What’s your take on language proficiency exams? Did you sit any? Do they motivate you in your language learning, for instance by working towards a goal or having your level certified?
I only sat the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and the Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK).
I sat the highest level of the JLPT, the N1, around 20 years ago but failed by a very narrow margin because I was unfocused for a couple of moments during the listening part. The other parts all went well, and I was like “yeah, well I almost made it” and then never tried again to actually get a certificate.
I sat the HSK around 15 years ago. At that time it was still the old HSK and I reached level 6 of 11, so that was intermediate.
I sometimes think that I should give the proficiency exams another try. Do the N1 of the JLPT again and sit the new HSK 6 (realistically I should try HSK 5 first). Maybe take the DELE (Spanish, B1), the DELF (French, B1) or the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency (C2). I don’t “need” any of the certificates, I just wondered if they helped to study in a more structured way and for instance “force” me to master certain grammatical aspects that I tend to ignore. Also, I might feel more confident about my language levels. Even though I filled in the profile with what I think are my levels in my target languages, maybe I’m just plain wrong about them and over-estimating my skills (or hopefully even underestimating…) .
Share your language exam stories! And if you need help with preparing for a German exam, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Even to “almost pass” the JLPT* N1 is a feat. That test is quite strict, and it seems from street interviews that even most native Japanese would have difficulty with it. I’m hoping to pass the N2 sometime in 2021, but I still have a long way to go. It definitely puts pressure on me to practice for the test specifically, but I find the materials don’t help me with learning Japanese overall. Instead, audiobooks and television shows seem to be boosting my ability to communicate in the language itself.
Japan definitely puts a strong emphasis on passing high levels of the JLPT. You can even earn a few points toward early permanent resident status if you pass them (in addition to other academic and youth-related requirements). Some businesses require N2 certification of their foreign employees. But, practically, most realize that the test is not enough, and it’s not terribly uncommon to find someone who can pass the test but be unable to speak at all. It’s probably better to think of passing the JLPT as a related but separate goal to learning Japanese overall.
For anyone new to the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), there are 5 levels. N5 is the easiest and approximate to A1. N1 is the most difficult and is approximate to C2. However, the test is only multiple choice and focuses on reading, listening, grammar and vocabulary.
In my opinion, it is always a positive trait to have goals and work towards them. If you feel obtaining certificates for proficiency tests will strengthen your career or immigration opportunities, then shoot for the stars!
I like the idea of mapping study to a test criteria if you’re struggling with focus with solo study. It is also a great reference as a check and balance for how you’re progressing. Gap analysis, if you will. I’m yet to apply this idea in action to my own study, but I have done the planning. I touch on this a little in my presentation for the conference.
Edit: I’m not one for comparing myself, but wow! I’m very envious of your commitment and language skills, @Miriam!
There’s no official guide laid out to correlate the two tests (by contrast, J-Cert is more clearly correlated), which is why I rely on CEFR’s descriptions as a general guide and not individual experiences, which will naturally vary. It’s also why I make a point to mention the areas of language which the JLPT is limited to (reading and listening). If you require an assessment of speaking, the JLPT can’t even score you comparable to A1. Of course you can’t test what’s not there.
Yeah, the JLPT doesn’t really correlate to the CEFR and I agree that N1 doesn’t equal N1 and it’s definitely a problem that it’s just a multiple choice test. The current HSK also doesn’t correlate to the CEFR. Hanban claims that HSK 6 equals C2 but it’s also rather B2. I heard that there’ll be a new HSK (HSK 3.0) from next year on with 9 levels. It’ll be interesting to see if it really becomes more difficult and also accurate when it comes to advanced levels.
Usually it’s quite expensive to prepare and take a language proficiency exam. You need specialized training material with exam - like exercizes and shortly before the exam you need to do “mock exams”, these are old exams of past years, which you can order for training purposes. Because of the high costs I only did 3 exams with the purpose of showing the certificates to employers.
My 3 Esperanto exams, which have had no professional purpose, were cheap, therefore I decided to do 3 for the same language. I did al three of them before they were categorized by the European Framework of Languages. This is a pity, for example I have got 2 “Elementa Ekzamenoj”, but I don’t know the precise level of them.
