I am currently studying for the N3 exam coming up and my partner convinced me I can pass N2 so I’m signing up for it as well, but I’m finding myself overwhelmed.
First of all, I’m a spouse of a Japanese national living in Japan and have studied basic Japanese off and on throughout my younger years. My listening and reading are somewhat better than my speaking which is conversational at best. Of course, I want to improve as soon as possible because I don’t want to become one of those people that never end up speaking Japanese.
I’ve taken several mock exams and can pass those fine, but I’ve realized through the use of test prep books that my actual vocabulary and grammar are lacking. I am seeing a steady improvement when I watch the news or attempt to read news articles online, however the shear amount of things I don’t know is getting to me.
I am currently using the [完全攻略]テキスト＆実践問題集 books. Is this and some flashcard and quiz apps enough to get a solid grapes and pass? Any advise would be appreciated.
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> I’m finding myself overwhelmed
I would make myself aware of the fact that I do not really need the exams and their results as such, but that I use the test preparation just in order to get better in some coordinated way. Then the stress will become less, I would assume.
Looking at a website like JLPT Sensei, you can see a list of grammar needed for the test and go study the ones you aren’t familiar with. As for vocab, an N3-oriented vocabulary book and an Anki deck could help you fill that skill out.
> my actual vocabulary and grammar are lacking. I am seeing a steady improvement when I watch the news or attempt to read news articles online, however the shear amount of things I don’t know is getting to me.
Sheer. But seriously, how about instead of studying using news articles and flashcards, you pick up a book or manga or tv show you like and use that? I don’t mean just for fun, just more fun/more engaging than plain old studying. When you don’t understand something, stop and look it up, or figure out the grammar point (your spouse is a great resource most of us don’t have here). Maybe create an Anki flashcard, and then move on.
I’m in a similar boat: Trying to get to N2 this year while living in Japan married to a Japanese National.
Grammar: What I’m doing is using Tobira for grammar and Bunpro.jp, and will start 日本語の森’s grammar videos on YouTube. I’m almost finished with Tobira, and honestly use Bunpro more lol.
Vocab: Using a tango book. Someone on here already made an Anki deck for it which you can access with proof that you have the book.
Listening: Watch native material and have conversations with people. Idk if you have Netflix or a similar streaming site (or just plain TV), but if not you can watch YouTube videos. Sounds like your listening is okay though.
Reading: Native material (books, manga, news, etc. Variety). And maybe 新完全マスター読解 to get used to JLPT reading style questions. Reading will also help solidify grammar and vocab. Natural review. Can add new grammar to bunpro and vocab to Anki.
Sounds like you are almost there 🙂
I was in a similar situation last year: initially had my eyes set on N3 but a friend convinced me to sit for the N2. I had about 3-4 months of N2 prep and used textbooks, past-year papers and flash cards to get a good pass last July.
I’m an advocate for 新完全マスター reading, grammar and vocabulary books. Haven’t used too many other textbooks but I didn’t have a great experience with the Sou Matome series. It took me 2-3 months of studying to finish the grammar and reading books.
I felt that mock papers (the actual past-year papers) helped me the most in the lead-up to the exam. Getting yourself in the right mindset and emulating the actual exam timing really helped me manage my time during the actual test.
Supplemented all of my learning with Anki, creating cards of words and phrases I didn’t understand while studying with textbooks, etc.
For listening—I just did as many listening practices I could find. A simple search on YouTube would give you many to start with, but the ones that provide a script at the end were most beneficial since I could go back and see what I had missed.
Managed to get 166/180 (50/60/56 for Vocab and Grammar, Reading, and Listening respectively). I can go into more detail regarding my studying methods if you’d like, just shoot me a dm!
All the best in your studies!!