I’ll take the JLPT this year

What is the JLPT

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is a test used to evaluate the proficiency of non-native speakers of Japanese. The test is administered by the Japan Foundation and Japan Educational Exchanges and Services.

The 5 levels:

  • N1 (The highest level)
  • N2
  • N3
  • N4
  • N5 (The lowest level)

The test measures the ability to understand Japanese used in a broad range of contexts and assesses proficiency in grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension. Everything is multiple choice and the test however fails to prove actual fluency. This test is widely accepted as proof by companies, even though this test has many issues (in my opinion).

The JLPT is held twice a year, in July and December, at designated test sites around the world. The results are not based on wether you got an answer correct or not, they add a bit of their own magic to decide who passes and loses by using their own point calculating system. This makes it so you only receive your test results 2 months later, which can be a big inconvenience to people who need it soon to get into their new job.

The JLPT is widely recognized by Japanese language schools, universities, and employers as a measure of proficiency in the language. Many students take the test as a way to track their progress in learning Japanese and to demonstrate their proficiency to potential employers or educational institutions.

Why am I taking the JLPT

What is my personal reason on taking the JLPT. First of all, I’m going for the N3, which is sufficient for some jobs here in Japan. This also explains why I am taking it, for finding a job. It’s not that I don’t like my job, but I don’t feel that I can do this kind of job forever. This job combining with having a baby is exhausting and we want to have a second kid as well.

I really like teaching kids, but it’s not a job I can do for the rest of my life and I was never planning to anyway. I was actually only going to stay for a year, but I enjoyed the job so much that I stayed, I’ll probably stay for another couple of years. After school teaching is something which is a lot more stressful and unstable as a job in Japan, I feel very easily replaceable so I always try my best to stand out, I guess that’s kind of the reason for feeling burned out.

If I could get a job in a real school, then I could see myself doing that job for a long time. However, I don’t have a degree to do this and I feel like I would like to do something with programming in the future.

Another reason for me to take the JLPT test is to test my overall Japanese, I live in Japan but I still struggle to have conversations, make phone calls or do other things in Japan.

Good luck to all other people also taking the JLPT! 😉