The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)
Points for Revision
■ The Aims of the New Test
The intent is to produce a test that measures communicative competence in accomplishment of tasks. Of course, linguistic knowledge that provides the basis for communicative competence are not forgotten. The test is aimed to reflect the situation in which the test taker will be using the language in the actual life.
■ Level and Test sections:
| Level | In the past there have been requests for revisions to address the fact that examinees who have passed the Level 3 test often have trouble with passing the Level 2 test because of the large gap in those two levels, as well as to address the need to measure abilities more advanced than those targeted by the current Level 1 test. In fact, advances in Japanese-language education and societal changes have produced a more diverse range of needs among examinees than existed when the test was introduced. To better address such needs, the test levels will be revised and a 5-level format will be established to replace the current 4-level format. The existing test incorporates 4 levels, or kyu: 1-kyu (Level 1), 2-kyu (Level 2), 3-kyu (Level 3), and 4-kyu (Level 4), in descending order. The new test will have 5 levels: N1, N2, N3, N4, and N5; the “N” may stand for both “Nihongo” and “New.”
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| Test sections | There will be a Reading Test (yomu shiken) and a Listening Test (kiku shiken). The former will incorporate the Writing-Vocabulary and Reading-Grammar sections of the existing tests, while the latter will take the place of the Listening section of the existing tests. |
■ Sample Questions for the New Test
