JLPT N1合格者に聞く！どうやって勉強した？【🇺🇸アメリカ出身・Totiさん】

Summary

Toti, a 23-year-old Japanese learner from the United States, shares how he passed the JLPT N2 and N1. He scored about 166 on N2 and 143 on N1. He had studied Japanese for roughly six years: he passed N2 after about four years of study, then prepared for N1 over the following year. He did this mostly through self-study in the United States, rather than by living in Japan.

A key feature of his approach was making Japanese part of his everyday life. He studied deliberately for around 30 minutes on some days, but also spent a lot of time reading Japanese social media posts and listening to Japanese online. He credits this steady exposure with helping him build vocabulary, grammar knowledge, reading speed, and familiarity with natural Japanese.

Toti’s Study Methods and Advice

Build regular exposure to Japanese

• Read Japanese posts on social media and listen to Japanese content online.
• Use materials that interest you, so exposure feels enjoyable and sustainable.
• Try Japanese-language conversations, which encourage you to pay attention to both what you say and what the other person says. Toti said conversations with friends, as well as messages to friends and teachers in Japan, helped him encounter more natural Japanese.

Practice listening repeatedly

• Listen to Japanese podcasts, YouTube videos, and other spoken content.
• Repeat listening-comprehension exercises until you can answer confidently.
• When you miss something, use the surrounding context to choose the most plausible answer rather than getting stuck.

Read extensively, with attention to speed

• Read materials such as visual novels, manga, and light novels, especially if they interest you.
• Try to read quickly and focus on what the passage means, rather than stopping to analyze every grammatical detail or word.
• When something is unfamiliar, first try to infer its meaning from context. Toti felt that repeated practice helped him develop reading fluency and the ability to make inferences.

Use practice tests, especially near the exam

• Toti did not rely heavily on past exam questions, but he did take practice tests.
• He used short practice-question videos on YouTube, writing his answers on paper and checking them afterward.
• In the final month, he recommends taking as many practice tests as possible.

Keep going instead of dwelling on mistakes

• Toti said he can become discouraged by focusing too much on wrong answers, so he preferred to continue his regular study routine.
• He kept building his knowledge through vocabulary study and ongoing exposure to Japanese.

Stay calm and trust your preparation

• Toti aimed to solve questions efficiently and did not use a strict time-allocation plan.
• He recommends avoiding panic, using context when uncertain, and trusting the Japanese you have practiced.
• In his view, excessive nervousness can make it harder to concentrate on the questions.

Interviewer’s Closing Takeaways

Airi emphasized that learners can encounter Japanese through many everyday sources, including social media and YouTube. She highlighted reading speed and context-based inference as useful skills, and recommended repeated listening practice. For exam preparation, she encouraged learners to take practice tests, listen to Japanese podcasts, watch Japanese-learning videos, and read Japanese posts and books.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Toti — JLPT N1 passer from the United States, sharing his study experience.
• Airi — Interviewer from Nihongo no Mori, who also gives concluding advice.
• Learning sources mentioned — Japanese social media posts, YouTube videos and practice tests, podcasts, visual novels, manga, light novels, and conversations or messages with Japanese-speaking friends and teachers.