So I just signed up for the JLPT N5. For those that don't know the JLPT stands for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test and is offered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services. At the beginning, there were approximately 7,000 examinees worldwide.
In 2011, there were as many as 610,000 examinees around the globe, making JLPT the largest-scale Japanese-language test in the world.
The test is held throughout Japan twice a year; July and December.
Why take the JLPT?
You can Earn points for preferential treatment for immigration to Japan. Those who pass JLPT N1 receive 15 points, N2 receive 10 points under the government's "Point-based Preferential Immigration Treatment System for Highly Skilled Foreign Professionals." Individuals with a total of 70 points or higher receive preferential treatment at immigration.
It can improve your resume, The JLPT (especially levels N3 and up) makes a nice addition to a resume. Particularly if you are looking to get a job in translation, language education, tour guiding, etc. It tells your prospective employer with some precision how much Japanese you know, and serves as proof of your proficiency.
It helps in school and university applications. Similarly, when applying to schools or universities, you can use JLPT to show how much Japanese you are able to understand. As well as how you are able to communicate using Japanese. Though there are quite a number of universities in Japan that have no JLPT requirement, some Japanese universities ask that prospective international students be at a particular JLPT level.
The Levels.
The JLPT has five levels: N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5.
N4 and N5 measure the level of understanding of basic Japanese mainly learned in class. N1and N2 measure the level of understanding of Japanese used in a broad range of scenes in actual everyday life. N3 is a bridging level between N1/N2 and N4/N5.
Language Knowledge, such as Vocabulary and Grammar, is also required for successful execution of these levels.
What's on the test?
The N3-N5 levels have 3 timed sections: vocabulary, grammar + reading, and listening.
The N1-N2 levels consist of 2 timed sections: vocabulary + grammar + reading and listening. This provides more flexibility in how you use you time during the N1-N2, but means that you need to manage your time well.
Vocabulary
Kanji Reading: Choose the reading for the underlined kanji.
Orthography: (N2-N5 only) Choose the kanji for the underlined word written in hiragana.
Word Formation: (N2 only) Fill in the blank where the blank is half a word. You usually end up creating a 3-5 character kanji word.
Contextually Defined Expressions: You’re given a sentence and asked to fill in the missing word. Usually more than one word will fit grammatically so you need to use the context of the sentence to choose the best answer.
Paraphrases: Choose the word or phrase that best replaces (with the same meaning) the underlined one.
Usage: Choose the sentence that uses the given word most correctly.
Grammar
Selecting Grammar Form: You’re given a sentence and need to fill in the blank by choosing a grammar form.
Sentence Composition: Here you get a sentence with a few consecutive blanks. Each blank represents a word/phrase. You need to put them in the correct order.
Text Grammar: Many questions linked to a single passage. The passage has a series of blanks and you must choose the correct grammatical phrase for each blank
Reading
This section of the test is 100% reading comprehension. That means you read a passage and answer questions about it.
Comprehension (short, medium, long): Most of the reading questions fall into this category. You read a passage and answer questions based on the reading. There are many passages some with only one question and some with multiple questions. Some passages are long (1000 words) while others are short (200 words). The length and difficulty of passages scales with the level of JLPT.
Information Retrieval: You are given some type of figure in Japanese and asked questions about it. In the old version of the JLPT this was always a graph/chart of some kind. The new tests I have seen or taken all feature some type of advertisement or notice…something you would typically see posted on the wall at a store or your apartment complex.
Integrated Comprehension: (N1-N2 only) There is typically one passage in the reading section that is a combination of two smaller passages (A and B). You are usually asked a few questions about similarities and differences between the opinions expressed in A vs B.
Thematic Comprehension: (N1-N2 only) You read a long passage and answer question(s) about the overall meaning. Reading this passage in detail is a waste of time, so you should try to skim it, answer the question, and move on.
Listening In this JLPT section the questions come at you rapid fire one after another, whether you are ready to move on or not. It is important that you focus on the current question. Even if you are unsure of the correct answer, when the next question starts, bubble in an answer and move on.
Task-Based Comprehension: You are given the description of the situation and asked a question about the conversation that follows. You then listen to the conversation (usually between two people) and are asked the question again. You choose from the answers written on the page.
Comprehension Of Key Points: The flow of this question type is the same as the Task-Based Comprehension. The difference here is that the conversation is usually a bit longer and the question tests your ability to pull out a small detail.
Comprehension Of General Outline: (N1-N3 only) This type of question can be rather challenging. Here you get only a description up front. They ask a question about the general meaning of a rather long conversation or monologue. The answers you choose from are then spoken; the answers do NOT appear on the question sheet.
Verbal Expressions: (N3-N5 only) These questions are fairly quick. You get a picture of a situation where an arrow is pointing to one person. Choose the phrase that the person with the floating arrow should say. Again, the answers you choose from are spoken and do not appear on the question sheet.
Quick Response: As the name implies, this is the fastest type of question. One person says a sentence. You choose the most appropriate response. Again the answers are only spoken. Some of the responses can sound somewhat ridiculous and sometimes you hear chuckling in the test room. Use these free hints to your advantage.
Integrated Comprehension: (N1-N2 only) These conversations are long and there are multiple questions per conversation. The questions only come after the conversation and you choose from answers written on the page. Since you can see the answers before hand, you can usually guess what the question will be. I recommend you take notes during the conversation to help yourself when it comes time to answer the questions.
Scoring.
N1, N2 and N3 have three scoring sections: Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar)," "Reading" and "Listening." N4 and N5 have two scoring sections: "Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar)・Reading" and "Listening."
LevelScoring sectionsRange of scores
N1
Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) 0～60
Reading 0～60
Listening 0～60
Total score0～180
N2
Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) 0～60
Reading 0～60
Listening 0～60
Total score 0～180
N3
Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) 0～60
Reading 0～60
Listening 0～60
Total score 0～180
N4
Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) ・Reading 0～120
Listening 0～60
Total score 0～180
N5
Language Knowledge (Vocabulary/Grammar) ・Reading 0～120
Listening 0～60
Total score 0～180
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