheating, but it feels much more natural now. It's nice.
But I'm still nowhere near the level I want to be at.
I thought about talking about this stuff at the other place, but it's a little too uninterestingly self-absorbed.
So, I'm taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (日本語能力試験) in December. There are four levels, 4 being the lowest and 1 being the highest. I'll be taking level 2 this time. Most JETs seem to consider passing level 2 to be a feat that few mortals will ever accomplish, and passing level 1 seems to be considered akin to joining the ranks of the gods themselves. There are stories- legends, really- told around campfires of great ALT heroes who achieved this unbelievable success, but most now doubt their veracity.
Of course, I don't think it's that hard. Also of course, I have something of a talent for language and I've been studying Japanese for a while now. Most JETs come to Japan knowing jack about Japanese (and many of them never get far beyond that).
I administered last year's level 2 test to myself yesterday and passed by a wide margin. My total score was 318 out of 400 points, or about 80%. You need 60% to pass. Surprisingly enough, I did the best on the listening section (87%). Compared to the listening comprehension challenges I'm presented with on a daily basis at work (or watching TV, for that matter), that stuff really wasn't that hard. I got an 82% on kanji reading and vocabulary. And, also surprisingly, I got a 75% on the reading comprehension and grammar section (which is weighted two times as much as the other two sections). I traditionally kick more ass on reading comprehension than anything else (it's so easy- the answers are RIGHT THERE!), you see. Though, looking at that section more closely, I got 86% of the reading comprehension questions right (though I think I should have gotten them ALL right) and only 55% of the grammar questions right. Looks like I need to work on grammar.
You might think that perhaps I should be taking the level 1 test instead of the level 2 test. You'd be wrong, though. The gap between the "pretty good" Japanese of level 2 and the "really darn good" Japanese of level 1 is pretty huge. At the moment I only know about half of the kanji you're expected to know to pass level 1; I've still got a thousand or so yet to memorize. Also, the cut-off line for passing level 1 is 70%, as opposed to 60% for the lower levels. If I studied really, really hard between now and then I might have a (probably slight) chance of passing it this December, but I know that passing level 2 is virtually assured. I just want to get myself on the map for now and give myself another year to make sure I'm really ready to take on level 1 next year.
In order to attend a Japanese university, you must have passed level 2. So, after December I should be good to go if I decide that I'm so inclined...
My Japanese has really come together recently, somehow. I can now speak to anyone about most anything without that much more mental exertion than I'd use speaking English (unless they're speaking really fast in a dialect, in which case it's still really hard). Used to be, even when I first got here this time around, that speaking Japanese for too long at a stretch always made my brain feel like it was on the verge of overheating, but it feels much more natural now. It's nice.
But I'm still nowhere near the level I want to be at.
