Nihongojouzu

Cheap Resources

No need to spend big to find study materials - just go to the 100 yen shop. I found a range of Japanese drill booklets for elementary school kids, with the kanji for each school year plus a range of reading and writing drills. Each booklet in the series, called こくご（よみかき）ドリル　[Kokugo (Yomikaki) Doriru] , is 64 pages long and the printing quality is excellent. I bought all six books!  I also saw a range of mini-paperbacks by famous Japanese authors like 夏目 漱石Natsume Soseki and 芥川竜之介 Akutagawa Ryonosuke, all for just 100 yen. I had a quick flick through and found the quality to be decent and there were even annotations to the text. Books are pretty cheap in Japan as it is, but this is a goldmine.

Testing Timing

Applications for the next Kanji Kentei (Kanken) Proficiency Test opened on March 1 and run until May 18. The JETRO Business Japanese Proficiency Test application period started earlier (February 23) and finishes earlier (April 25). The J.Test of Practical Japanese Ability appears to have a  liberal application policy - I couldn't find a  cut off date  on the  organisation's website. However, all three tests have something in common - an examination date. Yep - all three tests are being held on June 19. Whether this is the result of collusion or bloody-mindedness I don't know, but I did a bit of research and according to a source on Big Daikon you can sit the Kanken at a public school on June 18. And if you get your skates on there is a J.Test  on April 19.

How Geoffrey Clark learned Japanese

I stumbled onto the website of former diplomat and renowned Japanologist Geoffrey Clark, whose long and winding autobiography contains an insightful view of his experience learning Japanese. Not that I'm jealous but he speaks Chinese and Russian too. On reading this I felt depressed until I noticed that he was born in 1936. Ha! He has 34 years head start on me.

How good is your Japanese? Part II

I thought I'd give the Bill Lise proficiency test a whirl. I couldn't even read out loud the explanations on the garbage separation poster in my kitchen! I know what the various passages mean, I just don't know all the kanji readings. Oh well, one area to focus my attention on.

How good is your Japanese?

I was speaking today at the JET Returners Conference, held at the plush Yokohama Pacifico Conference Centre. Following my workshop in the inaptly named Small Auditorium I made my way to room 502 to hear translation guru Bill Lise present his talk on translating as a career. It was an excellent presentation (maybe a little too much PowerPoint - Bill is an engaging speaker and I enjoyed watching him much more than the projector screen) and chock full of information. The earnings potential explanation had people gasping until Bill referred to the kind of skill level required to make the big dollars. In answer to the question "How good does your Japanese have to be?" Bill explained that a good translator should be able to read aloud, without faltering, the source document. If you can't read the source material out loud how will you discuss it with your client over the phone?