JLPT2 - two questions to individuals who have passed

[bakaKanadajin]

Inevitably, you took the test from the previous year (or should have!) to gauge your ability and see where your strengths/weaknesses were. In retrospect, how different did you find the actual test from the previous years test which you took as practice? I'd be really interested to hear from applicants from 2005 on.

Were there a lot of kanji you didn't recognize for some reason (despite it being standardized) or was the actual test met with the some semblance of familiarity after having practiced on the previous years test?

I took 2007's and according to it I'm en route to pass this year but I'm not convinced because of all this hearsay about it getting harder each year.

And my second question is somewhat unrelated, but which of the JLPT2 forms have you found useful and acceptable in every day conversation? Many are for writing only but some seem like they'd be useful; I just wondered if there were a few gems I could start using.

Thanks!

[Charles Barkley]

I found the one's for the past 4-5 years to be roughly equivalent. One's from the early 90's were considerably easier. If you do alright on the past 3 tests, you will probably do alright on this year's. But of course simply lacking certain vocab can always kill you on.

[JimmySeal]

I think the test always feels harder when it's the real thing because of the pressure and because you may have travelled 2 hours in the morning to get to it:okashii:
I haven't been following the test results for the last year, but I think it's fair to say that the 2005 test was harder than the 2004 test. It shows in the statistics and it's highly unlikely that there was a huge drop in applicant quality between those two years.
Nonetheless, I scored better on that test than I did on the 2004 practice test, probably due to the month of studying between taking the practice test and the real test. So in all likelihood if you did well enough on your practice test(s), you're in good shape.

[Charles Barkley]

Also, JLPT day itself utterly sucks. If you haven't taken the test before, be ready for a day that will drag on, be full of bureaucratic bullshit, and make you willing to trade 10 points off your score if only you could get it over with faster.

Another note: it is likely that within days of the test finishing, it will show up on some chinese website along with the answers. If you don't feel like waiting until next summer to hear your score, keep your eyes open for that. I was able to check my score two days after the test and it really gave me some peace of mind.

[Nall-ohki]

The previous years' tests were good practice for me, but I highly recommend going through some of the prep books - they're incredibly helpful in preparing.

[tada]

I think knowing that I'm probably not going to pass is going to take off a lot of the pressure. My test site's also only 30 minutes away, and I'll probably be there anyway, despite it being Sunday.

Is it true that they'll be offering it in July as well? I'd probably have a better chance of passing then, since I'd have a lot of free time to study if I haven't found a job by then.

[bakaKanadajin]

Thanks for the input guys. CB you're right, the vocab and kanji selection also varies from year to year so I'm a little concerned about the possibility of running into everything I don't know that day. Guess I'll just have to study everything as much as possible.

I went through the kanzen master grammar book and I'm going through the reading book too, I really like the kanzen master series. Also using spaced repetition kanji software, a couple other mondaishu books and reading articles my teacher gives me. She photocopies the paper and picks easy to read stuff that seems to fit well with my level. Being a real newspaper there is of course always a bunch of new stuff in there so its challenging too.

All in all I feel good but I still on occasion run into that one piece of writing or set of vocab where I'm completely lost and begin to worry that if this can happen, the entire test could potentially be like this :P

ganbarimasu

[Chidoriashi]

I recommend to you a book titled パターンで学ぶ日本語能力試験。 I found it to be a great resource for grammar. I used it for 1kyu though. But comparing the book i used for 2kyu this one was way better because, it not only gave examples of the grammar but wrote the meaning (in japanese of course) in easier terms to understand. So it was nice to just think of grammar i may already have known and just think that it means the same. It also helps you with terms that are very similar and explains the differences, and it lets you know the pattern (hence the title) like if it needs to have a noun come before it, or a verb and in what form etc.

[bakaKanadajin]

Chidoriashi thanks for the suggestion.
It appears that this is actually a series of books. If I google it then check out the images, several different books/colours are available. Are you recommending them as a series or was there one book in particular that you liked? Do you remember which colour it was?
Thanks a lot!

[Chidoriashi]

Ahh, sorry man it looks like I am a *****.. It seems they only make that series for the level 1 test. I just assumed they would produce versions for all levels, or at least for level 2. Sorry if I got your hopes up for a great textbook. If you do choose to go for 1kyu someday though, the purple one is the one I am talking about. It was a great help. Anyhow, good luck!

Oh actually though I do have another suggestion that may help you. I own a book called A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar. It is just what it sounds like, but it explains some good grammar points that you will see on the 2 kyu test in English. And it is just a nice reference in general. I heard that they may be making a dictionary for advanced grammar, but the professor (Seiichi Makino) who wrote the other two (there is a basic one also) was like 3000 years old.. so i don't know if he is retired or even still alive.

[Chidoriashi]

Actually I just looked it up and it seems they have an advanced level now.... Im gonna buy it. These dictionaries are awesome references.

[bakaKanadajin]

Chidoriashi thanks for the tips. Regardless of whether I manage to pass this year's test I am taking JLPT1 in July. According to most of the material and practice tests I've done I'm already ready for JLPT2 so if I continue to study at my current pace I should be able to make a reasonably serious run for 1. Worst case scenario I'll take it next December and pass it with authority since I'll be forced to double my study time. I'm going to bang my head against a wall and try to pass one more test in my life, I'll make it JLPT1 instead of 2.

To that end, I will def. check out the two books you mentioned, the purple 'pattern' book and this advanced dictionary of grammar! I'm something of a textbook collector now and they're so cheap in Japan, many great books can be had for well under 2000yen, so I will indulge in a little extra spending this month.