Japanese with Listening

SAT Subject Test in Japanese with Listening Practice

Register Next Tests:
3/13 , 5/1

Introduction

The Japanese Subject Test with Listening evaluates your ability to communicate the Japanese language in a culturally appropriate manner. This test measures your ability to comprehend both written and spoken Japanese. Questions represent situations you might readily encounter and that reflect realistic and commonplace communication. Offered only in November at designated test centers.

Practice Questions

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Test Basics

Points		Minutes	Questions
200-800	Listening, usage, and reading subscores on the 20-to-80 scale.	60	80-85

Topics on the Test

Skills Measured
≈35%	Listening comprehension Based on short, spoken dialogues and narratives, primarily about everyday topics.
≈30%	Usage Requires appropriate completion of sentences (in terms of structure, vocabulary, and context), that are printed in three different forms: standard Japanese script with furigana, modified Hepburn romanization, and modified kunrei-shiki romanization. You can choose the form you're most familiar with.
≈35%	Reading comprehension Represents texts you might encounter in everyday situations such as notes, menus, newspaper articles, and letters, written in katakana, hiragana, and kanji without furigana.

Skills Measured

≈35%

Listening comprehension

Based on short, spoken dialogues and narratives, primarily about everyday topics.

≈30%

Usage

Requires appropriate completion of sentences (in terms of structure, vocabulary, and context), that are printed in three different forms: standard Japanese script with furigana, modified Hepburn romanization, and modified kunrei-shiki romanization. You can choose the form you're most familiar with.

≈35%

Reading comprehension

Represents texts you might encounter in everyday situations such as notes, menus, newspaper articles, and letters, written in katakana, hiragana, and kanji without furigana.

Anticipated Skills

Wide-ranging knowledge of the language.

Recommended Prep

Two to four years of Japanese language study in high school, or the equivalent.
Gradual development of competence in Japanese over a period of years.

When should you take the Japanese test?

There are a few factors to consider while you're deciding when to take the test. You should have at least two years of strong preparation in the language, but the more the better. So, if you're continuing in high school Japanese next semester/year, then wait to take the test. You should be in a Japanese class when you take the test. You're likely not to do as well if you take the test after you haven't been in a Japanese class for several months. For seniors studying Japanese: if Japanese is a strong subject for you, be sure it's one of the SAT Subject Tests you take in time for your colleges to see your score. If you're only taking it for placement purposes, and not as part of your application for admission, wait until you're as far along in your course as possible. If you want to take the Japanese with Listening test, remember that it's only given in November (don't forget to bring an acceptable CD player with earphones).

I hear a lot of Japanese in my home/family. Can I still take the Japanese test?

No matter how you acquired your knowledge of Japanese, it's important to show colleges what you know. Your score will count the same as that of someone who learned Japanese only in the classroom. If you've been exposed to a lot of spoken Japanese, then you should definitely take the Japanese with Listening test (it's given only in November).