I have waited for so long for the time I can gladly write "Glorious End" to the surface of this blog, but ông trời (laotian - god) doesn't want me to do so....
永別！
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Humiliating end.
I depart Japanese study with a humiliation....
I have waited for so long for the time I can gladly write "Glorious End" to the surface of this blog, but ông trời (laotian - god) doesn't want me to do so....
永別！
I have waited for so long for the time I can gladly write "Glorious End" to the surface of this blog, but ông trời (laotian - god) doesn't want me to do so....
永別！
Monday, November 14, 2016
Saigo made Akiramenai.
Today is November 13. That means there are only 20 days left to the 2nd JLPT Test of this year. A chance for another attempt is coming.
But before trying the test again, I think I should try to find out why I failed the July test.
And these are what I have found.
First, I was lack of concentration. I still remember that, while I was doing the listening section, I thought that my scores of Language Knowledge Section and Reading Section would both surely be above 40, while the required score to pass the test was only 100, so what I needed was just to pass the minimum required score (20) of the Listening section. With that thought in mind, I did the Listening test in a very loose mood.
Besides, I was “distracted” by a girl. Truth be told, I spent a lot of time on glancing at her face, not paying much attention on the test papers, or on what the cassette was saying in the listening test. "How stupid!” You are thinking me so, right? I strongly agree with you.
Second, I was careless. For some questions, even I knew which choice was correct, yet, I filled in the wrong bubble! There were at least 2 questions that I filled in the wrong hole. If I had filled in the right bubble of those questions, I would have passed the exam. How unfortunately.
Third, my Japanese knowledge was not good enough. There were still many things I didn’t know, especially in the questions of Language Knowledge section. I think this is because I didn’t study enough, after all.
Of course, there are still many other reasons of my failure, but I think 3 things listed above are the most crucial ones.
So, what should a man do after he has found the reasons of his failure? Of course, the answer is “to try not to commit those mistakes again”.
“Please accept my deep regret, I will not fail you again.”
This is a line of Templar Assassin, a playable hero from a game called Dota 2. She speaks this line when she respawns from death. I really like this line though, and looks like this line really fits my current situation.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Psyblade The Rakudai Translator.
Well, the official result of the JLPT test has been announced.
And, unfortunately, the result says "Not passed".
I'm really shocked. I can't believe that I failed. I always thought that my score might be low, but it would be above the required score to pass.
This is the first time in my life that I have failed such a major test.
I'm really disappointed in this result. This... this is such a humiliation.
Now, I feel like I don't want to do anything, even though I have an important final test tomorrow.
--------------------------------
But being sad doesn't make anything better, after all.
So, what should I do now?
Well, I guess that there's no choice but to start it anew.
And, unfortunately, the result says "Not passed".
I'm really shocked. I can't believe that I failed. I always thought that my score might be low, but it would be above the required score to pass.
This is the first time in my life that I have failed such a major test.
Total score must be above 100 in order to pass the test
I'm really disappointed in this result. This... this is such a humiliation.
Now, I feel like I don't want to do anything, even though I have an important final test tomorrow.
--------------------------------
But being sad doesn't make anything better, after all.
So, what should I do now?
Well, I guess that there's no choice but to start it anew.
Friday, June 17, 2016
I am ready... and waiting.
I just finished all the mock tests from the book called "Kanzen Moshi N1".
The result is quite good, though.
If the difficulty of real test is the same with these mock tests, I think, I am very likely to pass the test, as my total scores of every mock tests are always higher than 120.
I have learned a lot of valuable things from these mock tests, especially the listening section. Hope that they will aid me in when I take the test this July.
Well, now, I'm going to do the 2 old but real tests of year 2011.
There are only 15 days left. Better work harder and harder.
The result is quite good, though.
If the difficulty of real test is the same with these mock tests, I think, I am very likely to pass the test, as my total scores of every mock tests are always higher than 120.
I have learned a lot of valuable things from these mock tests, especially the listening section. Hope that they will aid me in when I take the test this July.
Well, now, I'm going to do the 2 old but real tests of year 2011.
There are only 15 days left. Better work harder and harder.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Working on the JLPT N1 official sample test. (Part 2)
Well, another sunday is coming. Such a good time to continue where I left off.
So, I did the Reading section and the Listening section of the sample test.
First, about the Reading section.
I didn't think that there is only 3 short passages (短文 - Each passage contains 1 question), in the real test, I always thought that there should be 5 short passages. But well, the less passage, the more time I can save to do other things, though.
But I made quite a bad result here, as only 1 answer was correct.
Next, there were 3 medium-sized passage (中文), with 9 questions in sum. I made better result here, as I made 6/9 correct choices.
In fact, these passages were not really hard to understand at all. I can say, I understand all what the writer wants to say. But the problem is, the choices. They were very confusing, and their meanings were very similar to each other. In some question, I would say, there was no wrong choice, only a choice that was more correct than the others. Well, reading the choices carefully to the find the correct answer is very time consuming, while time is very strict.
From my experience, I would say, saving time is even more important than finding the correct answer for just 1 question, as I know many people that failed this test just because they couldn’t pass the minimum required score (19/60) of this reading section. Why? Because they spent too much time on just 1 question, and ended up with only 1/3 of the reading section getting completed, while not all of the completed questions were correct. So I just read, then chose the answer that I thought it was the most correct, and move quickly to the next question. And well, my guessing ability had its limit, though.
Also, there were 2 long sized passages, with 4 questions in each. The first long passage, I skim-read it at “god-speed”, and finish it within only 5 minutes. And with that speed, there was no reason that the result could be good. Well, only 1/4 questions was correct.
I don’t know if this passage was hard, or just because I read it to fast, as I don’t really understand this passage at all.
The second long passage came after the reading discussion part. When I did this passage, I realized that I still had a lot of time. So I slowed down a bit, and read it more carefully. And that really helped. I made a good result at this passage, as 3/4 answers were correct.
This passage was quite easy, the point of this passage was quite clear and easy to understand. I can confidently say that I understand ALL this passage. The only problem was still the choices of the questions.
Other than reading passages, there were also reading discussion and reading commercial letter part in this reading section. Each part contained two questions. These parts were not hard at all, they were only time consuming. Finding the correct answer with least time needed is the key to do these parts.
In sum, I made 14/24 correct answers in this reading section. Around 34/60. The good thing is, there was still 12 minutes remaining when I finished this section. If I had used this remaining time to recheck things, I would have made a better result, though.
Now, about listening section.
To me, listening is my weakest ability.
But, listening is the easiest section in JLPT test, as this section’s average score of all examinees is a lot higher than the other sections. (You can see the statistic from the website of JLPT).
The first part of listening section was task-based comprehension. In this section, questions often ask you what the man or the woman needs to do after the conversation.
Some questions from this part were very clear and easy. But some questions, I didn’t really understand why I was wrong.
Also, knowing "keywords" will help a lot. So I recommend that you should learn them.
In sum, I got 4/6 correct answers from this part.
The next part was point comprehension.
This is the easiest part of listening section. I think there is nothing much to say about this part. Just try to get as many scores as possible from this part. Knowing keywords and knowing how these conversations often be can also help a lot. To know it, do the Shin Kanzen Master Choukai N1 Book.
About the result, I made 5/7 correct answers.
The third part is summary comprehension.
I always think summary comprehension part is easy. But my result of this part was quite bad, with only 2/6 were correct.
The part coming right after the part above was quick response.
I was quite surprised that the result was so good, as 11/13 were correct answers, though there were a lot of choices that I wasn’t very sure.
Also, some questions in this part require you to know some grammar points to truly understand what the speaker is saying. So you should also review all grammar points before taking the test.
The final part was Integrated comprehension, with 3 long conversations. Each of the 2 first conversations contained 1 question, while the final conversation contained 2 questions.
You MUST take note when doing this part, especially when you listen to the final conversation.
If you can take note good enough, this part is easy as fuck.
3/4 correct choices were my result of this final part.
The result of listening section was quite good. I guess my score of this section is around 40/60.
In summary, my result of the whole sample test, I guess, is around 110-125/180. (To pass the test, the result must be above 100/180.)
Passing the test is very possible.
I even still have 1 completely free month to prepare for it.
But the future is not a thing that can be foretold by now.
First, about the Reading section.
I didn't think that there is only 3 short passages (短文 - Each passage contains 1 question), in the real test, I always thought that there should be 5 short passages. But well, the less passage, the more time I can save to do other things, though.
But I made quite a bad result here, as only 1 answer was correct.
Next, there were 3 medium-sized passage (中文), with 9 questions in sum. I made better result here, as I made 6/9 correct choices.
In fact, these passages were not really hard to understand at all. I can say, I understand all what the writer wants to say. But the problem is, the choices. They were very confusing, and their meanings were very similar to each other. In some question, I would say, there was no wrong choice, only a choice that was more correct than the others. Well, reading the choices carefully to the find the correct answer is very time consuming, while time is very strict.
From my experience, I would say, saving time is even more important than finding the correct answer for just 1 question, as I know many people that failed this test just because they couldn’t pass the minimum required score (19/60) of this reading section. Why? Because they spent too much time on just 1 question, and ended up with only 1/3 of the reading section getting completed, while not all of the completed questions were correct. So I just read, then chose the answer that I thought it was the most correct, and move quickly to the next question. And well, my guessing ability had its limit, though.
Also, there were 2 long sized passages, with 4 questions in each. The first long passage, I skim-read it at “god-speed”, and finish it within only 5 minutes. And with that speed, there was no reason that the result could be good. Well, only 1/4 questions was correct.
I don’t know if this passage was hard, or just because I read it to fast, as I don’t really understand this passage at all.
The second long passage came after the reading discussion part. When I did this passage, I realized that I still had a lot of time. So I slowed down a bit, and read it more carefully. And that really helped. I made a good result at this passage, as 3/4 answers were correct.
This passage was quite easy, the point of this passage was quite clear and easy to understand. I can confidently say that I understand ALL this passage. The only problem was still the choices of the questions.
Other than reading passages, there were also reading discussion and reading commercial letter part in this reading section. Each part contained two questions. These parts were not hard at all, they were only time consuming. Finding the correct answer with least time needed is the key to do these parts.
In sum, I made 14/24 correct answers in this reading section. Around 34/60. The good thing is, there was still 12 minutes remaining when I finished this section. If I had used this remaining time to recheck things, I would have made a better result, though.
Now, about listening section.
To me, listening is my weakest ability.
But, listening is the easiest section in JLPT test, as this section’s average score of all examinees is a lot higher than the other sections. (You can see the statistic from the website of JLPT).
The first part of listening section was task-based comprehension. In this section, questions often ask you what the man or the woman needs to do after the conversation.
Some questions from this part were very clear and easy. But some questions, I didn’t really understand why I was wrong.
Also, knowing "keywords" will help a lot. So I recommend that you should learn them.
In sum, I got 4/6 correct answers from this part.
The next part was point comprehension.
This is the easiest part of listening section. I think there is nothing much to say about this part. Just try to get as many scores as possible from this part. Knowing keywords and knowing how these conversations often be can also help a lot. To know it, do the Shin Kanzen Master Choukai N1 Book.
About the result, I made 5/7 correct answers.
The third part is summary comprehension.
I always think summary comprehension part is easy. But my result of this part was quite bad, with only 2/6 were correct.
The part coming right after the part above was quick response.
I was quite surprised that the result was so good, as 11/13 were correct answers, though there were a lot of choices that I wasn’t very sure.
Also, some questions in this part require you to know some grammar points to truly understand what the speaker is saying. So you should also review all grammar points before taking the test.
The final part was Integrated comprehension, with 3 long conversations. Each of the 2 first conversations contained 1 question, while the final conversation contained 2 questions.
You MUST take note when doing this part, especially when you listen to the final conversation.
If you can take note good enough, this part is easy as fuck.
3/4 correct choices were my result of this final part.
The result of listening section was quite good. I guess my score of this section is around 40/60.
In summary, my result of the whole sample test, I guess, is around 110-125/180. (To pass the test, the result must be above 100/180.)
Passing the test is very possible.
I even still have 1 completely free month to prepare for it.
But the future is not a thing that can be foretold by now.
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Working on the JLPT N1 official sample test.
This July comes an event that I would say, one of the most important
events that will strongly affect my future career. That is called,
Japanese- Language Prociciency Test N1 level.
I have been working a lot to prepare for this test. I have done the Shin Kanzen Master series’ workbooks 2 times, and today, I felt very confident, and I wanted to test if my ability is good enough for this test. Also, I wanted to know what will actually appear on the real test, as the mock tests I did in the Shin Kanzen Master books were quite easy, and that really made me doubt a lot.
So I download the sample test (It is said that this sample test is the official test of year 2012) from here https://jlpt.jp/e/samples/sample12.html, From the beginning, I was going to do the whole test, but I ended up just finishing the first section of the test, called Language Knowledge, as I felt extremely exhausted after doing it. Well, I only have one word to describe this sample test: “unexpected”.
Language Knowledge Section contains 3 part: Kanji (6 questions), Vocabulary (3 groups with 18 questions) and Grammar (3 groups with 20 questions). In sum, there are 45 questions in this section.
The first Kanji part, it should really be finished within… 2 minutes, as all the questions are very easy, just look at the underlined word, let the brain work, and make the choice. I would say, marking the choices even takes more time than finding the correct answers.
The second part is Vocabulary. I was very surprised when I did this part. The things asked here were very broad, and I didn’t know many of them, so my guessing-ability had a chance to prove its value. But it appeared that my guessing ability was not really good, as I only got 3/7 correct questions in the first group of this Vocabulary part. In the second group and third group, my performance was much better, I achieved 4/6 and 5/6 correct questions. In sum, in this part I got 12/19 correct questions (around 63%). Quite bad, as I only made 2-3 wrong choices when I did the Shin Kanzen Master Series’ mock test. This result also strongly proves that the real test is much harder than the mock test. Therefore, I must never be complacent.
And next, the final part, Grammar. I have to admit that I was shocked when I did this part. About the first group of the grammar part, the things that appeared here could be everything, from a N4 basic grammar point, to a grammar point that I don’t even know about its existence. There was only one grammar point that is truly from N1 level's grammar list. That was surprising, because last year official N2 test (which I took and passed), questions were mostly concentrated on N2 grammar points, and it didn't contain lower level's ones. Choices were also very confusing, as I often ended up with 2 choices to choose. About the result, I made a horrible result at the first group of this Grammar part, with only 5/10 were correct. It was such a shame, since I usually get full points from this group.
While the first group was very hard and broad, the second group was easy, and the third group, I would say, easy as fuck. I really can’t understand why there is such an easy thing in the highest level test. There were 5 questions in each group, and not a single mistake was made by me.
In sum, I made 33/45 correct choices in Language Knowledge section. Assumed that every question’s value is equal to each other, I scored 44/60 points. Not so good, but not so bad at all, especially for the first real test.
Still, the real test really made me shocked. It was hard, broad and confusing. The mock test I did in the Shin Kanzen Master series, is undoubtedly no match to this test. (Of course, it's just about this section. I didn’t complete the reading and listening sections of this sample test, so I don’t know). Also what I have learned after doing this test really makes me think: “Should I use old tests, to study, instead of using books like Shin Kanzen Master series or Sou Matome series? Because things listed in those books do not appear much in the real test after all”.
I have been working a lot to prepare for this test. I have done the Shin Kanzen Master series’ workbooks 2 times, and today, I felt very confident, and I wanted to test if my ability is good enough for this test. Also, I wanted to know what will actually appear on the real test, as the mock tests I did in the Shin Kanzen Master books were quite easy, and that really made me doubt a lot.
So I download the sample test (It is said that this sample test is the official test of year 2012) from here https://jlpt.jp/e/samples/sample12.html, From the beginning, I was going to do the whole test, but I ended up just finishing the first section of the test, called Language Knowledge, as I felt extremely exhausted after doing it. Well, I only have one word to describe this sample test: “unexpected”.
Language Knowledge Section contains 3 part: Kanji (6 questions), Vocabulary (3 groups with 18 questions) and Grammar (3 groups with 20 questions). In sum, there are 45 questions in this section.
The first Kanji part, it should really be finished within… 2 minutes, as all the questions are very easy, just look at the underlined word, let the brain work, and make the choice. I would say, marking the choices even takes more time than finding the correct answers.
The second part is Vocabulary. I was very surprised when I did this part. The things asked here were very broad, and I didn’t know many of them, so my guessing-ability had a chance to prove its value. But it appeared that my guessing ability was not really good, as I only got 3/7 correct questions in the first group of this Vocabulary part. In the second group and third group, my performance was much better, I achieved 4/6 and 5/6 correct questions. In sum, in this part I got 12/19 correct questions (around 63%). Quite bad, as I only made 2-3 wrong choices when I did the Shin Kanzen Master Series’ mock test. This result also strongly proves that the real test is much harder than the mock test. Therefore, I must never be complacent.
And next, the final part, Grammar. I have to admit that I was shocked when I did this part. About the first group of the grammar part, the things that appeared here could be everything, from a N4 basic grammar point, to a grammar point that I don’t even know about its existence. There was only one grammar point that is truly from N1 level's grammar list. That was surprising, because last year official N2 test (which I took and passed), questions were mostly concentrated on N2 grammar points, and it didn't contain lower level's ones. Choices were also very confusing, as I often ended up with 2 choices to choose. About the result, I made a horrible result at the first group of this Grammar part, with only 5/10 were correct. It was such a shame, since I usually get full points from this group.
While the first group was very hard and broad, the second group was easy, and the third group, I would say, easy as fuck. I really can’t understand why there is such an easy thing in the highest level test. There were 5 questions in each group, and not a single mistake was made by me.
In sum, I made 33/45 correct choices in Language Knowledge section. Assumed that every question’s value is equal to each other, I scored 44/60 points. Not so good, but not so bad at all, especially for the first real test.
Still, the real test really made me shocked. It was hard, broad and confusing. The mock test I did in the Shin Kanzen Master series, is undoubtedly no match to this test. (Of course, it's just about this section. I didn’t complete the reading and listening sections of this sample test, so I don’t know). Also what I have learned after doing this test really makes me think: “Should I use old tests, to study, instead of using books like Shin Kanzen Master series or Sou Matome series? Because things listed in those books do not appear much in the real test after all”.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
My thoughts after reading volume 1 of Irohazaka Agatte Sugu series.
Well, today, I had some freetime, so as I said yesterday, I spent it on
reading the volume 1 of Irohazaka Agatte Sugu series.
This series was drawn at the same time Yuto drew Sis Plus. I was really surprised that she could draw 2 series concurrently.
While Sis Plus is a hilarious manga that contains a lot of crazy things that can make you laugh-out-loud, Irohazaka Agatte Sugu is not a manga like that. Its stories are very simple, yet warm, cute and innocent. I think, at least, to me, it is very suitable for people who need stuff that can soothe their broken hearts.
About the characterization in this series, I would say, Yuto did it very well. I especially like Tsukino. Her personality is far better than Cocoa (Sis Plus) or Akari (Princess Biyori). She is not too shy, like Akari, and also not too stupid, like Cocoa. On top of that, she is calm, nice and diligent. Also, her appearance looks good, or even I should say, elegant, graceful. Combined with her personality, she is literally a "Nadeshiko" woman, a type of woman that I've been longing for.
Shizuku (Main character) and Shota (Tsukino's younger brother) are also well characterized. I like the way Shota acts when he sees Shizuku being naked. Boys should try to stay unseduced in every situation, right?
And, in this series, we will meet Tsuchida Naozumi (From Hanamaru Yochien) again in chapter 5. I think through this chapter, we will be able to understand more about how well the relationship between Naozumi and Nanako is. Hanamaru Youchien’s ending was not really clear about this though.
But still, I think this series, (and also Sis Plus, Ushiro no Gosenzo-sama, or Princess Biyori) still can't match the superiority of Hanamaru Youchien. Irohazaka Agatte Sugu series is sometime boring. Sis Plus is good from chapter 1-20, but after that, I find there are many problems with it. Ushiro no Gosenzo-sama is not really good at all. Princess Biyori seems good at the beginning, but I don't really sure what it will become in the future. I don't really like magical girl genre, but that is what Princess Biyori is about.
After all, this is quite a short series, with only 3 volumes. I think I will read the other volumes later. Yuto’s works are always decent, at least, to me. I also hope that there will be someone generous enough to scan volume 1 of Princess Biyori for me, as I just have the raw of the first 4 chapters. About Sis Plus, I guess I have no choice but to spend my money to purchase it.
This series was drawn at the same time Yuto drew Sis Plus. I was really surprised that she could draw 2 series concurrently.
While Sis Plus is a hilarious manga that contains a lot of crazy things that can make you laugh-out-loud, Irohazaka Agatte Sugu is not a manga like that. Its stories are very simple, yet warm, cute and innocent. I think, at least, to me, it is very suitable for people who need stuff that can soothe their broken hearts.
About the characterization in this series, I would say, Yuto did it very well. I especially like Tsukino. Her personality is far better than Cocoa (Sis Plus) or Akari (Princess Biyori). She is not too shy, like Akari, and also not too stupid, like Cocoa. On top of that, she is calm, nice and diligent. Also, her appearance looks good, or even I should say, elegant, graceful. Combined with her personality, she is literally a "Nadeshiko" woman, a type of woman that I've been longing for.
Shizuku (Main character) and Shota (Tsukino's younger brother) are also well characterized. I like the way Shota acts when he sees Shizuku being naked. Boys should try to stay unseduced in every situation, right?
And, in this series, we will meet Tsuchida Naozumi (From Hanamaru Yochien) again in chapter 5. I think through this chapter, we will be able to understand more about how well the relationship between Naozumi and Nanako is. Hanamaru Youchien’s ending was not really clear about this though.
But still, I think this series, (and also Sis Plus, Ushiro no Gosenzo-sama, or Princess Biyori) still can't match the superiority of Hanamaru Youchien. Irohazaka Agatte Sugu series is sometime boring. Sis Plus is good from chapter 1-20, but after that, I find there are many problems with it. Ushiro no Gosenzo-sama is not really good at all. Princess Biyori seems good at the beginning, but I don't really sure what it will become in the future. I don't really like magical girl genre, but that is what Princess Biyori is about.
After all, this is quite a short series, with only 3 volumes. I think I will read the other volumes later. Yuto’s works are always decent, at least, to me. I also hope that there will be someone generous enough to scan volume 1 of Princess Biyori for me, as I just have the raw of the first 4 chapters. About Sis Plus, I guess I have no choice but to spend my money to purchase it.
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