Step Up and Prove It June 15, 2008
Posted by stshores24 in Miscellaneous.Tags: ambition, deadline, goals, Japanese, Japanese Language Proficiency Test, JLPT, kanji
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It’s one thing to say, ‘well, I’m going to learn all these kanji and speak all this Japanese before the end of the year.’ It’s quite another to take the test to prove it. I decided the other day that I’m going to take the 4th (lowest) level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test this December. The JLPT will be given on December 7th this year at Georgia Tech.
That gives me a deadline…I have a little under six months. The good thing is that I will have learned almost 2,000 more kanji than is required:
The examinee has mastered the basic elements of grammar, knows around 100 kanji and 800 words, has the ability to engage in simple conversation and read and write short, simple sentences. This level is normally reached after studying Japanese for around 150 hours and after completion of the first half of an elementary course. [via]
…but that means that I will have to buckle down and really study, because real money will be on the line here.
I will do well.
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Yes, it is very good to set up specific goals for yourself and work hard to achieve them. :)
Are you planning to learn all 2000 kanji by the end of the year?
I’ve heard it said that a goal is a dream with a timeline attached. I decided that I would get ready to take at least JLPT4, if not JLPT3, but the end of the year, so I have something to prove I did it! I want to be able to take a photograph of the certificate, stick it up on my blog and Mixi, and say, ‘See? I did it!’ Then I can tell others, “I did it, so YOU can do it too! :)
I’m planning to learn all the 2048 kanji (if not more; there are some not covered by Heisig’s book) by the end of August, but I am going full-out and busting my a** to try to finish them by the end of July, so I can begin learning sentences.
I’ve heard of the Heisig’s system. Have you learned the meanings already and work on the readings now? Learning readings is the hard part in my opinion. Since some kanji have up to 16 readings, I usually learn only about five kanji a day.
I’m just going to go with the single keyword for now, so I will have the shapes of the kanji in memory, and focus on the readings later. I have heard that it can be frustratingly slow to get through Heisig if one learns the readings and pronunciation, so once I have the kanji and kana down pat, I will begin learning sentences, so I can learn the readings in context. I have purchased the first five volumes of the Chi’s Sweet Home manga, and will probably work with those first, because the series is in very simple Japanese. :)
BTW, this is the method described on http://alljapaneseallthetime.com , one of my favorite sites.
I see. I was just wondering how you will be able to learn the meaning AND the reading of 2000 kanji in such a short period of time. I have not taken JLPT, but I read that it involves identifying kanji readings. Level four only requires about 100 kanji though, so it should not be that bad.
Yup, I know this website.
Looks like you’ll have a very intensive year :)
がんばって
No, that would probably be a more-than-full-time job! I haven’t looked into the JLPT enough yet, but I think I should be able to do it. There are so many different preparation sites and books out there; I don’t think it’ll be hard to get ready. We shall see!
And intense it shall be…but that’s fine by me! I’m glad to have some direction in life, instead of wandering aimlessly, wondering what to do. That’s NO FUN!