Tag Archives: JLPT

JLPT N1: Swallowing a Bitter Pill

Despite some early signs of success, it’s become rapidly clear that if I take the N1 level of the JLPT exam this year, I will get crushed. My scores in taking the mock shorter-length essays were pretty good (hence my earlier confidence), but my scores in middle-length essays were not very good, and I gotContinue reading “JLPT N1: Swallowing a Bitter Pill”

JLPT: Listening, the Big Headache

Listening in general is one of the most arduous skills to learn for a foreign language. After I started studying Ukrainian for fun, I soon found out how little I could actually follow in actual conversation. It has been pretty demoralizing.1 On the other hand, I have been studying Japanese for since the late 2000’s,Continue reading “JLPT: Listening, the Big Headache”

At Last, I Have A Shot at Passing the N1

While I’ve been blogging a lot recently about Buddhism, Japanese history and Ukrainian language, etc, I have been quietly studying for the JLPT exam in the background. 😎 As of writing, the 2022 JLPT exam in the US will be held in early December (as is usually the case), and so with only 4 andContinue reading “At Last, I Have A Shot at Passing the N1”

JLPT: Why Language Exposure Not Memorization Matters

The challenge with learning a language is less about the grammar, which you can learn in a matter of months, but gobs and gobs of vocabulary which you must learn, and internalize. This is especially hard when you have to consider nuances: when things are said, how word X differs slightly from word Y andContinue reading “JLPT: Why Language Exposure Not Memorization Matters”

JLPT N1: Setting Study Limits

As I mentioned in my previous post, as I build up my vocabulary for the JLPT exam, N1 level, the number of flash cards I have in Anki has exploded. In the last two months, I have built up more than 1200 cards in my Anki collection through studying vocabulary guides and reading Japanese mangaContinue reading “JLPT N1: Setting Study Limits”

Starting up the JLPT N1 At Last

It’s been ten years since I passed JLPT exam, level N2, and after doing some careful thinking, I think it’s time to prepare to take the N1 exam. Last month, the family and I went to the local Kinokuniya bookstore to pick up some new manga for my son (who has become an avid readerContinue reading “Starting up the JLPT N1 At Last”