Japanese Language Proficiency Test

So, you've studied Japanese for a year or two, made it through the textbook, did all the homework... but just how good is your Japanese really? One of the problems with studying Japanese in a college classroom is that there's no objective measure of your ability. Pace, materials, and focus change from one school to the next, and an A in one teacher's class might be a C at a different school. Isn't there some external measure of Japanese ability that could get everybody on the same page, like an SAT or ACT test for Japanese?

Why yes, actually, there is. There's the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or 日本語能力試験. The test is sponsored by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, and serves as an independent measure of Japanese proficiency. It isn't an accreditation, so success on the test doesn't entitle you to anything, but it can be useful for getting a sense of where you stand. After completing first year Japanese, you should be able to attempt the lowest level of the exam, Level N5, and after two years you might attempt Level N4. And most importantly, it is offered in the US once per year... in Chicago on December 5th.

I am not encouraging anyone to take the test. There is, after all, a fee involved ($40 for the N4 and N5 levels) and it isn't going to earn you extra credit... or anything except the knowledge of where you stand. But if a large enough number of students decide to take the test, I will look into renting a van or chartering a bus to take students to Chicago as a group. We could take the test in the morning, then in the afternoon visit Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese shopping center with a Japanese grocery, bookstore, housewares shop, and a couple of restaurants.

If you are interested, you will need to register on your own and then let me know via e-mail if you would like to be a part of the group trip. Unfortunately, you will need to make a decision quickly, as the registration deadline is at the end of this week, September 24th at 5pm. To register online, go to the Japan Foundation website. Once people have signed up for the test, I would also be happy to conduct some group sessions to talk about strategies for studying, introduce some existing study resources we have in the LRC, etc. Just let me know if you're interested.