Japanese study group

[Murieleirum]

57 minutes ago, Hydroblade said:

Also aaah i'm jealous of you guys, i'm taking the N4 next year but i'm pretty sure i'd pass it should i take it this year. I don't want to take any chances, though, so i will wait and take my school's prep course for the N4

 

I absolutely understand you I am afraid even only of thinking of taking any JLPT, I don't like people to judge my language by putting it into a level or a rank... so I'm just randomly studying and hoping that one day I can take the exam completely relaxed because my abilities will be way over it?

[Hydroblade]

12 minutes ago, Murieleirum said:

 

I absolutely understand you I am afraid even only of thinking of taking any JLPT, I don't like people to judge my language by putting it into a level or a rank... so I'm just randomly studying and hoping that one day I can take the exam completely relaxed because my abilities will be way over it?

exactly

[surimi]

4 hours ago, Lunna said:

Yeah, that's the hard part cuz you only have one take at listening, so you must be very observant from the beginning, even if I understood almost all dialogues to choose right answer was challenging in part of them (same problem with reading part plus really little time).

For N4 I must do more tests beforehand that's for sure.

 

What, no repeat listening?! Nooo... Bye, cruel world. I hope it's not more difficult than the listenings in the N5 preparation book? Those were bad enough as it is, and I don't think I'd survive anything more difficult.

 

@ Hydro, from what I've heard about your prowess in Japanese, you listening to news and reading Blue Flame and writing to Yuzuru and stuff, I bet you'd pass N3 if you wanted to. Unwarranted fears if you ask me.

[Hydroblade]

10 minutes ago, surimi said:

 

What, no repeat listening?! Nooo... Bye, cruel world. I hope it's not more difficult than the listenings in the N5 preparation book? Those were bad enough as it is, and I don't think I'd survive anything more difficult.

 

@ Hydro, from what I've heard about your prowess in Japanese, you listening to news and reading Blue Flame and writing to Yuzuru and stuff, I bet you'd pass N3 if you wanted to. Unwarranted fears if you ask me.

I kinda want to cover all my weaknesses because taking the test involves quite a bit of money for me   i'm lucky to be close to LA but still... If i have to pay, then i'd better be satisfied with my result i think i could barely pass N3 but yeah... I'd rather play it safe with that

[Lunna]

2 часа назад, Hydroblade сказал:

Also aaah i'm jealous of you guys, i'm taking the N4 next year but i'm pretty sure i'd pass it should i take it this year. I don't want to take any chances, though, so i will wait and take my school's prep course for the N4

I actually know more grammar and kanji than needed for N5 but decided to try N5 first just to see how it goes and if OK, try N4 next time, glad I did so))

I'm studying at Japan Foundation courses and their aim is not to prepare you for JLPT but more like conversation language, so beforehand I just did two tests from downloaded books)) Now apart from my courses I want to study Minna no Nihongo by myself.

I want to try pass a test just for myself - it's interesting if I can and like more motivation to study for me))

[Hydroblade]

1 minute ago, Lunna said:

I'm studying at Japan Foundation courses and their aim is not to prepare you for JLPT but more like conversation language

Ah, this so much! My school has a course to prepare you for the tests, but the regular courses are just to teach you the language i feel like they could do a bit more in the conversation department: many of my classmates have a lot of trouble when it comes to actually speaking even though they are better than me at analyzing the grammar

 

[Lunna]

1 час назад, surimi сказал:

What, no repeat listening?! Nooo... Bye, cruel world. I hope it's not more difficult than the listenings in the N5 preparation book? Those were bad enough as it is, and I don't think I'd survive anything more difficult.

It's not more difficult than in books, I think the more tests from books you do the easier the test itself will be for you (like every other exam in test form - you just get used to it).

[Lunna]

6 минут назад, Hydroblade сказал:

Ah, this so much! My school has a course to prepare you for the tests, but the regular courses are just to teach you the language i feel like they could do a bit more in the conversation department: many of my classmates have a lot of trouble when it comes to actually speaking even though they are better than me at analyzing the grammar

 

I already learned that conversation language is good when you have good grammar base )) here we try to study grammar, some kanji and conversation topics at the same time and the study group is big cuz courses a free from payment (so not gonna complain)))

[glilikoi]

Ahh JLPT talk.. I passed N2 in July last year, it was actually my first time ever trying the JLPT so I was positively surprised. Next I want to try the N1, but the gap between these two levels is really big. I don't really feel ready at all, but I think I'll sign up for the N1 in December. Although I'm fully expecting to fail, the experience would hopefully help me pass on the second (or third or fourth or..) attempt. The JLPT is really almost as much about test-taking skills and time management as it is about actual Japanese ability, especially on the higher levels where the amount of text you need to wade through is quite big. Of course, every time you try and fail you lose some money, but hopefully it will be worth it in the end 

 

A lot of kanji and grammar cramming is required for N1, so I guess I'll just try to do a little bit every day. Lately I've been going through the Sou Matome books for practice. Mostly I try to learn from "practical" sources though, like reading news, novels and textbooks in my major subject. When I get lazy I try to at least read some manga every day  I'm grateful you don't need to actually write kanji in JLPT because I suck at that so bad.

[Hydroblade]

15 minutes ago, glilikoi said:

 I'm grateful you don't need to actually write kanji in JLPT because I suck at that so bad.

actually writing the kanji is the bane of my existence lol, i swear i keep studying and practicing but 1) i feel like my kanji [and hiragana] are TERRIBLE CHICKEN SCRATCHES and 2) i can "see" the kanji in my head but i can't make out the strokes and

 

btw WOW, congrats! I've heard that N1 is crazy difficult so my end goal is N2. Should i ever feel like cramming even more, i might attempt the N1 but maybe i will be a wrinkly old raisin woman when i do it

[axelnojutsu]

I’m nowhere near your guys’ level but writing the Kanji even if they turn out fugly actually helps me learn them much quicker

[Murieleirum]

12 hours ago, Hydroblade said:

actually writing the kanji is the bane of my existence lol,

 

I made 2 mistakes in my exam 2 months ago and one of them was failing to write "友" by memory. I think I don't have to say anything else. 

[Hydroblade]

8 hours ago, Murieleirum said:

 

I made 2 mistakes in my exam 2 months ago and one of them was failing to write "友" by memory. I think I don't have to say anything else. 

[glilikoi]

When it comes to writing kanji, it doesn't really get any easier later in your studies.. it's just different problems. When you're learning the radicals it might feel like each kanji is relatively unique, but they're not. My main issue at the moment is that there are just so many kanji that have the same reading and look alike, so I never remember which kanji is the correct in that context. I recognise them in words, but if I have to write them myself I always struggle.  For example the kanji 坊、房、防、妨、紡、傍、肪 are all read "bou" and share the 方 radical but their meaning is different. I've been trying to cram these kinds of kanji lately and it's just making me feel more confused  

 

Maybe one day I will be able to actually remember these properly but now it's like a minefield. On the plus side, one thing that gets easier the more kanji you learn is guessing meanings and prononciations (although that is also kind of a minefield). I have such a love/hate relationship with learning kanji, on one hand they are very interesting and I like all the different nuances and puns you can create with them, but on the other hand it's just suuuuch a pain learning so many characters just to read a damn newspaper or book 

[Hydroblade]

12 minutes ago, glilikoi said:

When it comes to writing kanji, it doesn't really get any easier later in your studies.. it's just different problems. When you're learning the radicals it might feel like each kanji is relatively unique, but they're not. My main issue at the moment is that there are just so many kanji that have the same reading and look alike, so I never remember which kanji is the correct in that context. I recognise them in words, but if I have to write them myself I always struggle.  For example the kanji 坊、房、防、妨、紡、傍、肪 are all read "bou" and share the 方 radical but their meaning is different. I've been trying to cram these kinds of kanji lately and it's just making me feel more confused  

 

Maybe one day I will be able to actually remember these properly but now it's like a minefield. On the plus side, one thing that gets easier the more kanji you learn is guessing meanings and prononciations (although that is also kind of a minefield). I have such a love/hate relationship with learning kanji, on one hand they are very interesting and I like all the different nuances and puns you can create with them, but on the other hand it's just suuuuch a pain learning so many characters just to read a damn newspaper or book 

It's difficult but learning kanji is one of my favorite parts of learning japanese. It feels like solving a puzzle: when you see the shape of the piece, the image and then finally try to put it in the right place Plus, practicing the stroke order and proportions works soooo well for my anxiety