Jlpt 2015 december

@MikeCash
I didn't mean to say the JLPT is the only proficiency test out there. But for learners not in Japan and at beginner or intermediate level, I believe it's the only test available that's recognised in Japan (correct me if I'm wrong, I'd be interested to know). Well, in the UK you can also take a business Japanese exam but that's neither for beginners nor relevant to my personal needs.

I might consider taking a test intended for native speakers in the future, but at the moment I just couldn't compete - well, I might best a middle schooler on pure kanji recognition but that's about it. And since I'm in Europe not Japan, having easy access to a test site is also an issue. For this and overall recognition value, the JLPT wins out. But I will have a browse through the other sites later on, thanks.

@OoTmaster
I think Mike is being a bit harsh since you said you were a beginner. That test isn't available in the US though.
http://j-test.jp/xp/modules/tinyd10/content/pamphlete.pdf

madphysicist said:

think Mike is being a bit harsh since you said you were a beginner. That test isn't available in the US though.

Click to expand...

I don't think I was being the least bit harsh. He has been learning Japanese at least three years now. And anyone who can read the letters A-G, Roman numerals, and can spot what are obviously correlations to JLPT levels can suss out the answers from the 基本情報 page whether they can read Japanese or not. If I had thought it beyond his ability to figure out on his own I would have simply summarized the information for him in English. I'd rather nudge him along toward the satisfaction that would come from realizing that from that wall of seemingly impenetrable text he was perfectly capable of mining information on his own. He could similarly have figured out the test isn't available in America. A little time scanning the front page and noticing that all that katakana is the name of countries where it is available is certainly within his capabilities.

I don't think Mike Cash was being too harsh. I have been self studying Japanese for over 3 years now as he's said. I still consider myself a beginner but I'm sure there are others who would argue against that. As madpysicist suggests though this test wouldn't be ideal for me to step up different levels progressively as it's only offered in Japan. I think a $1000+ ticket for people not in Japan would be a large deterrent for that particular test. I was able to extract the information though from the page he suggested. I was at work however and decided to ask for the information rather than digging through a couple pages to try to figure it out.

It is offered several times each year, though. The AD test is held six times per year. You may very well be able to fit the test in with your spring visit. The EF test is held at a different frequency so you would need to check the schedule carefully. There are practice tests and sample questions for all of the tests on the site so it should be fairly easy to decide which to take.

Okay well if there are real beginners reading the thread who are interested in the J-TEST, the link I posted above is in English (may be slightly out of date as it appears to be from 2010). I'd be interested in that one if they had test centres outside Asia, since the cost is substantially lower than the JLPT. But sadly stuck in Europe for the meantime.

Actually I just remembered another complaint I had about the JLPT. For the listening section there were so many words written in hiragana it was actually pretty hard for me to read the answers quickly! Not a problem I was anticipating in N2. They could just use furigana for that section.

@Mike Cash
I'm likely going to wait on my JLPT N5 score results before deciding if I would be ready to tackle anything more advanced. If they come back positive I may just look into something like this. I'm usually a pleasure over business type of person though. But to use one of my days for a test doesn't seem too taxing.
@madphysicist
Thanks for the additional information on the test. I think Mike Cash just likes giving me a hard time because he knows I have the ability to research and figure out things more than I give effort to doing so. It's welcomed, anyone that wants to push me to do my best is welcome to do so.