Today is the day the results are Online for “the rest of us” and I just could not wait! I was pondering, should I look them up? Should I wait for the results to be mailed? I decided to look them up, and I failed! What? Yes, 不合格 [ふごうかく] failed! Too bad, but that is the result. Close, but it was a fail. A in vocabulary B in grammar, but the listening killed me. I thought that if it were, it would be the grammar or the language knowledge part, or even the reading. But listening? No, I did not expect that this part would be a problem.
Even though it was a fail, it was a close to pass fail, no fail without a pass chance. It remains a fail, but it was worth it. I lack knowledge, and know what I have to work on. I’m not happy with reading, B because I think I could have done better. I also think that my grammar needs some more brushing up, but listening has top priority. I still have a test-book full of listening comprehension questions. I will work through it to improve my understanding. Test, or no test, doesn’t matter. This is really just a matter to proof it to myself that I can do better. Besides that, until december for the N1, I should improve overall.
The N2 was a challenge, it felt easy, and in some points it was and the scores reflect it. Nothing is lost, except some money, because I did it just for myself. There is no job at stake, there is no university entrance depending on it, it was just to see where I’m at. So it was a good idea to take the test, that it was over, that I know the results now, and whatever comes next, comes next. And what comes next is to shell out some money, for listening comprehension books for the N1, and for Grammar, and maybe even reading. N1 will be a different beast. So, on to N1!
mahouxnagareboshi
日本語の日記 
Nagareboshi,
it was obvious to me that most Koohii members would not pass N2 because of the listening. Everybody seems to be just to pretentious when it comes to the effects of immersing oneself in passive listening to several podcasts and what not, but really getting the gist of what is being said and picking the right answer is just something different – and that is required for the test.
It is no wonder that you were so good in the vocabulary section. Anyone using Anki is:)
Anyway, it’s unfortunate that you did not pass, but I believe you will next time.
Tori-kun
P.S. I will take N2 in summer.
Well, hi there! Yes, you are right, passive listening doesn’t do for the test. I did work through one listening book before the test, and the results were good overall, so I didn’t worry about it on the test either. Next time I’m better prepared. 🙂
Oh, I’m sooo sorry … I was shocked as I read your posting about not passing the N2 … To pass the listening part seems to be pure luck!
We both will make it next time! 🙂
Luck? No, but it can help, in case of uncertainty. Any answer could be correct in that case. Close attention to certain parts that can change a dialogue is much more important. Though passive, it is still asking for knowledge, and mine was lacking as it seems. Or i could blame bad luck for knowing the answer and marking the wrong fields on the sheet, but this would be cheap. 😛
Next time we’ll make it!
All the best for N1
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And the same to you! We either make it or break it. 🙂
Hi. I’m preparing for N2 too, and as there are no more official word lists, I’m wondering how many words I need to learn: 6000 like in the old JLPT or more? How many words did you know to get an A in the vocabulary section?
Thank you!
Welcome!
You can learn 6000 words, 9000 or 19000 words, it hardly matters. As any word can come up on the test, there is always a chance that its a word you haven’t encountered yet. There were two words on my test that had neither been in any of my books, nor in any of my decks. I encountered them during some long hours spent reading on the net, and more often than not also while trying to make heads and tails of the things surrounding those words.
I had learned some 12.000 words before test, stemming from various sources, but i didn’t learn them specifically for the JLPT. And I certainly didn’t learn any lists of random words, because it is rather pointless.
Whats more important than sheer numbers, is that you don’t get tricked by questions that asks you for the correct writing in Kanji for words written in Kana and vice versa, how and in which situations words are used in, and so on.
Of course, the more words you know, the better off you are. But don’t put too much effort into learning long lists of words in isolation. Your time is better spent for other learning activities, and whats more important, having fun while spending your time with reading, chatting, or playing some game or other.