I will be taking N3 in December. This is the first time I’ve taken JLPT. I have read what seem to me like horror stories on this sub about how you are at shared desks with people making noise and moving the table etc and generally it seems like the test taking conditions may be worse/more distracting than what I’ve experienced in uni etc. I have severe anxiety and some sensory issues with sound and physical touch, I typically wear headphones 24/7 except when I’m literally unable to during part of my work day and unfortunately in my current language class :/. I’m already so concerned about this test because I simply suck at Japanese but I’m most anxious about not being able to wear earplugs or headphones during it. I don’t even care about extra time on the test or anything, I just want to be able to focus. I found a form online for requesting special accommodations during the test, but the only official diagnosis I’ve ever received was for severe GAD and social anxiety which isn’t listed on the form. Autism and ADHD are listed, along with “OTHER”. Does anyone think they would accept anxiety as a reason for accommodation like earplugs or noise cancelling headphones?
Also maybe important, the anxiety diagnosis I got was when I lived in America and I don’t think I have any physical paperwork proving it because I went off my meds when I moved and haven’t ever been to a psychologist here. I have my old prescription plus online records.
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I’m thinking they’re not gonna let you use headphones during any standardized test. I don’t know why earplugs wouldn’t be allowed. Do you even need to ask for that? You could probably just pop them in and not worry about permission.
Seeing how the test operates so far, the chance for of them allowing that is low without proper diagnosis proof. Not only this test but mostly in Japan they never just give away an exception like that especially since it’s the rule not to use any device other than what’s allowed. But never hurts to try contacting them I guess. The chance is they may always give you reasons not to allow that like it being a communication device or whatever.
However, if you want to risk it, you can just sneak a small unnoticeable earplug that you can put on in the middle of the test (after ID verification) although it will only make your anxiety worse if you’re afraid to be found.
So I suggest you ask first. If they say no, being them anyway to the test site and ask the proctor. Let them check if it’s normal earplug. If still no, let it go and hope for the best. Not everyone has annoying people around so you can either practice your tolerance level and rely on luck.
This was a couple of years back. I was going to take N1, but a few months before, I fractured my ankle and found myself in a cast, unable to walk for months. I needed someone to help me around since I only had a very basic wheelchair and crutches. I also needed something to rest my foot on, because even just having it down was extremely painful. They basically told me they couldn’t accommodate that, so I ended up not being able to take the N1.
If they weren’t willing to accommodate a physical disability like that, I don’t know if they’d let you wear anything in your ears besides jewelry. Might depend on the facility as well, and I could have just had rotten luck, but yeah, it doesn’t look great.
Did my test last year and it was in a university, so exact same kind of room setup you can expect from a university classroom. They also left empty space between each person, so not as crowded as a university classroom.
We also had to leave any bag and coat at the front of the room, so nobody is searching for something in their bag during the test… and as we were in an auditorium, there was no table that people can move.
I think that the specific setup of the room will depend from one place to the other.
Headphones seems like an absolute no, earplug would likely be ok, but you need to be able to ear when the give the instructions, when the test stop and well.. for the listening part you need to be able to ear the audio properly.