As everyone is getting their results, I though it would be good to share what methods were useful to you. I understand that everyone studies different but this can help people in passing and finding the correct method of studying.
I will be taking the N4 (hopefully) this year so any tips or methods of study are appreciated!
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Remember to mark your answer directly on the answer sheet. Please use a 2B pencil, and not a pen. Do NOT mistakenly shade in the date of the exam in the section for your birthdate. Manage your time well and mark your answer immediately on the answer sheet instead of the question sheet.
You’ll be surprised by the number of idiots EVERY YEAR who:
A) use a pen despite the explicit instructions not to.
B) shade the date of the exam instead of their birthdate
C) rush in a panicked manner to fill in the answer sheet towards the end after originally marking on the question sheet.
The instructions are there for a reason.
Sincerely, an ex JLPT proctor.
When I signed up for the JLPT N3, it was around 3 months before the exam.
I downloaded a N3 Excel vocab list (~1800 words), and started doing the following every day :
– Go over the 40 next words in the list. Add every single unknown Kanji to an Anki deck (I memorise their meanings and on-readings).
– Go over the 40 words I studied the Kanji of 3 days ago and add any unknown one to a different Anki deck. This way when learning a new word I’m already familiar with the Kanji it uses.
– Do 5 Bunpro lessons. I recommend doing not only N3 lessons but also N2 ones to pass the N3 test, since it often has N2 grammar points in it for some reason.
That’s what got me through N3, and I’ll probably do the same for N2 next year since it stuck a good balance between workload and pace.
Show up every day. That’s it. There is no secret.
I’d go through a level-appropriate textbook and then start going through prep books to fill in my knowledge gaps.
Passed N2. Like 1 month before the test I took a practice test every week and pretty thoroughly went over the answers. I mostly learned that I suck at reading, am good at listening, and am ok with basic vocabulary/grammar. This is where I think the value of the practice tests is, knowing your strengths and weaknesses for the test. I accepted that I’m going to suck at the reading and should invest as much effort as possible to boosting my listening to compensate for my reading while still getting the minimum score for the reading section. I ended up getting 44/60 on the listening and near the bare minimum (20/60) on the reading. Also the test was way harder than the practice tests imo. But yeah long story short take the practice tests to get a better grasp on where there is more value for you to try studying.