Examinations

Author: Edutraveller
Date written: 04/18/2003 12:51:24 PM
Last edited: 2003/05/25 16:52:44
Keywords: Japanese Language Proficiency Test, JLPT, Japanese language, Study Japanese in Japan, Japanese language study

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Examinations

Japan is the home of examinations. There are tests for everything, and a wealth of texts on how to prepare for them. Japanese schoolchildren grow up preparing for tests, and it continues into university and work. New employees regularly start their working life as the finished their studies: preparing for and taking tests.

JLPT

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) is the standard Proficiency Test for the Japanese Language and is administered once each year on the first Sunday of December by the Japanese Ministry of Education (Monbukagakusho). You can take the exam at the Japanese Consulate in your home country or in one of several centres in Japan. Applications for the exam are taken around September (contact the Consulate nearest you or the Monbukagakusho for details). If you are studying in Japan, all good language schools will assist you with obtaining the forms and applying for the examination. Results are issued in February (early January if you pay the extra express notification fee). If you are applying for a university in Japan, you will probably need the express notification. There is also a section on the application form for having the results sent to a university in Japan.

The test has four levels, from four (the easiest) to one (the hardest). You will require at least level two for university entry although some of the better universities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Keio, Waseda and so on) may require level one as increased competition for these top universities allows them the freedom to choose only the best applicants. From beginner level two will take you 12 to 18 months of full-time study in Japan depending on your background and skills. Do not imagine that 12 months of university study in your own country will mean 6 months in Japan is enough - a year of university study in most countries (even the best universities) is equivalent to perhaps 3 months' study or less in a language school in Japan. Level one will open virtually any doors requiring Japanese language skills, but will also take you about 18 months to 2 years of study.

If you are looking for work in Japan, then you will probably need the JLPT. Level one will get you an interview with many companies and is a prerequisite for most translation positions. Level two may be acceptable for some positions depending on the requirements of the job. There are also other examinations testing Japanese language proficiency geared towards employment in Japan which may be useful for those less interested in study and more in work. The most common is the Business Japanese Test administered by JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation) which unlike the JLPT also includes an oral component.

Language schools

Any good language school will have placement testing on or before arrival, but there will almost never be a selective entrance exam. However, if your level does not match the levels of courses that the school has available, then you may of course not be able to join that school.

Universities

Many universities will also have an entrance examination. Depending on the quality of the institution application procedures will be more or less rigorous. Applications cost about 30,000 to 40,000 Yen per university: meaning that applications can quickly get very expensive. Consequently, it is a good idea to spend a little time choosing a university carefully rather than applying to a wide range.

Most universities will have a written examination, and then an oral interview with several lecturers or professors. If you are applying from abroad, then you will generally not require an interview, but will usually be asked to submit several essays instead.

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