June 7, 2017
Teachers Must study too!
The school year is going fast! Incredibly, it's June already. Seiritsu has already had its first set of exams, Sports festival, and the second year high school students are now away on their week long trips to Okinawa, Hokkaido or France. Two international students have also gone to Okinawa with the school, and we are looking forward to hearing about their time there.
Outside of Seiritsu a major event for foreign residents who are studying the native language is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, or JLPT, which will be held on Sunday July 2. We always encourage our international students to take the test as it is a government recognized exam and a good benchmark to how much your Japanese has improved. In Japan, the test takes place twice a year, but there are annual tests in centers across the world.
This year not just the international students, but interns staff too will be testing themselves! JET teachers Laurence and Teresa are challenging their first JLPT, while Peter will be trying N2 for the first time.
For those studying for the test we recommend daily bursts of kanji testing (a great thing to do on the train!) then a longer period of study for reading, listening and grammar. Take a quick break after every hour of study and drink water, instead of sugary drinks, to keep your concentration.
Good luck to everyone taking the exam!
Peter Williams
International Department Coordinator