When I first arrived in Japan, I didn’t know that much Japanese. I had taken a year of Japanese at a university before I came, but it proved fairly useless. After studying on my own for awhile, I found a tutor that I could help me with my questions. But, it was a little difficult to stay focused when I didn’t have a goal.
Then, I learned about the Japanese Language Proficiency Test or JLPT. It gave me something to focus on for my studies. Before that I had just been working my way through various textbooks. I set my sights on then level 3 (now N4). It helped motivate me to study more. It also gave me a better idea of what words and grammar points are used at my level.
I studied hard for that test, and took it and passed, and I learned a lot about how to study for and how to pass the test. I’m currently studying to pass N2. There is a significantly big jump between these two levels. This has led me to study even more efficiently and harder to achieve this goal. Looking around, I haven’t been able to find too many resources that address the JLPT directly.
I have also talked to friends about the test, and have discovered that they also find the tests to be incredibly difficult to prepare for. I always find myself swapping tips with them whenever we met up.
JLPT Boot Camp was Born
Since I couldn’t find very many resources that really helped you step by step to prepare for the test, I created JLPT Boot Camp to assist students pass the test with less effort and and with less time.
This site is designed for those that want to pass the JLPT easily. I’ll take you step by step through the vocabulary, grammar, kanji, and expressions on the test as well as tips and tricks on how to get the highest possible score.
Who is this site for?
If you are thinking about taking the JLPT or are about to take it soon, then this site is for you. I created this site for those interested in learning Japanese enough to want to put their skills to the test. I’d like to help you take your Japanese to the next level.
If you are studying Japanese ‘just for fun’, then this site might not be for you. I plan to give you detailed explanations of the Japanese you need to know for the test. It will be a focused approach to the language to help you study the most efficiently. The content here will help you to not only learn the key points for the test, but to master them, so that you can go into the test confident you are going to pass.
As an English language teacher, I have found it tremendously rewarding to teach students and help them achieve their goals. JLPT Boot Camp gives me the opportunity to work with focused students of Japanese that are planning to take the JLPT.
Already, I’ve enjoyed hearing from you in the comments, via email, and the occasional tweet. To me, it’s interesting to hear about people’s goals for learning Japanese and their future plans. I look forward to hearing from you and interacting with you here on JLPTBootCamp.com
Action Steps
1) What test are you studying for? (e.g. N1, N3…)
2) What part of the test gives you the most nightmares? (e.g. grammar, reading…)
Any advice for the listening section? Right now I’d do just about anything to improve my listening!!!
For the listening section (for the N4), I would do a lot of listening to Japanese learning podcasts (not native podcasts). If you live out of Japan, this might turn out to be the most difficult section for you so of course be sure to take the practice test to see how well you do.