How To Study For The JLPT

The JLPt is the official Japanese language exam which is used to demonstrate your level of proficiency in Japanese. There are lots of reasons why you should take the JLPT, but if you’re reading this article then we can probably assume you’ve already decided to take the exam and now you’re looking at how to study for the JLPT so you’re as prepared as you can possibly be.

Buy A JLPT Textbook

One of the best things you can do to help yourself is to invest in a JLPT textbook. Even if you’re taking a class already a textbook can be a great resource to help you study and work through the material at a pace that suits you.

Study For The JLPT Every Day

When you’re in the weeks leading up to the JLPT exam it’s important you study every day, even if it’s only for half an hour. The exam can be difficult and in order to ensure success, it would make a big difference it you were able to study once a day every day.

If you study every day then your rate of recall improves. Instead of having to revise what you looked at the day before you can move onto new material straight away because the information is fresh in your head.

Start Studying For The JLPT Two Months Before

A good amount of time to give yourself before the exam to start studying is two months. By this we don’t mean start learning the material two months before. By the time those two months begin you should already have learnt everything that you need to take the exam and these two months should be spent revising the material and doing practise papers to make sure you’re ready.

Which leads us onto our next tip…

Do JLPT Practise Papers

Make sure you do practise papers. It’s not enough to know the material, you need to understand the format of the exam and know what to expect on the day. Or you could lose silly points that you don’t need to. Understanding the format of the exam before the day helps you to know what to expect, prevents you from wasting time and will help you to stay calm because you’ll know exactly what to expect.

Try To Live Your Life In Japanese

In addition to general tips about studying and past exams, one of the most effective ways that you can prepare for the JLPT is to try to live as much of your life in Japanese as possible during the lead up to your exam. This means relaxing in Japanese as well as studying in it, so watching movies, television, listening to music and even trying to read. You can obviously take a break and relax in your own language as well but the more Japanese you expose yourself to, the more prepared you’re going to be when the exam comes around and the more attuned you’ll be to hearing Japanese.

These are the best tips we have to help you prepare for the JLPT, now what you need to do is to start studying!