LogFAQs > #913450766

M3sterybumper posted...

YonicBoom posted...

How long have you been studying in total?

Hasn't he lived there for almost a decade?

4 years, lol. Still, there's a difference between using Japanese in a practical sense, and going the extra mile to improve your ability such that you can comfortably pass N1. I read a lot of articles in business and science magazines (which is why I had enough time to comfortably read each reading section twice), and I've done countless hours of vocab and kanji drills. And I practice both reading and writing by copying newspaper articles. I also did explicit JLPT N1 studying, such as many sample problems, especially for grammar and reading. Still, the N1 requires that you either study exclusively for what shows up on the test, or expose yourself to the sorts of topics that you don't experience in everyday Japanese life. It's like asking a foreigner learning English to answer questions on how the author of an editorial feels about some scientific discovery. They could only do it if they studied that subject for that question, or if they'd exposed themselves to more than normal life in America, the UK, etc.

But anyway, took the N1. Honestly, I think I passed. Not a sure thing by any means, but I was confident enough in all sections that I think I scored well enough. Of course, I won't know until the end if January.