Since we are on the subject of Japanese pronouns, this might be an interesting read...
Japanese pronouns

Hi people...I'm planning to take JLPT next year, I learned Japanese back in uni (degree time) for two years but only hiragana and katakana. Haven't touched kanji yet. After about 2 years of not touching japanese, I'm aiming to continue now. My reading is still quite slow but I'll push myself within the next few months to recognize faster. I watch a lot of dramas, anime and so basic everyday japanese should be fine for me.

May I know when is the exam usually held each year? I saw at the official site, July and December? So only twice a year?

I'm planning to skip N5 actually, and straight to N4. Anyone knows if the kanji in N4 is a lot? I kinda regretted not being chinese ed now lol...but it's okay, I'll just have to start from scratch.

JLPT is now held twice a year. FYI previously it was only held once a year..... (talk about beri betis mau paha )
Next registration for the Dec paper should open around Aug-Sept timeframe. Please check jlsm.org for more details.
You don't have to be chinese ed, (though it does help a bit the higher you go). What's more important is persistence and discipline. At your level, N5 or N4, knowledge of kanji is not the main factor or an excuse in determining whether you pass or fail. If you are out of practice, no harm taking a refresher course starting from (near) zero.

Not sure if this is OT, but since this is the only regular watering hole for speakers of moon language, what sort of things drew you to learn nihongo? Was it just animu/manga? What other things or aspects of Japanese culture sustain your interest in learning the language? Do you find yourself or your life changed in any way in your quest to master the language. Please share your thoughts

thank you for the info and advice!

As for me, I was exposed to J-pop/drama about more than 10 yrs ago (primary school). But drg secondary school, I didn't follow much, kinda stopped and then end of form 5 I discovered my fav j-band and so I began listening to Jpop, watch anime and dramas till now. I love their culture, like...a lot. It's just something that draws me towards them, I can't explain what.

I'm planning to go kinokuniya this weekend to get some books for practice/study. However, when I surveyed last week, I saw quite a few choices so I didn't know which to choose. Any recommendations for the books that you guys used? especially for N5/N4 level?

This post has been edited by avanpiper: Jul 1 2013, 07:57 PM

Personally, I've been studying Japanese and watching Anime/J-drama since before they were fashionable. (And watched their popularity taken over by the Hallyu craze too ^^' You can sorta guess how old I am by that
You kids are lucky you can torrent/stream all the free stuff these days, but I hope you'll spare some of that hard earned cash to support your favorite stars or anime creators someday. I had to do it the hard way coz I had to buy/import the VCDs and DVDs. I spent a fortune on textbooks too
There was a time I couldn't pass a week without watching at least one new anime, but I sort of moved on. If I could pinpoint the one moment where I just lost interest, it was probably when they were screening the 2nd season of Suzumiya Haruhi.....
Anyways there's always lots of other interesting things about Japan that you can pick up along the way. I still watch anime from time to time, but I hope you guys discover things beyond that too.

BTW most books in Kinokuniya's Japanese section should be ok as long as they are properly rated for the level you are testing for.

I get where you're coming from...yeah, we're luckier now as it's very easy for us to get anime/dramas/jpop now on internet. But I do support my favorite j-pop bands/singers by buying their singles/albums/dvds But anime...anime is just toooo expensive for me. I mean, one boxset can cost up to hundreds Oh..I think it was around 2000 that I first discovered jpop/drama stuffs...but then they're slowly or rapidly you can say, being overtaken by hallyu...which was kinda sad. At least, to me.

Saw your thread and so you worked in Japan before? This will be bit out of topic so I'll spoiler it.


This post has been edited by avanpiper: Jul 1 2013, 08:50 PM

Went there on company business in the winter of 2006. Spent 3 months living and working there, exploring most of Tokyo, as well as a bit of Fukushima (Aizu-Wakamatsu) and Kyoto. If you are a gaijin with a handy knowledge of Japanese and a company expense account, it is a liberating experience indeed
Keep in mind living there long term is a different thing all together from just going on vacation... If you are just going on a tour of 10 days, you wouldn't experience some of the stuff of daily life like having to separate your rubbish, or making sure you throw the right things out on the right days. It's quite interesting though: gives you a different perspective on how to live. Having said that, 3 months isn't really long either, but just enough so you don't get bored of things and start longing for char koay teow

I actually like the whole separating garbage system, saw that a lot in dramas. Thought it'd be nice to have it implemented here but realized it's just not possible for our country yet. That's nice if your company paid everything. I'm currently still studying, probably another 2 years maximum to finish post-grad. And since I'm in research field, it's prob tough for me to find job there, even if I wanted to, unless, if I can find a company that has collaboration perhaps with Japan research centers.

That aside, may i know if there's writing required in the tests? I saw at the website that oral/conversation and composition are not included...so does that mean, the reading and listening is for us to choose the answers from multiple answers and select the right one? Sorta like our ABCD? Are we required to write sentences?

JLPT is essentially a objective test (i.e. choose from ABCD). Once you are in Japan, there are other tests you can take like the Kanji Nouryoku Kentei Shiken (Kanji proficiency), which is much much much harder.
If you want to live or experience life in Japan there are many ways:
1. Marry a Japanese
2. Win a scholarship to study in Japan. Monbusho is just one of them. There are others too if you look hard enough. These days I think it's harder to get them but post grads are a minority so less competition I think.
3. Teach Japanese (in a recognized institution). After a few years your school might nominate you to go for a study tour courtesy of Japan Foundation
4. Win a speech contest. There are 2 major Japanese speech contests in Malaysia. One is the national level open speech contest. The other is the national level high school student's speech contest. Usually the champion gets a study tour to Japan.
5. Get your company to send you on a business trip....
6. If you are a bumi, I think the Malaysian gov sends students there too (especially MARA scholars)
7. "jump ship"

Haha lots of options there but still tough I know one of the most common job for gaijins is to teach English in japanese schools/institutions. I guess for me, I'll just graduate uni first and take a graduation trip to Japan, hopefully 2014 or 2015. Then from there, I'll find a job here, preferably a research company with some ties there. I'll see how it goes.

Yes eikaiwa is a common option for foreigners especially orang putih
You don't necessarily have to find a Japanese company, just one with offices in Japan.

yeah hopefully So I started learning kanji yesterday...and the on/kun yomi is kinda giving me headache.

I thought JLPT had conversation included? Planning to take N4 this December, just finished Minna no Nihongo book I. I think I can finish book 2 in half a year.

Woah, that's a lot of ways to experience life in Japan. Meh, I'm just a 18 year old kid, planning to do an exchange programme to Japan when I'm in university. My dad's against me going to a Japan university, wants me to go to UK. And maybe I'll marry a Japanese shoujo in the future. Have plans to migrate to Japan after retiring (still long way to go), not to the city but probly somewhere in the countryside.

I got interested in Japanese, or Japan when I was in primary school. That time, I was listening to J-pop. Then when I went up to secondary school, I started watching animes. Eventually got real interested in Japan, did a bit of researching and found their culture amazing. Some Japan's culture I like include anime, their school system, flower arranging (kadou, or ikebana) and also kendou. Didn't have much time though, to study Japanese that time, was busy with school. Now I've just graduated from secondary school, and since I've some time, decided to take up Japanese. Currently supporting the animes I love by buying anime figures from Japan. Damn expensive though, cost me around 500~1k per month, but still can hold due to my scholarship.

JLPT exam consists of:
i) Language Knowledge - vocabulary, grammar, and reading
ii) Listening test

N3/N4/N5 exams usually separate the language knowledge part into two papers. Vocabulary in one paper, grammar and reading in one paper. For N1/N2, they combine all in one paper only.

In the listening test, it's very much like the MUET listening exam, if you have taken that before. Basically, you have to listen to the recording. They will tell you what the question is first, and it is usually followed by a conversation, and after listening to the recording, you pick which is the best answer for the question.

All the questions are multiple choice questions (A,B,C,D). No writing involved.

Actually, there are sample questions available at the JLPT website. They just put a few questions for each section (it's just meant as a sample, after all), but it's a good place to check out if you have never seen what the questions are like.
http://www.jlpt.jp/e/samples/forlearners.html

@ Flame Haze
I browsed through the official website and it's stated there as this:

Does the JLPT include a conversation or composition test?

No, neither is currently included.


Are all JLPT answers computer scored?

Yes, the JLPT uses a multiple-choice computer-scored answer sheet. There are four choices for most questions, although some "Listening" questions have only three choices.

So there's no conversation and writing. Like what oe_kintaro mentioned above, it's a multiple-choice question.

I'm currently 25 and still in uni, so after about 2 more years max, hopefully I'll graduate. However I'm bonded for 5 years due to scholarship (although some said it's not necessarily true) Either way, I'm gonna hunt for suitable jobs related to my field that have branches in Japan, hopefully after brushing up my language skills drg period I'm able to transfer over there. Even if short-term, good enough for me to experience the culture I've come to love a lot.

Flame Haze - I collect figures too...but not like your case. RM500-1k per month is a LOT for me to handle , even with scholarship. Considering I have car expenses, rent and my own expenses (don't get allowances from parents since undergraduate). I just get my favorites characters from fav anime

This post has been edited by avanpiper: Jul 3 2013, 11:02 AM

I was a proctor once for one of the JLPT exams. This was for the older exam regime, but here are some stupid mistakes that people keep making even though it's just an objective test and we remind them of the dos and don'ts before the start. I'd like to share it here so that you all don't do the same stupid things too :

Filling forms:
- Using pens instead of pencils to shade the answer paper.
- shading the date of the exam instead of the date of birth

Exam strategy:
- please DO NOT mark the question papers first and leave the objective answer paper for last. You will NOT have enough time to go back and shade them if you don't do it the first time around. I've seen a couple of bozos do just that, and they were furiously shading the answer paper in the last minutes of the test...


Exam etiquette
- Please SWITCH OFF your phone. The proctors may write in the report that your phone went off and you may be disqualified under attempting to cheat. i.e., your paper won't be marked and you will be failed.

i was drawn to IDOLS.

Heres the first video which really got me into it:-



and then I watched this:-



and followed by this:-



and lastly i got to know about this group, Morning Musume

*this was the generation I started with, now much graduations has passed and only one person from that picture is left*



and their hit song was:-



and that was late 2009.. in 2010 I joined this forum called Hello!Online which centers on idols especially MM.

http://www.hello-online.org/

and my fandom grew larger. I began mixing with foreigners, talking about idols, videos, official member blogs etc.

Early 2010, my interest in nihongo grew larger, due to the drive of one day, I would speak to my favorite member. so i googled much resources, started with random youtube videos and grammar wise improved thru this website:-

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/complete

I had no one to practice my nihongo with, so i often watch a lot of videos to get a hang of their accent, their style, etc. (well, when nobodys around, I find myself talking alone in japanese like an idiot.)

mid 2010, i decided that with the nihongo i have, I would start translating my favorite members blog.

heres one of her original entries:-

http://ameblo.jp/takahashiai-blog/archive67-201109.html#main

and my translated version:-

http://ameblo.jp/kaitodoraemon/archive1-201109.html

and it goes on and on. Yeah, the first time i started it it was way back when i was still a noob. many people said my trans work was shit. but i didnt care. i just kept translating.

around end of 3rd quarter 2010, i joined a japanese club of my uni, with the hopes to receive some japanese transfer students, and we did. during puasa for 3 weeks. there were about 15 beautiful and cute japanese girls, and i polished my japanese there and then.

following them, many other came as well for a field trip so from there i got the opportunity. heh, even one of them told me directly that my japanese sounded weird, my face turned red, but in the end i just brushed it off. cudnt care much.

So one day it was announced that she was to host this radio show. and i decided id send her a letter nearing the end of the year. and guess what, she picked my letter and read it on the radio show:-



and that was the peak of my fandom. closest ever contact i could ever reach for with an idol.

however, come january next year, a painful news, she announced her graduation from the group and i was heartbroken. but her graduation was on september, so i saved up for that trip and actually flew to japan to watch her graduation concert,



so, trip ended, made lots of japanese and foreign fans, connected together by the same interest. it was a wholesome experience.

so at that point of time, I was pretty much comfortable with my japanese. i could hold a decent conversation with japanese. Often my topic would always be if they knew about the group Morning Musume and if they knew my favorite member. most of them would say yes and from there on we could talk about it.

well.. its a long story.. but i think would suffice how i got into the nihongo thing and how i improved.



This post has been edited by noonies_naruto: Jul 7 2013, 12:42 AM

^ Wow...that's such dedication. I totally get it with Idols being one of the reasons. I was into MM too last time, well not much of a fan at all, but I love watching their shows (my fav member was Yossie, yoshizawa hitomi). And from their shows, I learned quite a lot of words/vocabs and just the way they normally speak. Anyways, that was amazing...that you can even translate their blogs. I hope to one day, able to translate like you too.

Either that or help one of the fansubbers to translate my favorite dramas etc..because sometimes, it's frustrating when nobody's translating certain shows you love to watch, so might as well learn the language yourself and do it xDD

Thanks for sharing~

LOL... I've been involved in Japanese speech contests for the past 10 or so years, and almost every time, people cited stuff like anime or manga (which was getting to be slightly boring). I must commend you on taking a route less traveled - very unique way of learning and living the language.
I'm assuming you are a guy...hope you didn't pick up too many "female-only" expressions