しあわせ » kanken

Kanken London 2010

ロバート — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 08:13:40 +0000

This year’s kanjikentei will be held on Sunday 31st of October at SOAS UCL London.
They have a Google webform this year for candidates to request application forms. The deadline is the 28th September. You can sit more than one level if you want but this year I’ll only be attempting 8 kyu. It may take me a few years to reach my 5 kyu goal of the 1006 primary school kanji. It’s not the kanji so much as the vocabulary and usage.

Be aware that British Summer Time ends on the 31st, so make sure you turn up on time for the test!

(I had a rather interesting search term in my blog stats today. “Heisig classes in Tokyo” Good Luck with that, Heisig seemed very anti-teacher and only an individual could manage his method. And only the Internet has kept his book in print… )

Also open for applications is the 2010 JLPT held at SOAS. This year they have online application and are again limiting candidates to 1000 across all levels. I must get back on track with JLPT. The leap to 2 was too daunting, but now there is the intermediate N3 I should give it a go. Just not this year!

Kanken Result 2009

ロバート — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:40:58 +0000

As can be seen from the above certificate I passed 9th grade in the Kanken test. やった！
I was reasonably confident however. Although I can be a little proud of my achievement it only puts me on a par with a below average seven year old, with knowledge of 240 common kanji. However I can say that the knowledge is native level. I can read the onyomi, kunyomi and tokubetsu readings and write them by hand, not just put an English keyword to them.

You get a lot for the £23 exam fee. There was the test itself that had to be hand marked and this morning I got a packet with

my certificate to go on the wall
two certificates that I think are for a school or work file
an answer sheet for the test I took
a marking sheet showing the answers I got correct and incorrect
my ranking relative to the average score on a spider diagram
an serial number and password (also in 3D barcode for a phone) to log in to the kanken site
comments and advice

And the time frame for the result is pretty good after all. I took it on the fifth of November, it was awarded on the 24th, presumably then sent from Japan and posted onward from London yesterday.

So in the end I got 136points out of 150. 120 was the pass mark. My reading was a bit below the average though. Mind you the average was between 95 and 100 percent in all the areas.
So onwards and upwards towards level 8 (440 characters) next year, hopefully in the summer rather than to have to wait a whole year. My medium term goal are the 1006 grade school kanji at level 5. Maybe above level 2 would be a lifetime goal difficult even for Japanese. The ultimate level, level one, for instance tests 6000 characters. I doubt I shall ever see such giddy heights.

I think this test is a good adjunct to JLPT. Although primarily about kanji, as it is aimed at native speakers and is all in Japanese it will test your reading and writing abilities to their limit and you can be sure they are on a par with Japanese students at the same level.

I heartily recommend this test to anyone who can find an exam centre. Unfortunately that usually means Japan. But if you cannot find one maybe you could see if your school or college would offer it, I don’t think it would be that difficult for them to apply to to it. It might also be possible for them to get assistance from the Japanese embassy’s cultural attaché.

My FileMaker Pro Kanji Project

ロバート — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:27:33 +0000

Long ago before I started learning Japanese, FileMaker Pro was one of my favourite programs. Then I started spending most of my time on Japanese and FileMaker was sidelined, especially as it didn’t support Japanese characters at that time. It’s interesting though, I get the same fun from learning Japanese as I did when I solved a problem using FileMaker.

Lately I’ve taken a look at the Kanjidic2 XML file. I’d like to do a little more than a standard dictionary search. The various sites and standalones don’t quite do what I’d like. I’d like to be able to pull out the data for which JLPT2 kanji are also Grade 4 for instance. I’d like to add my own notes, set up my own cross references, link it to Kradfile, link it to websites, get rid of the most annoying Heisig definitions (old-boy for 君 springs to mind). I have ideas for kanji learning I’d like to integrate. Although I wonder if I won’t have Yet Another Japanese Dictionary Reader in what is already a crowded market.

Anyhow to start to do this I need to put it into a database. FileMaker is the only real candidate to do what I want easily.

So I’ve bought myself an early Christmas present of FileMaker Pro 10 Advanced and have set about relearning it and learning how to do some new things with it. Initially I’ve been working with the Kanjidict2 xml file and am learning how to extract the data I want using XSLT and putting that into FileMaker so I can work with it.
It’s fun. Now that I understand a bit more about XML I think it’s a wonderful way to transport data.

The project at Monash University run by Jim Breen and the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group is an amazing resource as well. It seems to be the de-facto standard for Japanese dictionaries on the Web. Once I get the Kanji database started I’ll start looking at integrating JMDict into it.

While importing Kanjidic I noticed some very minor data inconsistencies. (two entries in a single field)
I submitted a bug report to Jim Breen by email and was surprised to get a very quick reply from him. Especially as I hadn’t read his guidelines for emailing him. I would have thought he was too busy to reply to emails like this.

Watch this space (but don’t hold your breath as I’ve very little spare time). Eventually I’ll upload what I come up with to see if it’s useful for other people and to hopefully get some feedback.
I also have a lot of half-written posts for this blog I need to finish off! So little time so much to do!

After Kanken 2009

ロバート — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:56:51 +0000

Yesterday I sat the kanji kentei 漢字検定 in London. There were surprisingly few candidates there. Less than 30 for all levels by my reckoning. This is a real pity as it’s an interesting and challenging test of real Japanese reading and writing ability. I hope the numbers are sufficient to keep it being held regularly in London.
Probably because of the smaller numbers it was much more smoothly run than JLPT at SOAS in my experience. They would actually do well to tell those doing the JLPT about the Kanken and keep an email mailing list to remind past applicants about forthcoming tests.

Anyhow…
I signed up for 2 tests, but due to a lack of time and hence a lack of study I decided to concentrate on the lower test, 9 kyu, instead of 8 kyu. In theory you could sit as many tests as you want, each taking 40 minutes, but in practice those taking more than one test only took two. The plus is you don’t have to wait another year, the minus is you may be paying out extra money for a test you don’t take or mightn’t pass.
I might have passed 9 kyu. I’ll know within 2 weeks. (Again much faster than JLPT and it involves a human marker rather than machine marking.) I was reasonably confident going in having gotten good marks in the practice tests I’ve been taking. However the pass mark is a high 80%. It hinges on vocabulary. I know the target kanji, I know their readings, Where it starts to get difficult is putting this together with vocabulary and my vocabulary isn’t as good as an eight year old’s!

My advice, for what it is worth, is learn vocabulary using the target kanji.
The most useful tool I had was my Nintendo DS and a title called 正しい漢字かきとりくん (Tadashii Kanji kakitorikun). The original edition. There is an extended kanken version, but this is too advanced until you are ready for the post primary school grades. Although it’s test questions are more comprehensive.
The advantage of using DS is you have to write your answers and you get instant feedback of whether you are correct and the quality of your writing. The style of questions are the sort you will get on the kanken.
The teacher behind the method used in kakitorikun has an interesting paper on his method, the Kageyama method.
The other resources I used were the official kanken books, both the step up book and best of all the practice test book.
For a while (when I had the time by a computer) I used renshu.org, which has a great set of quizzes specifically for kanken and uses a spaced repetition formula. I also made a number of vocabulary lists on smart.fm.

So, today, I started once again revising for 8 kyu and with luck will take it next year. Will I try 7 kyu as well I wonder….

Kanken Kanji Aptitude Test London 2009

ロバート — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:12:14 +0000

This years Kanken Kanji Aptitude Test will be held at SOAS London on Sunday the 8th of November. The deadline for applications is Monday 5th October. It is possible to sit more than one level of the test on the day and the test fee is a reasonable £23 to £35 per paper.
I need a bit more motivation or focus in my Japanese studies so I’ll give it a go this year. Last year unfortunately I couldn’t sit it.
JLPT candidates could give it a go as a bit of a warm-up for the JLPT. Heisig devotees could prove their real competence and their method’s efficacy by passing level 2 perhaps. Hell I’d be impressed if they could pass level 5 after a couple of years starting from scratch.

漢字学習ステップ８級 • Kanji Study Step Level 8

ロバート — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:44:56 +0000

漢字学習ステップ８級 published by: 日本漢宇能力検定協会

Another book to prepare for the kanken test. This time it is an official book published by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation. It is a textbook for Japanese people, completely in Japanese and requiring a vocabulary beyond that which the kanji might suggest. Maybe it’s for grade school children but I’m certain parts of it are intended for their parents.

It follows the familiar formula of presenting the kanji with a stroke count, radical, onyomi and kunyomi. The readings that are learnt at middle school are marked. There are comprehensive guides to writing the kanji properly. Much more so than would be usual with texts for non-Japanese I think. It’s important to get good habits early on and develop well balanced well written kanji.
There aren’t example sentences but compounds are given for each kanji. I presume these would be the words that would appear on the Kanken test.

The main attractions of the book are the Kanken style tests that are included. In these you give fill in blanks by writing the kanji or it’s reading in short sentences. There are also exercises were you count strokes, or make a kanji from given components. There are also some interesting game like tests that I wouldn’t think would appear on the test. Looking at the pictures accompanying the test scores only a perfect 100 seems acceptable, the rabbit next to the acceptable 80 looks really annoyed and next to 50 positively upset.

Finally you can chart your progress by filling in the date you complete sections and should you feel the need colouring in the wall chart that comes with the book. My schooldays were never like this.

漢字練習ノート・小学２年生 • Kanji Practice Notebook Grade 2

ロバート — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:00:17 +0000

漢字練習ノート・小学２年生　author: 下村昇 published by: 偕成社

Inspired by the upcoming Kanken test in June I went looking for some Kanji texts in JP Books yesterday. This workbook is one of the two books I bought. It is a companion volume to a more comprehensive yet small book 漢字の本2年生

As I wanted to use it more for revision I decided to skip the main book and just use the workbook. Also the main text being entirely in Japanese (as is the workbook by the way) needed more concentration than I really wanted to give to it. However I think once you reach a certain level it’s very useful and satisfying to work in an all Japanese environment.

This book is one of a series of six aimed at Japanese primary school students; one for each grade. there is a slight overlap with JLPT kanji. Grade 1 covers a lot of the JLPT4 kanji, with Grade 2 you’ll cover most of the JLPT3 kanji, and Grade 3 goes beyond JLPT3.
This book covers the 160 Grade 2 kanji. Each kanji takes a quarter of a two page spread. Each entry has four sections.

A breakdown of the kanji. onyomi, kunyomi, stoke count, radical, category.
How to write the kanji. Stroke order, notes on the type of strokes, kanji broken down into components.
Kanji Etymology. Diagrams showing how the kanji evolved. The pictorial meaning.
Fill in the blanks. Practice using the kanji in sentences.

The kanji are presented in order of categories, people, animals, plants, house etc. These are very useful at this stage but as the ideas get more abstract at higher grades I suspect many will fall into the その他　everything else category. Stroke count and radical are needed to use dictionaries properly. They are tested in the Kanken test.

The way the kanji are broken down is quite interesting. You could use the instructions to verbally describe to a Japanese person how to write it, in much the same way as in English you’d tell someone how to spell a word.

The etymology helps you understand the kanji. If you can understand it you are more likely to remember it and recognise components in more complex kanji.

Fill in the blanks is useful in giving you example sentences but you don’t even have to guess what you have to write. A longer test page would be more useful.

I think this is a good little book. It only costs 500 yen. I think you could use it as a starting point in learning kanji, before using more comprehensive books aimed at adult second language learners such as JLPT3 Kanji by Examples or Basic Kanji Book vol 1 and 2.

Kanji Aptitude Test

ロバート — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:33:58 +0000

English words made only from twenty-six characters? Are English a bit lazy or what? We have fifty thousand characters in Chinese

— A Concise Chinese – English Dictionary for Lovers — Xiaolu Guo

On Sunday 22 June at SOAS in London the 11th Kanji Aptitude Test in the UK will take place.

There are 12 levels ranging from level 1 with 6000 kanji, Genius level! to Level 10 with 80 kanji, primary school level. Each test takes 1 hour. The pass mark is a relatively high 70% or 80%.
Pretty much the real deal.
You can find details of the levels here.

The test fee is from £23 to £50 depending on level, but averaging about £25. Unlike the JLPT you are able to sit different levels on the same day.
This way you can either collect the full set of certificates, over time, or you can fall back on an easier level or stretch yourself by trying a higher level without having to wait a year to resit because you chose the wrong level. The only limitation seems to be the willingness to pay the fee for each level.

The tests are more traditional than JLPT; no multichoice here. You have to write your answers; both reading, where you write the hiragana for a kanji, and writing where you write the kanji are tested.
Stroke order and counting are also tested. So are the correct way of writing strokes and radicals.
Reading through sample pages, I think it also helps to have a good vocabulary and ability to speak Japanese. Context will help you a lot. Remember that these tests are actually for Japanese people rather than second language learners.
You can find sample tests on the Kanken site. The site is in Japanese however. The buttons to various levels are in the middle of the page. There are grade school tests available on this site which would be useful to practice with.

Application forms can be requested from SOAS, details are on their website. The deadline for applications is May 22. SOAS also say they can send you sample tests but somehow I didn’t get any with my application form.

I think I’m going to give level 8 (440 kanji) a go. (Maybe 9 to be safe! after all I have to write them as well.) For future years I’ll work towards level 5 which should overlap quite a bit with JLPT 2.

It’s probably a bit late for this year but there are Kanken games available for the Nintendo DS and there are also books available from Amazon.jp