Monica Nuccitelli (Passed JLPT N1 in July 2010)

Having decided to finally try for the N1 this year, I took private lessons at MLC in Meguro.
The environment is very friendly and the staff in general is kind and always flexible enpugh to accomodate all the student's needs.
The teacher was well prepared and qualified, she was always coming to school with new materials and really helped me to improve and work on my weak points.
I am now a proud N1 certificated person and want to thank the school for the support!
I would highly recommend MLC for anyone who is willing to learn japanese quickly and effectively.



Soumendu Mukhopadhyay (Passed JLPT Level 2 in December 2004)

I took and passed JLPT Level 3 in December 2000 and JLPT Level 2 in December 2004. One of the common factors in both these successes was taking the relevant course offered by the Meguro Language Center (MLC). Though I do not intend this to be an advertisement for MLC (they do a very good job of advertising anyway!), I must say that joining the MLC JLPT training sessions has really helped. One can study by themselves, take and pass JLPT. However, most of us are working individuals, and we need to have the discipline to take time out from our busy schedules (and schedules in Japan can be really busy!), and study for the examinations. Joining MLC (or any other classroom-based training) can help towards this objective.

Another common factor that I feel worked for me was taking help from a colleague to pace myself at the training sessions. It helps to study together with one or more colleagues. For one, it creates a peer pressure within oneself ? you need to study to come up to the standard that your colleague(s) represent! I was actually fortunate to be slightly weaker than my colleague with whom I studied for the JLPTs ? I had to work to come up to his level!

The third common factor is one of the most apparent ones ? hard work! One needs to put in at least 1 hour every day at least for the 3 months preceding the examinations. I used to set aside early mornings for this study ? 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM worked best for me. The actual time is very much according to individual preference, but the 1 hour of study every day is essential. Also, for the last 1 month preceding the examinations, it would be better to keep the weekends towards study. My objective for the last 1 month of study was just to pass the examinations, so I took prior Level 2 tests from 2000 through 2003, revised through the syllabus as provided by the organizing authorities and sacrificed my weekends towards this goal. It was tough, but the end result was extremely satisfying.

To end, I would like to mention a word of advice that has helped me get through life in general, and in getting through the JLPTs in particular ? think of what you are trying to achieve. The Japanese language is very rich and wonderful ? through the JLPTs we get a chance to appreciate just how enriching it can be to one’s life to know this language. Language is the direct expression of any country’s culture and Japanese language gives us an insight into the vibrant culture of Japan. It is truly uplifting to think about what we are actually trying for through the medium of the JLPTs ? and it helps when we are feeling the pressure of the examinations and wondering why we are putting in such long hours when we have our jobs to do anyway.

All the best, and have fun!!



Mr. TAKUTO YAMADA (Passed Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 1 in 2002.)

At first, I was not sure if I could be ready for the level 1 test in December. I had started lessons twice a week with lessons in a variety of topics-business Japanese, grammar, and a general study of newspaper articles. During the spring, I decided to go for level 1 and started to focus on grammar and kanji. I had to learn a significant amount of kanji, so I came up with a plan of how many to learn a day. Additionally, the teacher and I came up with a plan of completing the grammar workbook a couple months before the test and a goal of when to start taking practice tests.

Our schedule progressed as planned and I was able to do 4 years of practice tests, starting with the most recent. Taking these tests in a timed environment helped me to get a feel for the pace required to answer all questions and ended up giving me confidence on how I would perform in December, and gave me an idea on which areas to further practice. Although I was still unsure if I would actually pass, as the difficulty of the test itself seemed to play a factor in my score, I was confident that I would be performing my best on test day. Meguro Language Center helped me to prepare for the test by teaching test-taking strategies, increasing my reading comprehension and by helping my kanji knowledge level.




Mr. PAUL TIERNEY (Passed Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 2 in 2002.)

Taking the Japanese Language Proficiency Test at any level is a daunting task. This is especially so when one looks at the standards the Ministry of Education sets for the higher levels; the number of kanji to be learned and vocabulary to be mastered, not to mention the grammar, can seem an insurmountable task.

However, this is not necessarily the case. Here are some of the steps I took in preparing for the 2002 Level 2 Test. Most of these steps are simply common sense, but some are actual tactics for taking the test and using the test format to your advantage.

First, START EARLY! Start preparing earlier than you think necessary. The more time one allows for prepping, taking mock tests, doing listening exercises, and the like, the better off one will be when it is time to take the actual test. I started working on listening drills in July of 2002, and continued to work on them until the week before the test itself. I started my JLPT intensive course at MLC in September of the same year.

Listening had always been my weakest area, so I started concentrating on that as soon as I was able. Once a week, my teacher and I would use the “Jitsuryoku UP!” series of tapes for listening. These were quite difficult, and I was often lucky to get 40% of the answers correct. However, when I started taking the Level 2 test from previous years, I found that the listening section in the actual test was easier than the drills from the “Jitsuryoku UP!” tapes! By starting early, I had the time to go through the entire series and get used to the listening test format.

This ties in to my next point: find your weak areas, and start working to improve them. If you have problems with kanji, do what ever is effective to increase your retention and reading of kanji. If it is listening, as it was in my case, do as many listening drills as you can. If it is grammar, I found the “Kanzen Master” books to be of great help in preparing for the grammar one will encounter in the JLPT.

In this same vein, if you are particularly strong in one area, be it kanji, listening, reading, or grammar, keep working to make that area stronger! The higher you score in one area, the less essential the other areas become, and you can shore up your weak areas in this way. For example, if you can score over 85% in the kanji/vocabulary section, you score can be lower in another area, and your average will still allow you to pass the test.

Finally, take the test from as many previous years as you are able. I was fortunate enough to have time to take all of the Level 2 Tests from 1992 up to 2001 before I took the actual 2002 Test. Although the format changes, the fundamentals are the same, and you will be able to get a good sense of what to expect in the test, as well as find out where you are strong and where you need to improve. Also, by taking the test many times, you will be able to work out how to actually “take” the test; for example, what you can do to save time, or how to use the grammar structures to help answer questions for you.

I worked a lot on the two above-mentioned points. I was consistently having problems finishing the reading/grammar section within the time allowed (as a matter of fact, in all of the times I took the test, including the actual, I only ever finished the reading/grammar section in its entirety ONCE. All the other times, I had to skip one or two of the reading articles, and simply guess the answers). Knowing this, I worked out my strategy to ensure that I maximized the points I could get even if I didn’t finish reading all of the articles. I did this in the following ways: 1) Historically, I had been strong in the kanji/vocabulary section, so I worked to make sure that I always scored in the upper 80’s in this section. This meant that I had more leeway in my weak areas. 2) I took extra time to memorize the connective structures and forms for the various phrases and patterns. So, even if I wasn’t sure of a phrase’s exact meaning or if there were two answers that could both fit, I could eliminate the wrong ones by knowing whether or not the pattern could correctly “connect” in the problem sentence (certain patterns can only connect to nouns, etc., so that if there was a verb in front of the blank, I knew that particular pattern was wrong).

So, in summary, here are my suggestions for preparing for the JLPT:
1) Start early
2) Concentrate on your weak areas
3) Use your strengths to offset your weak areas, and make the weak areas less crucial
4) Take as many of the tests from previous years as you can before the actual test
5) Find a test taking strategy that works and use it.

In the end, I passed the 2002 Level 2 Test, thanks in great part to my teachers at MLC and by giving myself as much time and “stacking the odds in my favor” as much as I could. Using the above process helped me to do that.



Mr. John Park　(Passed Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level 3 in 2003,)

After living in Japan in total for a year and a bit, I decided to test my Japanese skills by taking JPT Level 3 in December of 2003.  Since there were 4 different levels, I first had to decide which one I was fit for.  The book that I was studying at MLC (Japanese for Busy People vol.2) covered the topics for Level 3, so I decided that it would be most appropriate for me, although I soon realized there were a bit more topics that I had to cover on my own.  Taking the exam was a good experience for me, I was able to have fun and learn a lot while studying for it.  For those of you thinking about taking it in future, here are some of my ideas on how to prepare for it.

1. Decide what level is suited for you.
We all share a common goal of learning Japanese, but the learn pace will be different depending on available time and resource.  After consulting the instructors at MLC, I had figured I had very slim chance at level 2, and a pretty good chance at level 3.  I first researched on what is covered for level 3, and realized that there are a few new topics that I wouldn't have covered during the MLC lessons by the exam time, so I thought it would be a good chance to further motivate myself to speed up my learning curve while not exhausting myself.

2. Go over the materials that will be covered.
There are books and sample tests that provide all the grammar points and Kanji's and what not, that will be covered in the exam.  Going over it, I was able to figure out where I needed to focus on.  I found the past exams especially helpful because they give you an idea of what the actual exam is going to be like.  For example, you may have to know the Kanji's, but you will not have to write it.  It is also a good idea to familiarize yourself with the exam instructions before the exam so that you can focus on the questions itself.

3. Practice the things you learn.
Learning Japanese is meaningless if we don't actually use it.  And passing a test won't have any merit if the things studied for were not used.  I truly did, and still do, enjoy learning and studying for the test, because I knew I would be that much better in speaking Japanese.  It helps you memorize things faster if you practice your learning.  Whenever I had a chance, I made an effort to use the new grammar or expressions, even on the very next day at the office or with friends.

I still have much to learn, and it seems to be getting harder and harder. But I enjoy learning Japanese, and thanks to everyone at MLC I am getting better everyday.  In my opinion there are only two levels of Japanese skill; either I speak Japanese, or I do not.  But preparing and studying for tests like JPT is a good motivation and definitely speeds up the process of getting to where we want to get - in my case, it would be writing this article in Japanese (still a long way to go!).  Good luck, and have fun!