こんにちは、みなさん。私は高校生です。アメリカ人です。Right now, I am thinking about the possibility of taking the AP Japanese Exam in my senior year (I have 4 years until then) since I plan to continue learning Japanese throughout all 4 years of high school. A friend of mine told me I should if I plan to learn it anyways since she knows how much I enjoy learning Japanese (はい、日本語が好き). I know this isn't JLPT, or Kanji Kentei, but I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge/advice given that I decide to try to take it then. If I choose to do so, AP Japanese is around N3 Japanese. I have all N5 Kanji learned, but my grammar and vocabulary are a bit behind. I practice every day for an hour and do all the reviews, as well as write in the question corner and do shiritori + quick draw.
My main concerns are:
- Is it realistic to take it given that I am a busy High School student, and am only around N5 right now?
- If so, does anyone have any advice for getting everything I need to learn learned, and any ideas of what to expect?
I know this is far in the future, but it's providing me with an idea of how I may structure my learning path ahead in Japanese. I have high interest in Japanese, and have for almost 4 years now. I don't think that will change as time passes. If anyone has ANY ideas, please let me know.
JLPT N3 requires ~1325 hours of study on average (for learners without previous kanji knowledge)
If one were to study 1h per day every day for 4 years, you'd study:
1 hour/day * 365 days/year * 4 years = 1460 hours
So, that's just above the estimated average. So it seems like it would be plausible. If you increased the time per day to 1.5 h per day, you'd likely increase your odds. Of course, you'd have to consistently put in the time and individual results will vary.
Disclaimer: I don't know anything about the AP Japanese Exam. People disagree widely about how much time it takes to learn the material for each JLPT level. Individual result vary. I am not an educator, linguist, lawyer, or a doctor. Past performance is not an indicator of future results. This is for entertainment purposes only.
It’s not entirely clear to me whether リラさん will have the opportunity to take an AP Japanese course or they intend to take the exam cold. Taking the exam after completing the course should present no difficulty. If it’s all self study, the main challenge will be developing a curriculum adequate to substitute for a year of college-level Japanese. The whole point of AP exams is to earn college credits
皆さん、ありがとうございます！I think that if I do take the test I will most likely use either a course or a tutor to help me reach my goals. I will contemplate adding that extra half an hour as suggested, and maybe seeing if I can find someone to talk to in Japanese. I know a senior that doesn’t go to my school who is taking the test but not with a course, so I may go to her for some advice (her Japanese is really good) as well! And yes, if for a my reason I decide I no longer want to take a Japanese class when in college then I may not aim I take an Ap yet since it would only be taken if it would help me advance to the level I should be at during college.
And yes, thank you for the disclaimer. Many people take things like this literally, so it’s good to have it there. :)
Those "number of hour" figures always make a few question marks appear above my head. If AP Japanese is N3, and a good student can pass that in 3-4 years of classes, I doubt they are studying for an average of one hour a day for just Japanese (including class time). Feels high to me, but I think it's simply one of those "well, there's 1,000 different variables that affect this answer, but still, I'm going to throw out a very specific number."
