クーラーがほしい！
Learning Japanese with the aim of passing an exam isnt enough. It doesnt matter whether or not I pass, more whether or not I can pass. Does that make sense? When I passed JLPT 4 in 2003, I was confident I had passed when I walked out the doors. When I passed JLPT 3 in 2004, I wasnt confident when I walked out the doors and when I got the results the following March, I was stunned how well I did. Guessing pays off! Although I had the certification under my belt, what good was it to me when I couldnt actually speak the language to that level. Only now am I confident in level 3. So, even if I was to pass level 2 next year if I take it, whos to say it wont be another fluke? And whos to say it would be of any use in Japan? People want to have proof you can speak the language - not a bit of paper that says you can.
Sure, that bit of paper helps, but what good is it if it is a lie?
I dont think JLPT is a good way to judge your level of Japanese anymore. There are only 4 levels! 3 and 4 being similar and level 1 is just 'level 2 on steriods.' Level 3 and level 2 is as different as an elephant is to an ant. Therefore, loads of people may have passed Level 3, say 1-3 years ago, and they can speak Japanese to normal Japanese people on an everyday basis without ever having to delve into English, but cant pass level 2 JLPT. Basically the gap is too huge, the system needs to be reformed so there are more levels!
Bring on the Level 2.5!^^
Whether its just that Im giving up Im not sure, but basically Im not interested in JLPT 2 anymore. Theres hardly any good resources for people like me, between levels 3 and 2. Theres either JLPT 2 revision or JLPT 3 learning books. Whatever happened to the JLPT 2 learning books?
My aim right now is to speak.
Have a normal conversation with a normal person in a normal place about normal things without ever having to delve into my normal language or English. To be able to understand a normal Japanese TV show or film without subtitles and without my electronic dictionary. I want to be able to read a normal young teenagers novel without banging my head against the wall because I dont understand the vocabulary.
I dont want to be a student of Japanese anymore. I want to be a user of Japanese.
Forget JLPT. Forget exams. How many kids did I teach English to who where only studying because they had to pass an exam? Their mind wasnt in it. So either was mine.
...damn, there were some big promises to myself in that lot...
2 件のコメント:
So are you going to go to Japan again without the JLPT ? I havent really checked many job pages, do they ask specifically for a JLPT qualification? Or just whether you can speak japanese? If they only ask to speak japanese, perhaps the best course of action is just to learn how to speak :) rather than learning how to pass a test. That is of course if its still your aim to go back and work in Japan.
Nick
Im not going back to Japan for a while yet. My plans havent changed for the future - I still want to go and live in Japan again, but just my method of how I study Japanese. Before a few days ago, my aim of studying japanese was to pass the JLPT 2. But, this is formal Japanese and not really everyday Japanese. I need to put my focus on coversation and vocabulary building right now. JLPT 2 is way off and Im just not that interested anymore.
Some jobs do specifically say that they need you to have a certain level of Japanese. But theres a range of different tests, so sometimes they may ask you to be able to speak Business Japanese, or JLPT 2 or sometimes just ask you to rate your japanese - into basic/conversational/business/fluent/native.
Ive also grown up to the fact that being able to get a graphic design job in Tokyo is next to impossible. If I am to work out there, its most likely going to be as an English teacher, and to do that, knowing Japanese is just an advantage, not a specific requirement most of the time.
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