How to Improve Your JLPT Score: Useful Tools and Apps
Are you finding it hard to study for the JLPT? Are you the type of person that doesn’t like studying from the books? Well, you may want to continue reading because in this article we are going to provide you with some alternative tools and apps for you to master not only your JLPT, but also your Japanese!
Author: Zena Fadilla | Published date: 23 March 2020
Not just another dictionary
While it may be true that Google Translate is a great tool to translate a sentence or a passage, it does not give you details on the meaning or provide sentence examples. So below are some different kinds of dictionaries you can use to level up your Japanese.
・Imiwa?: This dictionary is one of the highest rated dictionaries, and holds a 4.7 rating in the App Store as of March 2020. The app has multiple language entries (English, French, German, etc). It also gives you the following: animated stroke order, grouped kanjis according to the JLPT levels, and allows you to search for kanji by its composing patterns. When you translate a sentence, the app helps you break down each word into dictionary entries. Nonetheless, the most useful feature of all – especially for beginners, is the conjugations feature. This application is only available on the App Store for iPads and iPhones. Get the app right now from imiwa?.
・Jisho: This dictionary is equipped with audio pronunciation tools. It shows which JLPT level the word belongs to, collocations, and also sample sentences. If you input a sentence in the search engine, it will automatically separate the words individually and explain each word specifically.
・Weblio: This website is useful to help develop your further understanding of Japanese words. You can use this website to find synonyms and antonyms of Japanese words as shown below.
・Dictionary: Did you know you can add dictionaries from other languages in your built-in MacBook dictionary? Here’s how you do it: open the Dictionary application, go to its preferences and check the boxes that show Japanese and/or Japanese-English features. Check out the step-by-step instructions to add the feature below.
On-the-go tools!
Want to kill time during bus and train rides but also learn something valuable? Try some of these hacks.
Source:https://www.renshuu.org/
Renshuu.org is a website that offers over 9,000 vocabulary, kanji, and grammar lessons. Not to mention the official textbooks that you can access for free and some printable worksheets that can help you practice your writing skills! This website uses the Spaced Repetition System (SRS) to test your skills. Renshuu.org also provides multiple-choice questions which can be tricky, but even if you get the answers wrong they provide thorough explanations. With this tool, you will be able to customize your study schedule according to your target.
Flashcard Tools: These are a good way for you to learn new vocabulary and memorize them. Tiny Cards and Quizlet can be used on your phone as an app and on your laptop from the web browsers. With these tools, you can look for existing flashcards that someone else has made or make a customized one on your own! Some useful keywords when searching the existing flashcards: “JLPT,” “JLPT N2 (or any other levels) ,” “JLPT Kanji,” “JLPT Vocabularies,” and “JLPT Grammar.”
The JLPT Official Workbooks are compiled past examinations that you can download and print for free. You can use the workbook as a mock test by timing the test according to the actual test time. Download the workbook from their official website here. An alternative for the workbook is a website called Japanesetest4you, this website gives online practice tests for all the JLPT sections.
Switching from Music to Podcasts and News
Try to take a listen to these podcasts to get yourself used to listening to conversations in Japanese, which can be great practice for the listening section of the test. Plus, you can also find new interesting facts about Japanese culture.
News
NHK News Web Easy and Todai Easy Japanese (application) are tools for you to access news in Japanese. What’s good about it is that they are equipped with audio of the news so you can practice listening, reading, and mirroring their pronunciation all at the same time.
NHK News Web Easy offers the latest news articles, most of the kanji have the reading of the kanji right on top of it, which will make it easier for you to search the words you do not know.
Todai Easy Japanese, as of March 2020, received a 4.8 rating in the app store. This all in one app, includes news, videos, JLPT, and a dictionary. You can access a huge database of 31,706 articles, 173,386 vocabularies, 6,355 kanji, and more than 2000 grammar.
Not a big fan of reading, but great at listening? These two channels below are the answer to your studies, these channels are here as your virtual senseis.
- Nihongo no mori, has almost 400k subscribers and they have made over 1,000 videos for you to utilize. They have a particularly useful grammar series where they grouped similar grammar points into one and break it down for the viewers. They explain the grammar differences through how they form a sentence with it, what kind of form you should use, and in the end explains what kind of conditions or nuances it has.
- Japanese pod 101 (Youtube link here) offers fun, interesting, and culturally relevant lessons. They have over 2,950 audio and video lessons which can be accessed through mobile apps, desktop software, and websites anywhere and anytime. The senseis are really energetic and expressive, which makes it easier for you to remember the content of the lessons because for example, they explain kanji with analogies and actions.
Fun tools
Rikaikun is a built-in extension compatible with Google Chrome. This tool allows you to select or hover over Japanese words you do not understand, and a pop-up translation and explanation of the words will appear. You can get the tool here.
Are you a fan of Anime or Terrace House? Another built-in extension in Google Chrome is called Learning Language with Netflix, the tool will allow you to enjoy the show while learning new words through the subtitles and the kanji pronunciations! Furthermore, this tool is also compatible with Rikaikun, so when you do not know a certain word you can use Rikaikun for the definitions. Get the tool from here!
Next JLPT test dates
Now that you are all geared up for the next JLPT, the last step you need to do is to apply for the next JLPT tests! JLPT is held 2 times a year and the first test date for this year is on July 7, 2021 (Sunday) and the second one is on December 5, 2021 (Sunday). The application dates are not released yet, so make sure to keep track of the schedule. For more detail of the test contents, registration process, and where the tests are held you can click here.
Extra: Alternatives to JLPT
JTEST and Business J-TEST: For those of you that are currently looking for jobs in Japan, some companies accept Business J-TEST as a certification of your Japanese Language Proficiency. On top of that, unlike JLPT, J-TEST is held 6 times a year so you have more chance to take it multiple times if you failed your first try!
Business Japanese Proficiency Test: Business Japanese measures non-native proficiency in communicating in a business setting. Having this certificate could also be a bonus point when you apply for visas because this test is used by the immigration authorities to check your proficiency.
JCAT: or Japanese Computerized Adaptive test is a test that measures your Japanese skills. But, according to their website, “J-CAT is unlike other tests that assess based on unadjusted scores. J-CAT takes the difficulty of the item (question) into consideration and assesses the examinee's ability based on probability theory.”
Kanji Kentei: Evaluates your knowledge of Kanji. There are 12 different levels available (Level 10 being the easiest, 1 the most difficult, and Pre-1 Pre-2 tests)
Although there are a lot of alternatives to JLPT, the more universally and commonly known certification is still from JLPT. So, with these alternative JLPT hacks that we have provided you, start studying early!
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