My JLPT N5 Post-Mortem

There (thankfully) isn’t too much to say about how the JLPT N5 test went for me, so I’ll keep this brief. In summary: I passed with a high percentile but was 5 wrong answers away from failing the listening portion (and therefore the whole test). Why did that happen and what will I be doing next time?

What Helped

My main textbook (Genki) and my weekly tutoring sessions of course formed the foundation of my studies. I prefer books that aren’t JLPT-graded, but closer to the test, I did use some N5 prep books. They definitely provided meaningful help in plugging up grammar point knowledge holes.

• Try N5
• Nihongo Sou Matome
• N5 Listening – Point and Practice
• N5 Speedmaster Listening
• Study in 15 days: JLPT N5 – Characters, Vocabulary, Grammar

I bought way more books but those were most useful. Note I don’t have affiliate links set up (because I am under no delusion that this blog is popular enough to warrant them), but I’d love to know if any recommendations help!

I should give the disclaimer that I think some of my success wasn’t earned through recent efforts. A lot of dormant knowledge that I just retained from my Mandarin studies as a kid helped in giving me a boost. This is especially the case with the vocab section, and the reason why I rarely buy vocab and kanji books. I’m not complaining, of course. But I like to make the note in case other people use this post to figure out their own test prep strategies.

What Needed More Preparation

As mentioned, the listening section was rough. There are two things I attribute this to:

1. Listening can’t be crammed. I should have begun prepping a few months earlier to acquire a better ear, and more familiarity with the convoluted JLPT-style questions.
2. I should have prepared by practicing the listening section with speakers, and not headphones. When I was practicing on my own, I tended to use headphones so I wouldn’t bother my roommates. My test room, however, only had a simple boombox in the front of the room, and I was… in the third row. The change definitely impacted my score, so I’m going to do my best to practice in less ideal conditions in the future.

Another issue that’s related to the listening section (as it was the last section) but more an overall test issue is that I was getting tired by the end of the test. I only did 2 practice tests beforehand and they did not build my mental endurance enough (and I’ve only heard it gets harder)! Before the next test, I’ll make sure to take more practice exams for the sake of stamina building.

In more practical advice, I bought cheap No. 2 pencils for the test (I usually use mechanical pencils, but was worried about using them on a scantron sheet). I didn’t think to buy good erasers, and I think I got 3 questions wrong because the erased marks ended up just being smudges. Needless to say, next time I’m definitely buying better erasers.

What Next?

I am planning on taking the N4 test, but I don’t think I’ll be taking it in 2023 (because it’s June and I’m still only on Genki chapter 14…). But, I’m very okay with that! I prefer to take a “study for my goals, and pass the test as a side effect” approach anyway. Of course, I’ll keep updating this blog with my efforts.