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JLPT 4 Audio Segment

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aasimmons3
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JLPT 4 Audio Segment

Postby aasimmons3 » October 6th, 2009 12:12 pm

I was wondering if the listening segment of the test allowed you to listen to the clip multiple times as the practice test on this web site does. If so, no problem. However it's tough for me to get it the first time.

Belton
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Postby Belton » October 6th, 2009 8:00 pm

Unfortunately you only get to hear it once. It's played from a CD to the exam hall.
You can't let your mind wander or you are doomed. It only lasts about 35 minutes at a maximum.

It's tough for most people but it's not as bad as it seems.

The first part is usually choosing between 4 pictures, where you need to pick up on two pieces of information. You can see the pictures so you have a clue about what to listen for.
The second part is a little trickier. You hear a short dialogue, then you hear 4 statements. 3 are false 1 is true. You need to mark both the false answers and the true answer.

It's worth trying to find some example tests if you can for a bit of practice.

(PS from next year the format of the test is changing. I've seen examples of the new reading and grammar which is fairly different so I presume the listening will change as well.)

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aasimmons3
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Postby aasimmons3 » October 7th, 2009 12:28 pm

Wow... That sounds pretty tough. For example my teacher gave me a little practice question and the pictures were stamps, but I didn't recognize them as stamps because the prices listed were strange and the stamps looked strange. That was my first time hearing the vocabulary for stamp as well. The first time I couldn't really zero in on anything because I was trying to figure out what was on the picture to begin with. It's like the second time hearing a sentence it's so much easier to understand, and that is true for me in the street as well.

Your answer was great and very much appreciated.

I'm pretty nervous actually. Do they average all the sections together or do you have to pass each section individually?

Belton
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Postby Belton » October 7th, 2009 1:23 pm

The pass mark is 60%. 240 marks out of 400.
While your score report will give you your scores for each section, it's the overall score that counts. So if you are strong at kanji or reading or grammar you can make up for a weakness in listening.
Listening is worth 100 marks.

What advice I can give is:-
relax
concentrate
you don't have to understand everything but try to pull out the important info.
If you can't, give an educated guess at least.
If you can't make an educated guess, mark an answer, you might get lucky.
Unlike the other sections, in listening there is no time to go back over your answers. Answer quickly and be ready for the next question.

Ask your teacher if they have a practice exam you can borrow.
The type of questions on the test are very specific to the test.
I can't remember seeing any on the Internet. (Apart from the paid section here)

MLC has some audio resources and quizzes that might help.
http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/Download.htm

Japanese bookstores that sell textbooks for JLPT often carry the past papers as well.

There are also example test books written by other publishers
Offhand I can only think of the title of the Minna No Nihongo series
http://www.3anet.co.jp/english/books/te ... oukai.html
These listening tests are similar to the ones on JLPT and should be at a similar level.

Generally listening to Japanese, such as the podcasts here, helps enormously as well.
(If they wanted to add a JLPT angle to the podcast they could ask one comprehension question after the first full speed dialogue portion. They have written ones in the premium section but it's not quite the same.)

Psy
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Postby Psy » October 7th, 2009 5:53 pm

For the "identify the pictures" sections of the listening exams, taking advantage of a few practice exams will help you enormously. With a strategy in place you won't even need to catch every word-- the first thing you want to do is identify the differences between the pictures. Simply by noticing the differences and targeting your ear for them-- as if by magic-- youʻll catch a lot more. Still, if thereʻs a section you want to do well at, itʻs the reading. Practice, practice, practice.

A lot of the JLPT questions tend to use the same general types of content. Once you've done a few youʻll have a really good idea about what it is youʻre up against. jlpt.biz has a lot of content if you can manage navigating the site-- if not, send me a PM and I'll be happy set you up with some materials.

Good luck!
High time to finish what I've started. || Anki vocabulary drive: 5,000/10k. Restart coming soon. || Dig my Road to Katakana tutorial on the App store.

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