Revised JLPT – Impressions
04 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: Japan, Japanese, JLPT
So, as for taking the newly revised JLPT, and taking the previous version last year, there are some differences in tackling the revision.
First of all, if anyone’s kept up with the revision, the Vocabulary/Kanji and Reading/Grammar were separate before, but now are combined into one section. I will say from my experience in taking this exam today, a lot more concentration is needed to go through 105 minutes of straight testing. I’m glad that we were taking practice tests in class, in order to get us accustomed to this.
Next, is time management. I don’t have much to say about the listening section, because it feels like it hasn’t changed much from before. But the first section of everything else is where time management matters, especially when it comes to reading. Best way is to be prepared to breeze through the vocab/kanji, take some time on the grammar, and then give yourself sufficient time (perhaps an hour or so) to do all the reading.
So, with that, my impressions of the revised exam are that it feels shorter (2 sections). I’ve heard that the scoring changed from an overall 60% (N5-2) or 70% (N1) to requiring a corresponding score or higher for both sections; but not sure if that’s true or not. Time management is key, and practice reading!
