Remove batteries from your cell phones (in Japan)!

[jjonghyun]

Hello, everyone.

I am a Korean guy, who is living in UK after two years in Japan.
I am so happy to find this podcast because I can practice both English conversation and Japanese language at the same time.

Anyway, I took JLPT once in Korea and twice in Japan.
In Japan, instructors are all Japanese and examinees are from all over the world.
So the Japanese instructors do not speak anything during the examination.
Instead, they use yellow cards and red cards. The meaning is exactly same as in footbal matches. It looks so funny to me.

If you are living in Japan, I want to tell you that even though you turn off you cell phones, the alarm function still works. I saw a lady was kicked out of the examination because her cell phone made noise with alarming. It was only 5 minutes before the end of every exam, but there was no exception. She was disqualified for the exam and had to leave the classroom.

So please make sure to remove the battery from your cell phone when you take the JLPT in Japan.

Happy new year to everyone.


PS. I hope "Koreanpod101" or something like this be made in near future.

[Tom]

On my phone, an outmoded Razr, the alarm doesn't work when the phone is powered off. It does work when the phone is on, even if the ringer is off. Is this what you mean, or are there really phones cool enough to turn back on just to alarm? I want one of those!

[jkid]

Thats seems very drastic.

[jjonghyun]

At least, the cell phone I used in Japan did alarm when it was turned off.
I am not sure how many cell phones have such function in Japan.
The poor lady at JLPT claimed that she surely turned off her phone when the alarm worked. I guess that she didn't know about the special alarm function.

My other cell phones that I used in Korea or am using in UK does not alarm when they are powered off.

Happy new year again.

[annie]

the JLPT instruction book mentions something about cellphones that will alarm even when powered off.

and yes, it's drastic to kick someone out of the test. but you're warned many times that i will happen. they only give you a red card if it's during the listening section, otherwise you get a warning yellow card.

it disturbs the other test takers, and in the listening section you might miss important info if someone's phone rings during a question.

[theresachan]

yeah my phone is a panasonic X701 and the alarm will still go off when it's powered off. i take advantage of it a lot. i switch it off when i go to bed at night so that no one can disturb my sleep and the alarm will still wake me up the next morning. i know you can set it to silence but the vibration against a hard object still makes a lot of noise.

So yes, i removed the battery when i took the JLPT in Dec. Great tip to those who don't know, jjonghyun

[Jason]

Stickied.

[JohnCBriggs]

We got the same type of warnings in the USA. If ANY electronic device makes a noise you will be immediately disqualified. I have a Pocket PC that still alarms when it is off. I had to turn the volume to MUTE to prevent it from sounding. I also deleted all my appointments that occurred during the test time.
Taking the battery out was not a good option because the memory would be lost.
It was a very quiet test.
ジョン

[sweetneet]

I don't know if its due to said alarms or just absent-mindedness or what. I took the 2級 test in NY (at Columbia University) and was amazed at how many times the exam proctor told everyone to turn off their cell phones, as anyone whose cell phone rings (or even vibrates) during the test would be given a zero. She must have said it like 5 times (a couple times in the very beginning, and then like once *before every section*). Even I (who was pretty sure I was going to fail anyway) often double-checked that my cell phone was off before the test.

But then of course, during the last section (when there was just like 20 minutes left)--リンリン! Yep, some girl's cell phone goes off. The girl looks embarrassed, and at first I thought that the test proctor would just go over to her and just reprimand her or something (I had thought that the "your cell phone rings = you're disqualified" warning was mainly just a threat to prevent phones from ringing left and right during the exam). But sure enough, she was given a zero and was asked to leave. I felt bad for her, but then I thought it was a fair rule, as it did cause quite a bit of distraction. Actually I wish this rule could be applied to other major tests (i.e. final exams at my university)! Thing is, cell phone etiquette is quite a huge problem here in the US (generally, people here aren't as courteous as they are in Japan).

Anyways, just wanted to add my 2円 to this thread. So to sum up, they really DO kick you out of the JLPT if your cell phone goes off (even in the US, where rules don't always tend to be followed ) だから、 気をつけてください！:)

[sphere]

Maybe they should clearly broadcast the instruction to turn off handphones in japanese. Failure to comply indicates a lack of basic understanding and therefore have no need to continue with the exam proper? Just kidding, but tot that it would make marching the offenders out more justifiable imo

[CoryInJapan]

they have korean pod now =]

[untmdsprt]

[quote="theresachan"]yeah my phone is a panasonic X701 and the alarm will still go off when it's powered off. i take advantage of it a lot. i switch it off when i go to bed at night so that no one can disturb my sleep and the alarm will still wake me up the next morning. i know you can set it to silence but the vibration against a hard object still makes a lot of noise.

So yes, i removed the battery when i took the JLPT in Dec. Great tip to those who don't know, jjonghyun [/quote]

My phone will do this too! To date, I've not bought an alarm clock to wake me up. I will be taking the battery out of my phone when I take the test.

Serves everyone right if they can't be courteous and keep their phone quiet. Some of us, like myself, have a hard time listening and understanding what's being said so any distraction will piss a lot of people off!

[visisl124984]

Good info!

[mrmoonfield2239]

We got the same type of warnings in the USA. If ANY electronic device makes a noise you will be immediately disqualified. I have a Pocket PC that still alarms when it is off. I had to turn the volume to MUTE to prevent it from sounding. I also deleted all my appointments that occurred during the test time.
Taking the battery out was not a good option because the memory would be lost.
It was a very quiet test.
ジョン

What crappy do you possibly have lol.

[cloa513ch2629]

At least, the cell phone I used in Japan did alarm when it was turned off.
I am not sure how many cell phones have such function in Japan.
The poor lady at JLPT claimed that she surely turned off her phone when the alarm worked. I guess that she didn't know about the special alarm function.

My other cell phones that I used in Korea or am using in UK does not alarm when they are powered off.

Happy new year again.

Its amazing what difference 3 years make to mobile technology- my plan is superbasic- as cheap as you can get and the mobile phone has autopower alarm (works while off), basic camera and Japanese-English dictionary (spotty coverage of the languges) and other features.