JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

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gaijinpunch
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by gaijinpunch »

I got N1 a couple of years ago and I wouldn't have picked up 庇う w/o some obvious context. ;)
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greg
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by greg »

So you did finally pass the N1?

I looked back at Sakura Taisen after I had posted that and realized that kabou was written in hiragana, not kanji. My Japanese computer can't even come up with the kaji 庇う just by hitting the space bar. However, now that I've studied it, it seems like a simple kanji for "cover/protect" since it depicts two people under a roof. I do know that 集中, 移動, and 回復 are a part of the vocabulary I must learn for this test.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by gaijinpunch »

I got L1 in 2006 in Hawaii. That was the third time I took it. First time was 1999 and studied almost zero and the test showed. Second time was 2005 when I had just moved to Hawaii. Studied about 3 months, and did decent . Finally, I studied 9 months, then my life kinda got turned upside down, and studied zero the last 3 months but took it anyway and somehow passed with about 1.5% to spare.

I didn't study since then, but was curious if the material had stuck. In 2008 and I think 2009 I took N1, dry runs both times. I got 99/180 the first time and 100/180 the second. 100 was passing.

I have a great book for the reading portion of L1. I'd say it's still applicable. And they don't have a counter part for the lower grades. It's awesome.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by yusaku »

I was thinking of taking the JLPT myself. Particularly because I was thinking of being a JET in a couple of years. I got some things to do in the states before leaving.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by greg »

yusaku wrote:I was thinking of taking the JLPT myself. Particularly because I was thinking of being a JET in a couple of years.
Hmm... didn't you say you are close to 40 years old? The JET age disriminates. Even if I was still in the States, I doubt they would hire me, despite my qualifications. Especially because I lack a "full head of hair" qualification. The JET mostly targets the young, attractive, genki, straight-out-of-college crowd that typically don't know crap about teaching. I really do not have a high esteem for the JET. I think you could do better.

However, if you have no teaching experience, then the JET may be your only hope. It is very different than it was 20 years ago. I first came to Japan in 2000, and all the pokemon kids were still in grade school then. Now they're graduating college these days. Teaching in Japan has become too popular, and you need to have teaching experience or else you will be ignored. People end up teaching in Korea because they can't get hired in Japan at first. It used to be that teaching in Japan was a, "Yeah, what the hell? It sounds like fun. I guess I'll do that to see what it's like" sort of deal. Now, you have to be competent and you really must have a heart for education and working with students.

Either that or join the JET.

--------------------------

So I took the JLPT N3 test yesterday. The first part of the test was kanji and vocabulary. I thought I finished early. There were blanks on the bubble answer test, but my booklet ran out of questions. So I just wondered why there wasn't that many kanji questions. It turns out that likely the last pages were stuck together, and when I turned the page, I fat fingered it. Either that, or my test booklet was defective. Weird.

The second test was grammar and reading. The first part of that has you determining which words to put into order to make the sentence make sense. I suck at that, especially since all of the questions were not what I had studied for and did well on. The second part was reading comprehension, and I did well with that. However, I ran out of time, so I just marked the last four questions with a "3" answer quickly.

The third test was listening practice, which I thought was almost too easy. My coworker had told me that it was very easy, so I am sure I did well on that (except for the last couple of questions, perhaps). So totally, I need 95 out of 180 to pass, which is not even 53%. I don't know why the requirement is so low, but it may be possible that I passed, despite my blunder. I seem to be stronger with kanji and reading than my coworkers who are studying at the N2 level. My weakness is vocabulary and grammar (and those annoying particles).

Regardless of the result, I intend to take the N3 test again in July. I want to pass with a higher score (like 70% at least) before attempting the N2. I do not feel that I passed this test, so even if I technically do pass it, I still want to retest. I didn't even complete the study books before taking this test. I had the grammar, vocabulary, and kanji books. I only completed the kanji book, and that was the day before the test. There is still so much I need to know before proceeding.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by yusaku »

I heard they age discriminate and I am 40. I want to learn the language to be able to read, write, and listen to Japanese because I am a fan of Japanese culture, anime, and manga. Even if I do not go to Japan being able to understand the spoken and written language would make me able to pretend being there or being one of them. I was even thinking of getting a fujitsu, a small Japanese table for the living room. Alot of what the Japanese do makes more sense than how we do things in the states. They always take there shoes off before going inside. They do not eat THE HUGE portions of food we do. Crime is not near as bad over there. I would like to adopt some of their habits.

Now I do not think I would like living over there better than living over here. American culture can be fun. I like American food better. Life without Star Trek, Superman, jazz, musicals, constitutional rights, and firearms would not be very fun. My apartment has plenty of space in the living room and bedroom. The town I live in is not overcrowded like most cities in Japan. Should I have economic difficulties I would survive best here in the states. Yet, I would like to visit Japan now and again. I would not stay longer than a couple of years at a time at most.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by greg »

Fujitsu is a computer company. You mean a kotatsu, right? A small table with a heater installed on the underside? We had a kotatsu when we lived in the States. We didn't need to use it much when we lived in Phoenix, of course, but it was nice.

I think you should just start studying the language, maybe taking a class at your local community college. Then visit Japan on vacation for a week or two. When you actually live here, though, you will see that the way Japan does things does not necessarily make more sense. Although I would take sensible, affordable national health care in Japan over the huge mess that is currently going on in America anyday.

Japanese habits are good to adopt though, and you can do that right where you are. Bathing at night instead of going to bed grimey, taking your shoes off when entering your home and keeping the floors cleaner, etc.

Anyhow, start studying! If you don't have immediate access to a local class (like for example they're only held during the day while you're at work), technology makes learning the language a lot easier than 20+ years ago. Just stay away from Rosetta Stone software. I've heard that Rosetta Stone's approach is to just puke random words at you with no rhyme or reason like a huge non-sequitir. It is said that it is overpriced and overhyped.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by davemerrill »

Hey, if you want a country where people take their shoes off indoors, crime is low, and restaurant portions aren't massive, and yet you still want all that American pop culture, come to Canada! All that stuff happens here.

To be honest, I think everybody around the world ought to take their shoes off indoors. It just makes sense.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by yusaku »

Thanks for the advice greg. I am going to start studying right away; I already got some books. Davemerrill thanks for the invitation; I may take you up on your offer and live in Canada. There is not a whole lot of reason to stick around in the United States. The violence is getting worse and the jobs are getting less worthwhile. I can be poor anywhere why stick around here.
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Re: JLPT Tests and how important are they for employment?

Post by davemerrill »

Well, the US is a big place; some places are safer than others. You can get assaulted in Canada (& Japan) sometimes, too. I think every city and country has its own mix of the good and the bad.

Here and other places the past week has been full of people talking about taking their JLPT tests. I wish my language skills were good enough to even approach the idea of even starting to think about taking the JLPT. Approaching any degree of facility in the Japanese language is something I will be working on for the rest of my life, I think.
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