Hey! How is everyone doing? It’s no secret that this hasn’t been a good year for the majority of us, myself included–which was why I decided to take a long holiday from my blog. But I’m here again, so hello!
In case you were wondering how I spent my time away, I basically spent it drowning myself in as much Japanese as possible. Towards the end, however, that gave way to playing games; the perfect form of escapism during 2020. What better way to ignore the chaos and stresses caused by the pandemic than to immerse yourself in a fictional world? Unfortunately, now that the JLPT is fast approaching, I’ll have to put that aside to dive right back into Japanese learning.
Despite the fact that I’m not fully confident that the JLPT will be held.
(The reason being that whether examinees are able to sit for the exam depends entirely on their luck, i.e., their assigned test site does not cancel the exam. There are multiple sites, so some may or may not be able to sit for the exam.)
This time around, I’ll be sitting for the JLPT N3, which I meant to take in July if it hadn’t been cancelled. Ideally, I would sit for the N2, but since I’m not entirely confident in my ability just yet, N3 it is. I just hope that I won’t regret my decision, but what’s done is done.
My current level of Japanese
At the moment, I’m working on N2-level materials. Yes, you read that right. I’m not sure if this is just me being excessive, but I’m much more comfortable with the thought of taking the JLPT at a level that’s below what I’m studying at the given time. I’ve discovered that I’m a nervous exam-taker, so if I choke up during the first part of the listening section, I wouldn’t understand the rest.
Given that the JLPT is an especially nerve-wracking exam that stresses people on time, this might not be such a bad idea for me.
With regard to my speaking ability, I can mostly carry simple everyday conversations. My reading is alright, and even if I can’t read certain kanji, I can usually work out the meaning of the text based on the meaning of the kanji itself. As for my listening? It could be better. It can be harder for me to comprehend spoken Japanese due to factors such as accent and speaking speed.
Tip: Once you move beyond N4, use multiple textbooks for each level you’re gunning for. Different textbooks have different grammar points and even different kanji/vocabulary despite being the same level, so just using one simply isn’t enough. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Use as many materials as you can until you’ve gotten the hang of things–this is the best Japanese learning tip that I can give you!
How I’m studying for the exam
Ahem, before I got sucked into gaming, I had a smorgasbord of ways to study Japanese. I will be reutilizing these methods now that I’m getting back on the studying wagon.
Flashcards
I was obsessed with flashcards. I had three types: vocabulary flashcards, common/helpful phrases flashcards and grammar flashcards. Whenever I learned a new word, phrase or grammar point, I would input it into my digital flashcard app. Then, I would set aside time to sit down and go through them. Sometimes, when I had absolutely nothing to do, I would flip through them as well.
This may be boring for some, but it works great for me.
Flashcard apps that I like to use are Quizlet and Anki. Quizlet is wonderful because it allows me to test my memory in different ways, i.e. multiple choice, classic flashcard style, a mix-and-match game, etc, and I like its user-friendly interface. I’m not as fond of Anki’s interface, but its strong points more than make up for it. With Anki, you can browse through its gallery for ready-made flashcard decks made by other users, and it also tests your memory based on how well you remember a card.
Quizlet has ready-made flashcards as well, but based on my experience, the ones on Anki are much better.
Textbooks. Lots and lots of textbooks
This one hurts the wallet and what little space I have in my tiny Tokyo apartment, but utilizing as many textbooks as you can is one of the best ways to study Japanese. As stated before, because Japanese has such a vast array of grammar points that each textbook carries different ones, it is best to invest in many.
Plus, difficulty levels vary across even the same level of Japanese textbooks, so I try to cover as much ground as possible. This way, I will be able to avoid any nasty surprises when I finally sit for the JLPT exam. I will write a post about the best Japanese textbooks to use according to JLPT level, so stay tuned for that.
(Trust me, you do not want to sit for the JLPT N2 with–as much as I love the series–the Nihongo Soumatome series alone.)
Reading and reading aloud
This was a game-changer for me, speaking, grammar and vocab-wise. By reading Japanese content aloud, I had gone from stuttering and stalling while speaking, to being able to mostly speak fluidly. I am now at a loss for words a lot less and my accent has vastly improved. And given our current situation of mostly attending online classes at home, this is a great substitute for having a Japanese speaking partner. Although it is preferable to actually converse in Japanese with someone else, I had to do with what I had–which was, read aloud. Surprisingly, it works.
So if you are having difficulty with speaking, just read aloud. It works. As long as your mouth gets used to speaking it, you will see results.
As for grammar points and vocabulary, I feel like I can memorize them more naturally because I can study through reading in context. By reading in context, rather than point-blank reading through lists, I can see how grammar points and vocabulary are used and understand better.
Memorizing these is easier if you can find reading material that you’re interested in and that is actually tailored to your level of Japanese. Outside of textbooks, I read Japanese short stories and manga.
Keeping a journal and a book to scribble Japanese in
I’m one of those people who studies best through reading and writing. Since it is no secret that I love writing (why else would I keep a blog?), I decided to purchase a journal and notebook to scribble Japanese in.
My journal is more for studying Japanese more casually, as I use it for writing short notes and to-do lists. Since keeping a journal involves writing a lot of repetitive stuff, it helps with sticking kanji and vocab to my mind better. My notebook, on the other hand, is for writing just about anything I want in Japanese. It can be about my day, my country, cultural differences, my favourite thing about Japan, etc. The point is to use new grammar points that I’ve learned by writing stuff that I’m actually interested in.
I don’t know about you but for me, interest = more likely to memorize.
Plus, because Japanese has a ton of grammar points, it’s best to use them as soon as possible. They’re way too easy to forget if you don’t go out of your way to use them.
Making the best of social media
This is more for casual learning, but it is surprisingly effective. I have a few social media accounts where I follow Japanese users (exp: Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Hellotalk), and whenever an interesting post of theirs pops up on my feed, I check it out. For a more proactive approach, Hellotalk is ideal as it matches you up with native Japanese speakers that you can communicate with.
I used to be a heavy Hellotalk user, but got tired of it as most of the conversations can be really repetitive. That said, I recommend it if you’re interested in communicating with a native Japanese speaker.
Now, I know that some people are uncomfortable using TikTok, but if you are okay with it, it is also a good way to study Japanese. I follow a few Japanese users and have fun watching their Toks while learning at the same time. The users I follow post a range of videos about anime, the Japanese language, and even just random, comedic content.
Watching Japanese dramas and anime
Although watching Japanese dramas and anime might seem like the same thing i.e. watching just to listen to Japanese dialogue, it really isn’t. I actually use them to study different aspects of the Japanese language. For instance, Japanese dramas are an excellent resource for learning everyday Japanese and how native Japanese speakers actually speak. It’s about as close to the real deal that you can get without actually speaking to a Japanese person.
While I’m aware that anime has a bad rap for teaching “rude” Japanese, it is still a great way to learn the language. Unlike Japanese dramas, anime is available in a plethora of genres with much, much, much greater numbers. This means you’re not only spoiled for choice, but you can also learn different types of vocabulary depending on the genre, e.g., anime about medical work has a lot of medical terms compared to anime about everyday life which would have more conversational Japanese.
Another thing about anime that puts it above Japanese dramas is that you can learn a lot of Japanese speaking styles through it, e.g., masculine speech, feminine speech, and even samurai-style speech (not recommended for everyday use, of course).
Listening to Japanese music, audio files and podcasts
One of my favourite ways to train my ear to listening to Japanese is by playing Japanese music. When I first started out, the only Japanese songs I knew were the ones I heard during the openings and endings of anime. So what I did to find songs to listen to was go on Spotify, find a Japanese song, then tapped away on Japanese recommendations that later came with it, and let Spotify do the rest. Now I have a mini collection of Japanese songs on the app.
The other thing I did was listen to audio files. For this, I had to invest in a CD player and then listened to the listening exercises provided in the CDs that sometimes accompany Japanese textbooks. Podcasts designed for intermediate Japanese learners was a thing I tried as well, though I admittedly didn’t manage to find one I enjoyed so I quickly abandoned it. I’ll give this one another shot because it would make an excellent resource.
That’s about it. There is not much else that I can add to this post except that I wish you all good luck on your Japanese language journey–especially if you’re able to sit for the JLPT in December. I have no idea if I can, but if not–then there’s always next time.
All the best!
