To be able to pass N1 should my listening comprehension level be such that I can follow podcast conversations?
I listen to a lot of 朗読 and NHK and they’re comprehensible but I sometimes have a hard time following casual conversation type podcasts. Which concerns me for being able to pass N1.
Thank you
5 comments
To pass, the only thing that matters is that you can follow the type and level of conversations/dialogue presented on the test. There should be plenty of practice JLPT listening questions on YouTube and elsewhere, so I recommend you check those out.
Tbh N1 listening is more about your note taking and concentration abilities than it is your listening abilities. I recommend just doing some practice tests so you get used to the format
YouTube has tons of listening exercises and past exam questions for all levels. Just search there.
As u/AdagioExtra1332 said, it’s really just about preparing for the specific question formats. It’s not really a hurdle you get over by listening to more/harder podcasts. My personal feeling was that the JLPT tested how well I understood the JLPT format, not how well I understood Japanese.
You’ll listen to a 4-minute clip about a tennis match, and you’re following the commentary…. then the question is about what color of shoes Takashi is wearing, a random seemingly-unimportant fact that was mentioned once 17 seconds into the recording. I’m exaggerating a bit, but only a bit. Like come on man.
I passed the N1 the second time I took it. I didn’t actually use Japanese at all between the two tests. No studying, no books, no dramas, no conversations. Literally the only thing I did was read through the question types that would be asked and make note of the type of information they were going to ask for.
So, to pass the N1 listening section:
1. Make note of the different question types
1. Task-based comprehension
2. Comprehension of key points
3. Comprehension of general outline
4. Verbal expressions
5. Quick response
6. Integrated comprehension
2. Listen to the instructions for each question type
1. I personally just read the instructions in the Shin Kanzen Master listening comprehension book (didn’t do the questions, just read about what the question type was asking about)
2. A friend swore by [Nihongo no Mori](https://nihongonomori.com) (apparently they have lots of mock questions and break down the answers for you)
3. My wife just took a few mock tests, and eventually she figured it out
3. Determine what sort of information each question type is going to ask you
1. Do you need to be picking out a specific detail?
2. Are you focusing more on “what’s going to happen next”?
3. etc
4. In the test, while the insructions were being read I partitioned my scratch paper according to how many questions there were
5. During each audio, I didn’t try to understand what I was listening to at all… I literally just copied (in shorthand Tarzan English) any seemingly relevant details onto my scratch paper as they came up, depending on what type of question was being asked
6. When it came time to answer, my loose memory of the course of events in the audio combined with my chronologically-ordered details ended up being enough
Maybe this wouldn’t be a big deal if my Japanese was just better, you know? But literally just understanding the question types was enough to make a tangible difference in my score.
The best prep you can do for N1 listening is the N1 listening book of the Shin Kanzen Master.