UPDATE | July 10, 2023
As a former international student who has taken the Examination for Japanese University Admission for International Students (EJU), this is a series that secretly conveys to you all the "tricks" that were very useful in the exam, which you can understand only by taking the exam! This time, I'm going to talk about goal setting and daily study.
In a previous article, I explained about EJU information, so if you are interested in the exam outline, schedule, cost, how to use exam results for entrance exams, etc., please check this article as well. I guess!
https://www.studyjapan.jp/topics/shingaku/eju.html
Setting goals before you start studying helps both set your own workload and motivate yourself. In particular, if you set the following goals for EJU, it will be useful not only for the entrance examination but also after admission.
Isn't it too early? You may think that, but in fact, many schools set standards for EJU scores and publish them in the application guidelines. Therefore, it is very useful to make a study plan if you check what kind of conditions the school you want to apply for. Unlike Japanese students, international students often use the "privately financed international student entrance examination" system, so it is a good idea to check the application guidelines for privately financed international student entrance examinations.
Also, by checking this "Application Guidelines", you can find out what kind of conditions are required other than EJU. It contains details about the entrance examination, such as English test scores, interviews, and whether or not there is a written test. I think it will be very useful for you!
Actually, EJU has Scholarship Program. A system that provides a monthly stipend of 48,000 yen (every year) to students who have achieved excellent grades and are planning to enter a Japanese university, junior college, technical Professional Training College, or specialized training college as regular students. is. This scholarship is a benefit-type scholarship that does not require repayment, so if you have financial concerns, it would be a good idea to take advantage of it.
In my case (taking the exam in 2018), I was selected as a 1-year reserved recipient in the June exam and a 4-year reserved recipient in the November exam. I was.
If you are selected as a scholarship recipient, you will be notified of your examinee number from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) website and will also be notified by mail. There are some restrictions on receiving the scholarship, so if you want to aim for a scholarship, check it out from the link below! (*As of May 2023)
https://www.jasso.go.jp/ryugaku/scholarship_j/shoreihi/yoyaku_eju/index.html
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It's finally time to talk about studying, but I won't go out of my way to talk about things that can be taught at cram schools and other sites! I would like to introduce some of my own EJU tips that I learned from my experience of taking the exam, such as how I learned to study harder and how I became better at it.
The reason why I dared to write "Let's read" instead of just reading a book is that it is also very difficult for students studying Japanese. In fact, when I started reading, it took me an hour to read one page.
However, as with other Japanese language exams such as the JLPT, EJU in particular has a huge amount of 17 questions and 25 questions to be solved in 40 minutes, so "fast reading" and the ability to read quickly is important.
As you read books, not only do you learn new words, but you also get used to reading sentences written in Japanese, which speeds up your reading speed. In this way, the time it takes to solve a reading comprehension question will naturally be shortened to within 40 minutes.
Also, when I study at a university or Professional Training College in the future, I think I will read the book of my major, and I think that this training will be very useful for that time. Let's all try it.
In fact, watching Japanese news is useful not only for studying Japanese, but also for general subjects.
The news reports on current social phenomena and major events. In EJU's general subject questions, current affairs (recent events and hot topics) may be asked, so you can prepare for them. Also, depending on the content of the news, it will lead to the study of history and geography, expanding the scope of knowledge.
Also, since you can listen to accurate Japanese pronunciation, you can also practice listening comprehension and listening-reading comprehension in Japanese subjects. In my case, I learned intonation by listening to radio news every morning and imitating the pronunciation. In fact, you can not only practice listening, but also practice speaking.
These days, you can watch the news on YouTube even if you don't have a TV, so please check it out!
When it comes to studying Japanese listening comprehension, I think that there are many students who actually watch anime, but the method I recommend is to "repeatedly" watch it.
The Japanese language is intertwined with various elements such as pronunciation, accent, and speed, but anime voices are performed by voice actors, so you can hear standard Japanese voices. By repeatedly watching, familiar expressions and phrases become familiar to your ears, your listening skills improve, and words and grammar become more memorable.
Also, even when you're tired from studying, you can easily enjoy your favorite anime and improve your Japanese without realizing it, so I think it's a very easy way!
This is often said in test tips, but it is also important in studying. There is a limit to how much time you can study and how much you can concentrate. If you keep staring at a problem you don't understand, it will drain your time and focus.
Therefore, I decided to spend only 3 minutes worrying about such problems, and I decided to spend time other than the time to solve them and study. Then, what to do with the problems I couldn't solve?
By using this method, you can absorb as knowledge even problems that could not be solved efficiently.
This time, based on my experience, I explained how to set goals before studying EJU and how to study. I hope my goal setting and study method will help you!
Next time, based on my experience of taking the exam, I plan to explain the approaching EJU performance and points to be aware of during the actual performance. Stay tuned for the next article!
Born in Seongnam, South Korea. He came to Japan in 2019 and graduated from Nagoya University Faculty of Agriculture in 2023. He studied organic chemistry at university, and is currently involved in supporting international students in pursuing higher education and employment, something he has been interested in for some time. I like Japanese culture, history, transportation, and town planning, and traveled to all 47 prefectures when I was a student. Hokkaido is my favorite prefecture.
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