5 posts tagged “study”

Those of you who have completed your studies in Japan have probably taken the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) at one time or another.

The JLPT is a certification test begun in 1984 with the objective of enabling students of the Japanese language, whether in Japan or overseas, to make an objective evaluation of their proficiency level as compared to others around the world studying Japanese.

In December 2008, the JLPT was taken by more than 560,000 people and administered in 173 cities in 52 countries and regions around the world, including Japan. It is the most widely recognized certification test for the Japanese language in the world. While the JLPT has traditionally been administered in December, the JLPT certification test for Levels 1 and 2 will also be carried out in July 2009 in Japan, China, Taiwan and Korea.

Outside of Japan, the JLPT is administered by the Japan Foundation (Interchange Association, Japan for tests in Taiwan) with the cooperation of local organizations and in Japan by the Japan Educational Exchanges and Services.

The JLPT is going to be revised in 2010 and the outline of changes is as follows. Please refer to the official Japanese-Language Proficiency Test website (http://www.jlpt.jp/e/index.html) if you would like further details.

Why not use this as an opportunity to undertake Japanese-language studies again and try to see if you can get a new certification?

* Goals of the New Test

The goal of the new JLPT is for it to be a test that measures communicative competence in accomplishing tasks. Linguistic knowledge that is the basis for communicative competence is of course also measured. The test aims to reflect real-life situations in which the student of Japanese language will be using Japanese.

* Setting Levels (Change from 4 Levels to 5 Levels)

There have been requests in the past to address the fact that those who have passed the Level 3 test often have trouble passing the Level 2 test as well as to measure abilities higher than that targeted by the current Level 1 test. Furthermore, advances in Japanese-language education and changes in social circumstances have resulted in a more diverse range of needs among examinees as compared to when the test was first introduced. In order to better respond to such diverse needs, the test will be reorganized into a 5-level format from the current 4-level format.

The current test has 4 levels: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4. After the revision, there will be 5 levels: N1, N2, N3, N4 and N5. The "N" stands for both "Nihongo" and "New."

N1: This is at about the same passing level as the current Level 1 test. However, 
      it is designed to measure slightly more advanced abilities as well.
N2: This is at about the same passing level as the current Level 2 test.
N3: This is at a passing level bridging the current Level 2 and Level 3 tests.
N4: This is at about the same passing level as the current Level 3 test.
N5: This is at about the same passing level as the current Level 4 test.

* Reading and Listening Test Sections

Reading Section: This corresponds to both Writing-Vocabulary and Reading-Grammar in the current test.
Listening Section: This corresponds to Listening in the current test.