Shin Kanzen Master N4 Listening is part of the popular Shin Kanzen Master series, which also has books for grammar, reading, vocabulary, and more. These text books are quite popular with those preparing for the JLPT as they focus on what you really need to know for the exams, with clear explanations and practical practice questions. As with most JLPT focused books, it won't teach you everything you nee to know, but it will make sure you're prepared.
Samples of the book can be found on the publisher’s website via the following link: https://www.3anet.co.jp/data/3646/?detailFlg=0
Additionally, all of the audio can be found at the same place: https://www.3anet.co.jp/np/en/books/3646/
What does Shin Kanzen Master JLPT N4 Listening cover?
Shin Kanzen Master N4 Chokai covers essential listening comprehension skills needed for the JLPT N4 exam, with focused practice on real test formats and gradual skill-building exercises.
Structure and Content
- Mondai Shokai ("Question Introduction"): Overview of question types found in the JLPT N4 listening section and explanation of test strategies.
- Jitsuryoku Yoseihen ("Skill-Building Section"): Detailed exercises covering four types of listening comprehension questions—utterance expressions, immediate response, task comprehension, and point comprehension.
- Mogi Shiken ("Mock Test"): Simulated JLPT N4 listening test to check and confirm progress.
Skills Developed
- Learners practice recognizing verbal expressions in conversation.
- Responding immediately to spoken prompts.
- Understanding tasks and instructions through listening.
- Grasping details and specific points in spoken Japanese.
- Explanations are written in simple Japanese, with English and Vietnamese translations for accessibility.
Purpose and Level
- The textbook is specifically targeted at JLPT N4 candidates and aims to mirror the actual listening section of the test.
- Exercises steadily build basic-to-intermediate listening competence required for daily-life Japanese and exam situations.
Additional Notes
- While it doesn’t cover grammar, vocabulary, or reading, it is part of a broader series that does.
- The structure and explanations emphasize practical exam skills and gradual improvement.
Student Review
Listening and speaking are two aspects of Japanese learning that are often overlooked. Particularly with many learners self studying, it can be hard to know exactly how one should be practicing their listening skills. While many practice with anime and music, it can be somewhat aimless. Without a set task, it can be unclear what exactly it is they’re practicing.
This is where Shin Kanzen Master N4 Listening can help. Right from the first section the book tests the reader on skills that are barely discussed in other textbooks such as, distinguishing between similar sounds, sounds that are easy to get wrong, pitch accent, intonation and vowel length. Taking just the pitch accent example, it’s often said that Japanese is flat without accent, this obviously isn’t true and can be something that trips up many learners. With this book, even if you’ve already passed the N4 exam, the practice here is still valuable as it may not have been something you’ve intentionally practiced before. That said, it would be nice if this pronunciation focused section were a bit longer.
Shin Kanzen Master Listening starts learners off fairly easily, with listening tasks that begin with true or false questions, or questions that give learners two answers to choose from. Even Genki and Minna No Nihongo rarely go in to depth about tones and pronunciation, and just how one slight character difference can make a very different sentence. Even where words are different such as でんき and てんき, at the speed of normal speech this can be hard to identify for new learners, so it’s useful that it is practiced here.
As this is a JLPT focused listening textbook, this is also a good source for exam techniques. The textbook breaks down not just how questions often appear in exams, but how to answer them, listen out for the key words and how to not get caught up by what may be perceived as trick questions.
The first example question, asks students, what sport the female speaker practice at university. Those that are not looking out for the correct keywords, may quickly scribble down the first sport that comes up in the audio, but suddenly, another sport is mentioned, and then another. So which one is it? If the student had adequately prepared by underlining both sport and university, they would have been able to more accurately answer the question, looking out for two sets of keywords until they match the question answered.
Teacher Review
Before using Shin Kanzen Master JLPT N4 Listening:
What to read next?
The best option here would be to look at finishing up the other books in the Shin Kanzen Master N4 series. Another option would be Shin Nihongo 500 Mon – JLPT N4-N5
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