しあわせ

I saw an announcement about the changes over on JLPTStudy.com.
From 2010 the JLPT is going to be held twice a year. A new level is going to be inserted between present level 3 and 2, making 5 levels in all, and Level 1 is going to get even harder somehow.

I quite welcome that the test can be sat at 2 different times. The July date puts it more in line with European academic cycles. The best part is the new level 3. I was feeling lacklustre about starting towards Level 2 because the jump was so high. I was looking at at least 2 maybe 3 years work I think. I’m still looking at that amount of work it seems for a test in 2010 but now it seems more achievable if I work towards the new level 3. I wonder how long it will take to find out the exam syllabus in terms of kanji, vocabulary lists and grammar points.
So it looks like I’ll stit JLPT3 again in 2010, except now it’s N3
The pdf annoucing the changes is linked on JEES’s home page.
–update 13Sep08–
Here’s a direct link to a pdf in English of the June Progress Report on the changes.

Today is iPhone mania day so I’ll jump on the bandwagon too.
I don’t have a Touch or an iPhone but the new applications and Japanese support may just sway me before the year is out. The App Store opened on iTunes last night and there are some interesting applications for the Japanese learner.
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Throughout July the BFI Southbank London are showing classics of Japanese cinema in a season called Japanese Gems. 24 films by eight Kawakita Award-winning Japanese directors are showing.
The films include Ikuru by Kurosawa, Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill by Seijun Suzuki, and Onibaba by Kaneto Shindo.
The listings and details from BFI are better than anything I can provide.