Upcoming Test
For quite a while now, we have been studying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test 3 and we are hoping to be ready to take it toward the end of January. This test is over approximately 150 grammar forms, 300 pictorial characters, and about 1500 vocabulary words.
Colby and I are feeling that by the end of January we’ll be decently ready, but will have to work quite hard until then to master everything. We both feel comfortable with the pictorial characters as well as most of the grammar forms. For Colby, the listening section may be the most difficult, whereas for me, getting all of that vocabulary into my thinking and usage might be most difficult.
It has been interesting studying for this test in comparison with the tests I studied for in school. Always in school, I would study to get a good grade and then invariably after the test would not remember hardly any of what I studied. Here, not only is it important that I get a good grade on this test, but even more so I desire to use what I’m learning in conversation. It has given a whole new meaning to learning.
A funny language story before I close: At Colby’s Japanese class the other day, they were talking about various transitive and intransitive verb pairs. The teacher showed a picture of a vase of flowers that had fallen over. She pointed to the picture and asked Colby what it was in English. Thinking that she meant the verb, he answered that it was “to topple”.
“Oh, that’s interesting,” she replied, “because, at least in British English, this is called a vase!”
Needless to say, language learning is sometimes funny for both us and the Japanese!
Please pray for Colby and Theresa as they prepare to hopefully take their test at the end of January. Pray that they would learn the material well not only for the test but also for daily conversation.