Japanese 1-2-3 Coverage

[Oilerian]

Hi guys,

I just want to ask this question, hopefully it's not too troublesome, for those who happened to have already taken Japanese 1 and 2 subjects, what are more or less the grammatical and vocabulary (+kanji) contents covered in those two subjects?

I've been learning beginner Japanese for rather short amount of time outside universities and I'm wondering if I can just take the entry exam and enroll in Japanese 3 directly. I don't know though if I know or experienced enough to join it.

For those who are familiar with the Japanese N5, N4, ... N1 examination standard, I might also ask what N level is the first two subjects (Japanese 1 and 2) are equivalent with?

ありがとございます。

[Mieow]

I did not do Japanese 1/2 but I know a few friends who did and from what I gathered they learnt around 100 Kanji and did most of the grammar covered in the Genki I textbook (you can find it around if you know where to look *wink*).

I'm also not too sure about how the JLPT levels match with the subjects, but I was around level N4-N3 and was put into Japanese 5 so I think being level N5 should be good enough.

[Deshouka]

Hey! Although I haven't taken Japanese 1 and 2, I am thinking of doing Japanese in university and have  researched quite a bit on it.

Completing Jap 1&2 would mean that your Japanese level is equivalent to N5 for the JLPT.
Japanese 3 is recommended for students who have completed VCE Japanese (around 150 kanji) and by the end of the course you would have learnt ~250 kanji. Your Japanese  level would be higher than N5 but a little lower than N4.
You can look at the kanji list for VCE Japanese, and if you know all of it, then I recommend you enroll in Japanese 3.
If you want to see where your Japanese level is at, you can simply take a language placement test which can be found on the Melb Uni website.

Hope I've helped you! 

[Boomey]

...what are more or less the grammatical and vocabulary (+kanji) contents covered in those two subjects?

You will cover Chapters 1-6 in Semester 1, and the remaining chapters of Genki I in Semester 2. Whatever kanji is listed at the back of that book will be the only kanji you need to learn. Any other kanji are supplementary and unknown words found in passages will be given to you in tests.

This is not always the case, though. In contrast with Jun, Yasuhisa Watanabe (JP3/4) emphasises that you should be able to scan through a passage, ignore irrelevant information that includes kanji you have not studied, and pick out portions that are relevenant to the exam. I can't really remember if this is what we had to do in JP1/2.

(Also note that the exam literally takes the passages at the back of Genki and asks you questions about them. Helpful tip if you wanna get 80+. I'm not even joking, it's the same shit you do in class.)

... and I'm wondering if I can just take the entry exam and enroll in Japanese 3 directly. I don't know though if I know or experienced enough to join it.

If you can complete Genki I's workbook without any trouble, you can enter Japanese 3. However, being textbook smart does not mean you are ready for those classes. Some of the teachers in your seminars will only speak Japanese with you, so if your listening and speaking skills are not up to par, you will feel incredibly behind. This was the case with many of us who only took Japanese 1 and 2 at university. There is next to no effort by the teaching staff to help you learn how to speak Japanese on the fly. I had to resort to a tutor I could speak with so I wouldn't fail a one on one conversation assessment with the teacher.

If you are coming out of Japanese in high school you'll be 500x more ready for this aspect of the course than I was. Of course, this only applies to Japanese 3 and beyond. Japanese 1 and 2 does not require you to be able to listen and speak so quickly.

I might also ask what N level is the first two subjects (Japanese 1 and 2) are equivalent with?

We were recommended to take the N5 after Japanese 2. Completing the two Genki textbooks (that means taking Japanese 1, 2, 3 and 4) meant N4. At this point you could dabble in N3 if you've been studying Kanji with a SRS deck or WaniKani or whatever tool you use. N2 is only doable with a lot of independent study (possibly after the Minna no Nihongo series which is covered in Japanese 5+). No one ever needs N1 for a job.

ありがとございます

ありがとうございます. Spelling mistakes like that is how they get ya in the weekly grammar tests.

Good luck!

[Oilerian]

Thanks for your replies guys. (esp Boomey I hope you don't come along way to register just to answer this question)

I think for now I can already see the big picture of the subject. Reading from your post, I got the impression that the jump from Japanese 1 and 2 is quite high. If Japanese 3 is aimed more towards those who have done some Japanese studying during high school, then I don't think I'm really qualified to take the subject.

I have checked the Japanese SL page in VCE info section, and even though the kanji covered are only around 150 or so, there are a lot more kana vocabularies and grammar contents that I haven't covered yet. It might be possible for me to learn those during the holiday alone but I don't think it will do much good if I can't practice it in real life conversation. (or at least classroom environment) You are right in mentioning that ability to finish textbook is one thing, being able to reproduce what you've learned there is another.

Links for those who are interested: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/Documents/vce/japanese2nd/JapaneseSLSD.pdf

That's not the only thing, the VCE component also requires some knowledge in writing basic Japanese composition such as letter or diary entry. Clearly I haven't had much experience with that as well.

I'm quite surprised to be honest because even if I were to start from Japanese 1, I don't really see how one can get up to the VCE level expected in Japanese 3 without significant cramming. The VCE spec even mentions that at least 200 hours of classroom study are required before students start Unit 1. Meanwhile in uni with 3 hours of seminar per week (not including lecture), I can only see students getting at most 72 (96 if we count lectures) hours of study upon completion of Japanese 1 and 2.