I recently officially passed the JLPT N4 with flying colors and have been studying in preparation for the N3 this year.
However, I'm hungry for more; especially as it relates to testing my speaking ability.
I've put in a lot of work improving my ability to converse, and express myself, with a private tutor over the past year and a half, and am very proud of my progress.
I've been looking into some other Japanese Language Exam options, but don't have much of a mental model of these due to the JLPT dominating the online conversation.
I've heard of several others in the past (such as the BJT, TOPJ, among others), and am interested in hearing other's experiences (pros and cons) related to these non-JLPT test options.
For those not familiar, here's a site that compiles some of the available tests. I'm sure this isn't exhaustive.
A couple of specific questions come to mind, but feel free to just outline your experience and provide anything else you think may be helpful or relevant.
- What test did you take and when did you take it?
- How well do you feel like it tested your ability to actually communicate in Japanese on the whole?
- What all did this test cover? (e.g. kanji, vocab, reading, writing, listening, speaking, etc.)
- How does it compare to the JLPT?
- Would you recommend it to others as a metric of their proficiency?
by RonTheTiger