I have self-studied Japanese for 2.5 years now, and feel like N4- / genki 2-level Japanese is quite easy for me. I signed up for an N3 prep course and failed the first practice exam pretty badly. Something like a 40-45% average (where 55% is passing). My listening score was particularly bad.
Nonetheless, the passages felt like they were about at my comprehension level. Maybe a little hard, but I didn’t feel out of my depths.
Should I be questioning my self-assessment of saying that I am past the N4 level? Or is this kind of failure and self-doubt normal for the first JLPT practice exam people take?
(No, I do not need to take the N3 for anything other than having a personal goal, and I know preparing for it is not a one-to-one correlation with learning Japanese.)
5 comments
Practice tests are great as they can pinpoint weak areas.
No that’s perfectly normal. N3 is probably perfect for you as you will be passing after a few months of study. Think if the practice exams as a way to gauge your progress, you will suck at the first one then get better and better as you study.
Its always discouraging when you struggle with a tests content. I think we have all had that experience at least at some point on the way of learning a language. I think, as another user said, the important thing to take from having a rough experience is identifying your areas of improvement and begin to work on those. In terms of your level of assesment, being N4, N3, whatever, at the end of the day if you are just taking them for personal goals then as you note its all fairly arbitrary anyway. Good luck with it
Nope. The first couple throw people for a loop due to not being used to the time restrictions and format.
Now, if you’re failing your 5th one, it’s time to assess if you’re ready or not. But failing the first 1 or 2 even if you do know the material is pretty normal.
The JLPT requires a specific type of studying to prepare for the types of questions you’ll see. If you’re new to studying specifically for that, it’ll take a minute to adjust. There are videos online about strategies to use for the JLPT and just taking practice tests will help you improve. If you’re able to see what questions you got wrong, look for patterns in the questions and possible answers that messed you up.
Also, the leap from N4 to N3 is/was tricky for a lot of folks, myself included. You might be totally prepared for N4 but not quite ready for N3. That’s why you’re studying and taking a prep class. You’ll get there!