"So, which type of grave did Mr. Tanaka want?" WTF??

(^^Actual 2007 JLPT listening comp question)

So, I passed JLPT level 2 this year. It was my first try, and I was pretty surprised I'd passed, considering the horror stories I've heard. I've started studying for level 1, but I have no delusions of passing in December, I just like having something to focus my energy on.

I'm not going to defend or break down the JLPT here, as the test tends to be a sensitive topic for JETs, but I will say that most companies in Japan require at least a level 2 pass for you to work for them so passing it is of some importance.

I generally don't like talking about things I've accomplished (anymore, at least), but I know a few people who read this are aiming to take JLPT 2 next year, so I thought they could benefit from what worked for me.

First things first, I never thought I would pass this year. Though, thanks to a few books, loads of listening practice by being in Japan and some good sites, I went from being sure of failure in August to passing in December. Sadly, 4 years of formal Japanese study was not enough to pass lvl 2, at least it wasn't in my case. Studying and preparing for what's going to be on the test is key. For the love of God, please do not just stroll into the exam centre on test day and expect to pass because that just ends in tears for most people, I assure you.

Odds are, if you are planning to take a lvl of the JLPT, you are going to put off studying seriously till you finally apply for the thing (its ok, everyone does it). Nevertheless, I'd suggest starting early. First, buy the 完全マスター series of books for your level. I bought the Kanji, Grammar, and Reading ones. I only thumbed through the Grammar book, but it's very good. It's all in Japanese, but it's very accesible to those who have studied Japanese for a number of years. Plus, there are a good amount of examples for each word and to-the-point explanations for each grammar point. The most helpful book for me (and by far) was the reading book. It's basically a whole slew of passages of differing lengths with questions at the end of each. The book set up sections so that you can easily see what type of questions you are weakest at, be they short story extracts, graphs, trends etc. Reading comp. went from being my weakest section to being my strongest come test day, thanks to that book.

For listening, I'd say the best thing to do is to take a lot of old tests and get used to the style of dialog that will appear in the listening comp part. It isn't too tricky, but there is a bit of run around, and it's easy to be distracted during that section. I personally got so hung up on the actual test day trying to think through the answer of one question that I wasn't listening when the following 2q's came up -_-;.

Vocab and Phrases. If you like kanji and memorization, I suggest dling the lists of words and phrases you have to know and start cracking on some cards. I like using the web/phone/pc program Anki for my flashcard purposes, but that's just me. If you aren't a flashcard enthusiast, then I'd suggest finding an online newspaper you like, and reading at least one article from it a week. I read one article from the Yomiuri kid's section every week and I've picked up loads of good word, phrases and expressions from it.

There's a couple more things, but I think I'll stop here for now. If you have any questions about the test or study materials/methods, feel free to drop me a line.