Please feel free to add your own, ask questions, or make comments about mine to this thread!
Here’s the advice I would give to someone taking 1kyu next year:
First things first: download a flashcard review program, asap!! Supermemo, Anki, Mnemosyne- there are so many out there. Test out a couple of different kinds first if you like. Allow yourself some time to get used to the one you choose. Review everyday, if only for 10 or 15 minutes. And don’t add a huge amount of words in one day- repetitions will become painfully boring.
Some people download & import all of the vocabulary at once, but I wouldn’t personally recommend that. There is much to be said for looking up the words you learned by yourself. By looking at example sentences on JDIC or ALC, you will learn HOW the word is used- this is very important. If you use a list, at least make sure to spend time “getting to know” each word.
Next: if you are aiming to close the gap between 2kyu & 1kyu in one year, it’s important to start early. There is just so much material to tackle. Of course it is possible for people to pass without much study at all, but by studying your skills will become stronger, too, so there is nothing to lose.
Develop study habits- find a good place to study and utilize your time wisely. Try to spread out the work over the year so you aren’t overwhelmed next October.
So start as soon as you can. There’s no rush now, so you can take your time and do a little every day. I recommend studying kanji first. I even reviewed 2kyu kanji before I started. Studying kanji will also help you pick up vocabulary and give you more confidence in reading. 1kyu kanji is fun to study if you have been hanging around the 2kyu level for a long time.
After kanji, I recommend studying grammar. It is easy to fit in your schedule because you can easily work on only a couple of points a day and before you know it, you will have completed the book! After you finish the book, do it again. You will be amazed at how much clearer everything is the second time around.
I wish I would have started vocab study earlier. Get your vocab book and do a little every day, making sure to add the words you learned into your flashcard program.
Listening and reading: rather than “study”, these things should be thought of as “fun”. Try to fit them in on train rides, during breaks at work, after dinner, when you are just relaxing at home…
The listening section may be a challenge for people not living in Japan (and also maybe for those of us who are ^^;). The best advice I can give is to listen to podcasts and j-music, watch Japanese TV, and practice with past listening tests. Pay attention to what kinds of questions you frequently miss, and study the vocabulary that tends to pop up in them.
Read read read!!! Find things you are interested in and read them. Manga, books, magazines, newspapers, websites- the more you read, the faster you will get. Plus, you will come across tons of 1kyu vocab and grammar, too.
Do past tests. We are lucky to have sites like jlpt.info out there to help us with this. But beware of typos ^^; Using the officially published past tests is ideal, of course.
