I noticed that lately many people find my blog with search queries such as “jlpt revised n3″, “text books for jlpt N3″, “prepare for N3 jlpt”, “jlpt n3 books”, etc. This makes a lot of sense, since the last of the old format JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) examinations was conducted last Sunday, the 6th of December, 2009.
Starting next year the JLPT will be replaced by the revised format, which is essentially the same as the old one, except that the first (vocabulary and characters) and third (reading and grammar) sections are merged into one big one (with no pause? that’ll be tough!). And, of course, the introduction of the new N3 level, which is between the old levels 2 (new level N2) and 3 (new level N4). The gap between the old levels 3 and 2 was indeed rather large, jumping from beginner’s book to serious hobby level with a 300% increase in vocabulary required, for instance.
And with the introduction of the N3 level, a whole new market for textbooks and study aids specifically targeting JLPT N3 opens up, and you’d expect the publishers to rejoice and then hurry to be the first one to the market with such a book, wouldn’t you? So last time I went by the big Kinokuniya book store in Yoyogi, out of curiosity of just how difficult/easy the new level n3 was I had a look at the old JLPT bookshelf (where I used to hang out, before I graduated from the JLPT). And lo and behold there were none! None study books targeting JLPT N3, that is! Lots of books and flash cards and stuff targeting the other, old levels, still though. A search on Amazon has the same result: no JLPT n3 books.
The bookshelf with textbooks for JLPT level N3.So where are these books? Did the book writers/publishers not realize that there was going to be a guaranteed demand for them? Or are they hoping people will buy the remaining old format JLPT books before they introduce new once to the market? Because surely the demand for old ones will drop significantly once new ones are introduced, especially for the old levels 2 and 3, I would presume. Anyway, as soon as they’re out and I’ve had some time to evaluate them, I’ll update my Best Books for Learning Japanese page with recommendations on JLPT N3 books as well.
Impressive blog,
here are the first info about the N3 JLPT :
http://www.jlpt.jp/e/about/new-jlpt.html
I pass the jlpt4 in 2008, I hop for the jlpt3 in 2010
(2009 was not a good year !), then the new N3 !
Cyril
Hello,
You seem to forget an important point : JLPT N3 is a new level, the only useful thing we know is that it’s located “somewhere between” N4 (old JLPT3) and N2 (old JLPT2).
For those levels, nothing really changes, you can more or less keep as a reference the kanji , vocabulary, grammar points lists edited for JLPT3 and JLPT2. But nothing similar exists for N3 !
The indications given on official JLPT site are in my opinion totally useless for practical purposes. You had to know about 300 kanjis for old JLPT3, around 1000 for JLPT2, how much for N3, and which ones ? Nobody knows. About grammar, I prepare for N3, should I just take the first half of my JLPT2 (old) grammar book ;o) …
I am taking lessons at a japanese online language school , the teachers there are completely lost about what they should teach in N3 preparation courses.
I think you won’t see anything published about N3 before the first actual test !
Best regards !
Cyril, thanks! Good luck with your studies!
Jean,
Yes, I would have expected them to have released a test content specification for n3 by now, at least to the major publishers…
But no, all we can do is, as you mention, questimate based on the (archetypically Japanese) vague information on their web site.
If I were to aim for N3 this year, I would study for the N2. If you score close to 50% on a mock N2 test, then I bet you will pass the N3. But of course, if the purpose of your studies is explicitly to pass the N3 test, then that will be rather inefficient since you’d want to study exactly the items that can appear on the test. If your goal is to become fluent in Japanese, then you won’t lose much by studying for the N2 directly; just skip the parts you consider so hard that they’re blocking your immediate progress.
Anyway, thanks for your comment and good luck if you’re taking any of the levels, and best regards,
Henrik
Hello Henrik !
Thanks for your answer. I agree with you about the strategy to follow. Here is my study plan :
- I noticed that the japanese langage textbooks consider that there are 500-600 “elementary” level kanji (e.g. Bonjinsha’s “Elementary Kanji book” in 2 volumes covers 500 kanjis, the kanji volumes from the “Shin Nihongo no Kiso” textbook give about 600 kanjis. So I want to focus heavily on these kanjis, and add something like 100-200 kanjis from the most frequently used kanji lists you can find in many kanji dictionnaries. I consider I know something like 400-500 kanjis (I mean reading 500 and writing 400) for the time being, and – in my case at least – it’s not realistic hoping to learn more than 300 kanjis in 10 months…
- about the grammar, I had the same approach as yours : I take level 2 grammar classes, I think learning around 170 grammar points is something feasible during the same period.
- the most annoying point is the vocabulary : if you want to do it in a coherent and scientific way , best would be to take a JLPT2 vocabulary list, and select words built only with kanjis from your “home-made” N3 list.
Maybe transferring a JLPT2 vocabulary list under Excel format on Access would be a quick way ( I mean if you selected 700 kanjis from 1000, you just have to eliminate words containing at least one of the 300 kanjis you didn’t take on your list) but I have no idea how Access would react if asked to process to japanese characters…:o)
I ll probably take N3, because I have no real chance passing N2, and …also because I think that for the first edition of the new test, JLPT people will be especially cautious , and won’t design a too difficult exam…
Best regards
Jean
Jean,
I find it impressive that you can write 400 kanji when you know 500 in total; that is a nice ratio. For me, it’s something like I can read 2500-3000 kanji and write 100-200… :-S so very passive-oriented.
It sounds like you are on a good track to pass JLPT n3… and I agree that it’s kinda cool to take the new level the first time it’s offered.
I almost want to go and take n1 just to see how it is…
Henrik