Upper level students?

Accordster

Anyone here considering to take the JLPT Level I or II this year or next? The JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) is an exam required to certify one's ability to study in a Japanese university. There are four levels, with IV being the simplest and I the most difficult. To pass the Level I an applicant should know about 2,000 kan'ji and 10,000 words--this level is usually reached after about 900 hours of classroom study.

For me, I'm taking the exam after a mere 12 years of study .

Anyway, there is a Yahoo! group set up for people planning on taking the upper-level JLPT: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ganbattekudasai

Please considering joining if you are an advanced speaker of Japanese.

Thanks,
Ryan

Kenshin

Wow - 12 years... that's quite impressive
Are you telling me that it'll take me 12 years to be fluent in japanese?

Around how many Kanji would you need to know for the level IV test?

Accordster

Heh. Truthfully? I feel it's taken every bit of these last 12 years to reach the level I'm at now--able to read newspapers, write articles, hold professional conversations involving technical subjects, etc... And I still have plenty far to go to call myself "fluent."

On the other hand, you "ramp up" fairly quickly in the language. After a year or two of study, you should be able to converse on a basic level at least--it's the arduous process after that that takes years.

For Level IV, I think the test guidelines suggest 50 or so of the simplest kan'ji--you wouldn't have difficulty if you've had a year of study or so.

Good luck .

Kenshin

I didnt realize it would take *that* many years to be fluent... In any case, I'll be doing a course for the next year, after that I can decide if I want to continue learning more or just give up, like I usually do

Have you travelled to Japan? How do japanese people react when they realize how well you speak their language?

Lex_Diamonds

Go to the country to learn the language, best way tbh