Starting this year for the first time in its' history the Japanese language proficiency test will be held twice a year, in other words not just in December but in July as well.
For those who don't know the JLPT is the biggest most officialist(I decree that should be a word) Japanese exam in Japanese examdom.
The summer test only allows prospective test takers to undertake level 1 and 2 (of 4 levels), level 1 and 2 being the hardest. I took JLPT2 back in December and bombed epically...perhaps not surprising given that I'd only studied Japanese for 16 months at that time. Between the last time I took it and this time when I will take it again (around 6 months) the amount of progess I've made is spectacular. To give you an idea: I first took the test and got 178/400 (240 being the pass mark). I then took a practice test in March to find myself with a much improved score of 258/400 which is a tight pass. 2 days ago I took another past paper (the 2003 paper which is regarded by some as the hardest JLPT2 in quite a few years) and netted myself a 308/400. It seems every two months or so my score jumps up around 60 points which is significant.
I have two weeks left and tbh I would really like to get above 360/400 but I would be content if I could improve my score 12 more to 320. At the very least I want to get 300. If I were to pass only marginally then I would be quite annoyed because I would still have a lot of level 2 grammar and such to learn before I could move on and truly begin with the level 1 stuff.
At this point I am very confident I will pass but it's merely of case of whether it's a good pass or a VERY good pass.
On a slight side note this is the last time the JLPT will be conducted in this way. After this summer the format of the test will change so that there is a new test between levels 3-2 as it appears the gap is too large (IMO a fair criticism, the gap between level 1 and 2 is big but merely more of the same type of stuff whereas the gap between 3-2 is not only wide but deep). The other rumoured changes are beefing up the level1 and making it more relevant to everyday life.
So is anyone going to be taking this test in July? Just me? Or are any of you contemplating taking the JLPT (of any level) sometime in the foreseeable future?