Talk:Japanese Language Proficiency Test

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The JLPT does not test conversational ability, despite the descriptions like "has the ability to read, write, and converse..." on the JLPT site. Also, as I recall, the so-called "writing" section (on Level 1 at least, I haven't taken the others) does not require actually writing kanji, but rather just some knowledge about readings and which kanji are used in which words.

HowTF do you take a level 1 without going through 4,3,2? Oh well maybe something's changed. Yes, people who supposedly pass one of the JLPT tests can read, write, and conversate in japanese. If I remember correctly there is a listening side to it. Conversate would be the only term here up for debate. Most of the tests just determine how well you can read and identify parts of the japanese language. --Cyberman 02:54, September 5, 2005 (UTC)

You can take any level you want. -ToothingLummox 04:29, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

Does anyone know about the other JLPT tests? -ToothingLummox 11:23, 1 September 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, the JLPT tests can be done with some studying. I'm suprised mr. bigshot up there did Level 1. Level 4 can be passed with about 6 months of study. You should google for some study guides or past tests. I think the next test (level 3) takes about 1 more year of study. From there it just gets a lot harder. I figure if you can get through a whole book, such as harry potter in japanese, than you are going to be able to pass a portion of the tests. --Cyberman 02:55, September 5, 2005 (UTC)

I'm sorry. I meant to ask whether the format of the other tests was any diffferent from Level 1 as I described it above. Was there any writing? -ToothingLummox 04:29, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

The JLPT Tests, at least at levels 4 and 3, are completely multiple choice exams. No actual writing or conversation is needed. I believe levels 2 and 1 are the same. Ben W Bell 12:16, 5 December 2005 (UTC)

Ikkyū contains a small section where you have to write kanji characters on your own. The rest is just multiple choice question, if I remember correctly. I haven't taken any other level, so I don't know anything about them. (Stefan2 10:21, 4 November 2006 (UTC))

Are you sure about this? I took level 1 five years ago. It did not contain any kanji writing sections. It was completely multiple choice. Maybe things have changed since then, though. The previous years test is always made available for study at bookstores, so it shouldn't be too difficult to confirm. Bendono 12:40, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

I have last year's level 1 and level 2 tests, there is no actual writing for kanji involved. Roehl Sybing 03:25, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

"A level four vocabulary is roughly equivalent to an early elementary school education, level three to late elementary school, level two to middle school, and level one to a high school graduate."

This claim seems very doubtful to me. An elementary school child knows significantly more than 800 Japanese words, and students know 2000 kanji going *into* high school, not graduating from it.

I'd like to change the words "There are too few levels" to "There are not enough levels". The first time I read it, I understood it as the much more common phrase "There are too many..." and kept on reading. I hardly ever see the words 'too few' used. Slightly silly of me to misread it, but this is the internet and these are web pages and I don't think you can be so 'puffy' in your language and expect people to concentrate in the same way. Any objections?

Yes. Firstly, a student at the end of elementary school knows 1006 kanji, not 2000. See kyoiku kanji. Secondly, I think the sentence you cited is clear as it is. "Too few" is simply not irregular or archaic, so there's no reason to change it. --Zaxios 02:52, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

I just noticed I was replying to two people. To both of them: it might be less confusing if you sign your name at the end of your comment. You can do that by typing four tildes (~); when you save the page the characters will be replaced with your name and a timestamp. And sorry for mixing your posts together. --Zaxios 05:00, 10 December 2005 (UTC)

I too use the phrase "too few", often, in conversation. Also, it's a little bit difficult to believe that elementary students only know 1006 kanji. just because they haven't been officially tought them does not mean they don't know them. You pick them up off of signs and books and such very easily. Saying that an elementary student only knows 1006 kanji would be like saying an Elementary student in Ireland only knows how to spell 600 words since that's all they learned in their "Spelling" classes. Liquidtenmillion 22:18, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Contents 1 Criticisms 2 Clean up 2.1 Use of Colours 2.2 Blanket Statement 2.3 Links 2.4 Proficiency page 2.5 The Test's Recognition 3 Pictures 4 how much does it cost? is it free?

[edit] Criticisms

The current criticisms listed on this site are made by who? Should these not be sourced? Barryvalder 06:17, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

It's worth noting that the 'small window around September' in which to apply is actually 2 months, ample time for anyone to apply. I'd also argue that it is far from 'time consuming' Anyway, with the other criticisms on here following a similar vein of lacking sources and being infested with Peacock Words, I've decided to remove the whole section until some sources can be found and it can be rewritten in a style more acceptable to Wikipedia. ShizuokaSensei 05:07, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Clean up

I've removed the majority of the minute-by-minute commentary of what happens in the testing room. None of this is required as it's standard procedure for exams which take place every single day of the year and far from unique to this one. The fact the CD player is tested before the test starts really doesn't need to be mentioned... ShizuokaSensei 05:21, 9 May 2006 (UTC)

Thank you, I agree. I've culled the same sort of standard test information from the 'Taking The Test' section as well Spurrymoses 03:41, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Use of Colours

I'd like to remove those colours in the table "Duration of Each Section". I think they are a bit too varied and bright and make it difficult to read. If no one opposes in a few days, I'll give it a go Spurrymoses 03:41, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

DONE Spurrymoses 14:50, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Blanket Statement

The statement at the beginning of the article: 'The Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU) is now used by most universities for this purpose' - is a 'blanket statement'. Can anyone verify this so we can cite a source in the article? Spurrymoses 03:47, 17 May 2006 (UTC)

Fixed, used the EJU site, which makes the same claim, as a (footnote) reference Spurrymoses 14:45, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Links

Some of the URL's like kanji-site.com and jlpt-kanji.com, I initially labelled 'Note: the JLPT kanji lists at this site are outdated'. But I decided to remove them. The Test Content was updated in 2002 (4 years ago), and these sites still have the old (pre-2002) Kanji lists. Someone may have a convincing argument otherwise, but currently I'm thinking to prevent sites with verifiably false information (see Test Content Spec listed as reference) from being included as a link. Spurrymoses 13:37, 29 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Proficiency page

Europe, the U.S., and Japan all have different concepts as to what constitutes "proficiency". I was thinking of writing an umbrella proficiency page. Feel free to stop over at Talk:ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines to comment. samwaltz 00:38, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Test's Recognition

I think it's important this page has a section on how recognised the test is. Attainment of JLPT1 is widely considered proof of Japanese fluency sufficient for study at a Japanese university and work in a Japanese company. BokuAlec 13:57, 29 November 2006 (UTC) Yes, well, as an encyclopedic entry, we have to get something pretty solid. I agree though, it's difficult to judge from this whether it's worth doing or not, or how and when the results are used and by whom.

[edit] Pictures

This article lacks photographs. My friend and I took the JLPT this year and took some photographs. Would any of them be helpful? —Goh wz 10:56, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

It would be nice to have photographs, but it would be better to have them of, say, the front page of a section of the test. Since there are testing sites all over the world, I don't know that photos of the Singapore test site would be very helpful to an understanding of the test as a whole. On the other hand, I think it might be useful to expand on motivations for taking the test (as you say, study language, but also visas, job qualifications, higher education, etc.) in the text of the article. Good luck with your results... Dekimasu 12:24, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] how much does it cost? is it free?

sorry, i know this is not a forum, but anyones knows if the test is free or not, if not, how much does it cost? maybe that information could be usefull in the article --193.136.128.7 16:46, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

• It cost 5500 yen in 2006 so you're right, we should probably add this information. If we can find a link to a reference for this inf and add a conversion in USD that should cover the point I think.ShizuokaSensei 01:38, 3 February 2007 (UTC)