Rate your Japanese!

[josiah]

I was thinking to myself, that if I was to rate myself, maybe, just maybe I could see how I could improve my own Japanese.
Taken from Markyさん mouth, and my own, I am also engaged to a wonderful Japanese lady and yes, her English is better than my Japanese, so unfortunately we often revert to English, HOWEVER!! she has seen my Japanese comprehension take a sharp turn upwards since I started to get stuck into jpod101.
I really think the review tracks have helped out there and are much better than the learning centre (for me at least having no time to use it!)

ANYHOO!! Rate your Japanese on a level 1-9

How I'm doing it is using the IELTS system of testing to score on each ability;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ielts

1. Reading
2. Writing
3. Listening
4. Speaking

Band Scale

IELTS is scored on a nine band scale. Each Band corresponds to different English competence. The Band Scores are in either whole or half Bands. The nine bands are described as such:

9 Expert User

Has fully operational command of the language: appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete understanding.

8 Very Good User

Has fully operational command of the language with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriacies. Handles complex detailed argumentation well.

7 Good User

Has operational command of the language, though with occasional inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings in some situations. Generally handles complex language well and understands detailed reasoning.

6 Competent User

Has generally effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriacies and misunderstandings. Can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.

5 Modest User

Has partial command of the language, coping with overall meaning in most situations, though is likely to make many mistakes. Should be able to handle basic communication in own field...

4 Limited User

Basic competence is limited to familiar situations. Has frequent problems in use of complex language.

3 Extremely Limited User

Conveys and understands only general meaning in very familiar situations. Frequent breakdowns in communication occur.

2 Intermittent User

No real communication is possible except for the most basic information using isolated words or short formulae in familiar situations and to meet immediate needs. Has great difficulty understanding spoken and written English.

1 Non User

Essentially has no ability to use the language beyond possibly a few isolated words.

[josiah]

My Japanese Rating would be something like this,

You can't rate with aids included, ie; rikaichan.

Reading: 3
Writing: 5
Listening: 5
Speaking: 6

EDIT: I think I was too harsh on myself and after all the Japanese stuff I was doing today, I'm better than I thought I was

also this is for informal, formal is much lower than this score...

[Javizy]

Wow, soul crushing thread

Writing: 1 (3 using a computer)
Speaking: 2
Reading: 1 (4 with furigana and a dictionary )
Listening: 4

It seems pretty terrible considering I've been studying for a year, but I suppose you've got to realistically expect at least 4-5 years of study before attaining any level of fluency, so I could be doing worse.

[markystar]

josiahさん！！！

just when i thought i could measure my japanese by something other than the JLPT, you post this!!!

i'm afraid to to even guess at this one...
困ったなぁ！

[josiah]

ごめんね、マーキーさん。

i got this idea because when my girlfriend was doing the IELTS test a while back (and is doing it again) it was sooo hard, i mean TOIC is a piece of cake compared to this doozy.

i helped her out and i reckon i'd get a pretty low score, especially on the reading....

and sorry guys, i really threw a hard ball this time...

now then markyさん、time to add up your score

[Psy]

Trying to be honest with myself:

Reading: 6 (jouyou kanji yes; adequate vocabulary no)
Writing: 5
Listening: 4
Speaking: 3~4

[markystar]

Reading: 6
Writing: 5
Listening: 6
Speaking: 5
かなー

but if i get into extremely polite situations, 尊敬語とか謙譲語とか, those numbers will go down.

[プチクレア]

I would say...

Reading 6 (what i set out for when I started studying japanese, really)
Writing 5
Listening 4+
Speaking 4 (I desperately need practice...)

[sinbadx81]

Reading 4-5
Writing 4
Listening 5
Speaking 4

Reading is all right. I may not know every reading, but I can read most things and get the meaning. I use my cell to email my wife a lot so basic writing isn't too bad, but perhaps more complex stuff isn't so good.

Thanks to Jpod and a few years in Japan I usually don't have too much trouble with listening. Speaking still needs some practice. I have to teach in English all day and only have maybe an hour with my wife who is Japanese but can also speak English quite well. And with a baby now in tow free time with J-friends is very limited.

[josiah]

mmm... compared to TOIC or other well-known english tests, IELTS is amongst the highest english tests, and there's the general test and the academic test.
so, i reckon what we're doing maybe more the general results, rather than the academic.
i say this because a lot of my japanese friends who want to study in australia (and friends from other countries) and from my own experience with the test, it is extremely hard and to get a score of 5, well your english would have to be pretty good, basicly because its at an academic level.

[sinbadx81]

Well perhaps mine would be a lower rating. I suppose I misinterpreted the level descriptions.