Yesterday I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test N5 (Lowest level).
It was hard.
It was a goal I set for myself almost two years ago. Originally I hoped that I would take it last year, but frankly the commitment was not there. The date came and went and all I did was sit there and say "Darn it, I should have registered".
So this year, when the registration opened, I immediately registered.
I had the material. Frankly, it bore little resemblance to the sort of material that I covered in class years ago. The focus was totally different - in some ways, far more practical. More encompassing, especially in vocabulary, but at the same time far more focused.
How did I do? Only time - i.e. until February - will tell. I will say that the test matched the format of the practice test very well. On the whole I think I did well in Kanji recognition, okay in vocabulary and grammar, and either did great or bombed in listening.
My initial reaction is to demand that I pass everything and be unsatisfied if I do not. But then I had to reflect for a minute. I set a goal of taking the test. And I met it. If I do not pass, there is always next year.
The important thing is that I kept my word to myself.
That's pretty cool though that you are good enough in Japanese to attempt the test. I think I might remember two words from my college German and I got a minor in it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Preppy! I really do not consider myself to be that good; that said, the test preparation materials available are very much like the test. Interestingly it was in some ways much simpler than the Japanese I took in college but very different in the focus in some cases.
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