learning japanese

[nogizaka46]

So if i took another form of test besides JLPT (or a Test equivalent to itself),does it mean it is less recognised?
I see the gauges are very different.

For listening, i am not sure if the speed convo in the test is the same as the speed the converse over there, so that’s my POV. (Which is kinda incorrect)

Nope, there are a lot of accurate tests out there, as stated earlier, JLPT is more commonly recognized as a gauge for Japanese companies' employability than the rest of the tests. You can also take take BJT (test format is similar to JLPT, but questions mostly have business jargons), A level, EJU e.t.c. and put in resume if you can pass, Japanese companies will still recognize your ability to understand Japanese.

Conversation speed in Japan is usually the same and slightly faster than natural speed you listen during the test, with wide range of topics and different intonation (every region has a different way of pronouncing their words). Just make sure you can at least pass listening first, as that is the basic standard of Japanese language (標準語).

 

[Idme231]

Nope, there are a lot of accurate tests out there, as stated earlier, JLPT is more commonly recognized as a gauge for Japanese companies' employability than the rest of the tests. You can also take take BJT (test format is similar to JLPT, but questions mostly have business jargons), A level, EJU e.t.c. and put in resume if you can pass, Japanese companies will still recognize your ability to understand Japanese.

Conversation speed in Japan is usually the same and slightly faster than natural speed you listen during the test, with wide range of topics and different intonation (every region has a different way of pronouncing their words). Just make sure you can at least pass listening first, as that is the basic standard of Japanese language (標準語).

Noted. Thanks for the clarification yea.
For listening, i am told by my sensei that i have some issues, will need to work on it.

 

[GottaCatchEmAll]

May I ask for those who have went through Basic 1 Term 2, what is being taught in this course?

I am finishing Basic 1 Term 1 which is mostly learning hiragana, simple sentences/phrases and vocabs.

Is B1T2 about learning Katakana (mostly again)?

Because I am considering to self-study the very basic first and then attend classes to learn grammar (because its harder to understand).

Is there anything I might missed out or I can study by myself so that I can attend Basic 2 Term 1 straight?

TIA TIA

 

[Janetsk]

May I ask for those who have went through Basic 1 Term 2, what is being taught in this course?

I am finishing Basic 1 Term 1 which is mostly learning hiragana, simple sentences/phrases and vocabs.

Is B1T2 about learning Katakana (mostly again)?

Because I am considering to self-study the very basic first and then attend classes to learn grammar (because its harder to understand).

Is there anything I might missed out or I can study by myself so that I can attend Basic 2 Term 1 straight?

TIA TIA

You can ask the teacher for advice. She/ he can show you the materials.

Are you skipping to save money or time? The grammar learned in Basic isn't difficult to understand as the nuances have not appeared yet. You can self-study using the Translation and Grammar Notes for Minna no Nihongo and skip to a higher level. What you will be missing out is the conversation and the interaction with the teacher and classmates.

 

[GottaCatchEmAll]

You can ask the teacher for advice. She/ he can show you the materials.

Are you skipping to save money or time? The grammar learned in Basic isn't difficult to understand as the nuances have not appeared yet. You can self-study using the Translation and Grammar Notes for Minna no Nihongo and skip to a higher level. What you will be missing out is the conversation and the interaction with the teacher and classmates.

Thanks. Skipping to save money and time as I find that T1B1 can be self-studied from the materials they used. I also have background on Hiragana and Katakana, particles like wa, o, ni, to, ga, mo.

 

[zhirong]

Thanks. Skipping to save money and time as I find that T1B1 can be self-studied from the materials they used. I also have background on Hiragana and Katakana, particles like wa, o, ni, to, ga, mo.

Not sure how much you can skip as it will also depend if there are ongoing classes at that level. I will say just stick to it if there are no other classes, at the hiragana/katakana level, you will only save at most 1-2 weeks? Compared to the years ahead, you can take it as a revision and reinforce your Japanese foundation.

 

[Papermate]

My take on this as a person having amateur-level of Japanese:

First step is to enroll yourself into a language school to learn the basics, till the point of JLPT N4 level. N4 is enough for your travels (to read signs and ask the locals) to Japan, albeit you will end up using wrong grammar here and there.

Then from N4 onwards, do not make the mistake of chionging all those JLPT prep books, textbooks or workbooks. It is a very flawed Singaporean method. You pass your JLPT but 80% of your Japanese is returned to the textbook. I have seen N2 graduates who can't converse with Japanese people beyond the basic greetings. Think how Mandarin is thought in Singapore and the standard of Mandarin here, and you get the picture.

My advice (from my failed experiences) is to watch drama and live-action movies for learning. Best is those with Japanese subtitles. Kill two birds with one stone - you learn Japanese at a 'fun' setting and you know their mannerisms (when to use certain terms). Anime should be watched for entertainment, but not as learning since the Japanese used is not what the Japanese normally use in their conversations. I learned much more from watching drama than keep hitting the books.

You can watch NHK if you are hardcore but it is very formal Japanese with 80% kanji. Don't ever rush the learning of Japanese just because you want to take N2 or N3 exams, you miss out on the basics sometimes.

And lastly, after learning all these, don't end up as a weeb. lol. like some of my friends.

Agree.

We should set the goal as scoring A1 when learning anything, including any language.

But like you wrote above about us learning Mandarin here, well, how many people scored A1 for Chinese and English for their GCE O level exam?

It's not only the method these languages are taught as you said, which would lay the blame at the feet of school teachers, but also the society/environment outside of the classroom which is not conducive to speaking good English and Mandarin. Your school teacher taught you to write "What did you eat for dinner just now?" but outside of the classroom, your friend says to you "Just now dinner you eat what ah?". And the latter form of speaking becomes entrenched, and that's why we often do not get ourselves understood when outside of Singapore, and when speaking to foreigners here.

 

[dimitri_can]

May I ask for those who have went through Basic 1 Term 2, what is being taught in this course?

I am finishing Basic 1 Term 1 which is mostly learning hiragana, simple sentences/phrases and vocabs.

Is B1T2 about learning Katakana (mostly again)?

Because I am considering to self-study the very basic first and then attend classes to learn grammar (because its harder to understand).

Is there anything I might missed out or I can study by myself so that I can attend Basic 2 Term 1 straight?

TIA TIA

Better do the course normally, if you skip, you will miss a lot of stuff.
Is cost a concern for u?

 

[dimitri_can]

Thanks. Skipping to save money and time as I find that T1B1 can be self-studied from the materials they used. I also have background on Hiragana and Katakana, particles like wa, o, ni, to, ga, mo.

can explain to me the uses of each with an example sentence?

 

[Winry~]

Hi, I am looking to learn conversational japanese. Any recommendations? Considering private lessons for flexibility too.
Used to learn back in poly year 1 but almost forgotten already.

 

[zhirong]

Hi, I am looking to learn conversational japanese. Any recommendations? Considering private lessons for flexibility too.
Used to learn back in poly year 1 but almost forgotten already.

Take a placement test from Ikoma and proceed from there, they have classes on most days so you can join other classes if you cant make it for your original class.

 

[Winry~]

Thanks! Can I know if I am able to claim from skillsfuture credit for this? I don't see any indications about claiming..

 

[jeremiahtong]

Thanks! Can I know if I am able to claim from skillsfuture credit for this? I don't see any indications about claiming..

No as Ikoma did not sign up to be a training provider for SkillsFuture.

Bunka, Hougang Japanese Language School and JCSS are training providers for SkillsFuture. You may want to check them out if you intend to use your SkillsFuture credit.

 

[Janetsk]

Hi, I am looking to learn conversational japanese. Any recommendations? Considering private lessons for flexibility too.
Used to learn back in poly year 1 but almost forgotten already.

Do you mean a solely conversation class without grammar and vocabulary?

 

[zhirong]

Do you mean a solely conversation class without grammar and vocabulary?

Pure conversation class, probably the closest is pre-advance and advance classes in Bunka.

Ikoma pre-advance classes does have quite a bit of conversation as well.

 

[Winry~]

I know some vocabulary, just that I cant really form a sentence as my grammar is bad.
I am looking at a quick fix (can't think of a better word) as I am slow at reading/ recognising the kanji etc so it will take a longer time if I were to take the proper route. I needed to learn how to converse as soon as I can.

 

[zhirong]

I know some vocabulary, just that I cant really form a sentence as my grammar is bad.
I am looking at a quick fix (can't think of a better word) as I am slow at reading/ recognising the kanji etc so it will take a longer time if I were to take the proper route. I needed to learn how to converse as soon as I can.

There is no shortcut. I would suggest going to a regular class. Conversation should comes naturally as you progresses. Most classes dont focus on Kanji and it is usually learnt along the way.

 

[thwysg]

Not to discourage starters out there.
Do study hard and exam results are not the end of the world.

Do reflect and see which area is strong and weak and where to improve on after this exam.

For N5 and N4 holders.
From my personal experience, I would not recommend you to go for N3, N2 if you do not get 85~90% for your exam as it means your fundamentals (Grammar, Vocab, Listening, Writing, Speaking, switching between your master language and Japanese language) may not be not strong enough to tackle more advanced levels.

Do polish up ALL your areas especially weaker ones!


Good Luck. Have Fun!
Don't give up. You are not alone.

諦めないで~キミは一人じゃない~

Should I retake again since I didn’t hit 90% for N4? My listening portion scored poorly (only managed 68%) though I got above 85% for grammar.

Any advice?

Btw, if I’ve completed Pre-Advanced in Ikoma, that’s N3 right?

 

[zhirong]

Should I retake again since I didn’t hit 90% for N4? My listening portion scored poorly (only managed 68%) though I got above 85% for grammar.

Any advice?

Btw, if I’ve completed Pre-Advanced in Ikoma, that’s N3 right?

Pre-advance in Ikoma is not N3 as there are still certain N3 grammar not covered. However, I believe you can easily clear N3 if you can follow most of the pre-advance lessons.

Ikoma regular classes syllabus does not follow the JLPT route past Intermediate. You will learn some N2 or even N1 grammar/vocab in pre-advance but you will also be missing some N3 stuff. Their JLPT prep courses are the ones that are really tailored for JLPT.

 

[truemelodies]

Looking for ways to further improve my speaking and listening for Japanese as i feel quite stuck at this level.

My recent JLPT 2 result:
5x/60 - Grammer/Vocab
5x/60 - Listening
4x/60 - Reading

Felt quite disappointed for my reading section as i struggle with the lack of time to properly read through and finish it (probably read too slow).

I did not not why i never took JLPT 4 & 5 and took 3 straight. My result for JLPT 3 was 90% above and completed it with ease of time. However for JLPT 2 this time, i felt that i do not have enough time.

Would not want to take JLPT1 for this year as i want to increase and familiar with more vocab to help with my speaking and listening. Currently, watching lots of jap dramas with subtitles and likes to listen to JPOP.