Language

エリンと挑戦!
にほんごテスト
Challenge with Erin
– Japanese Language Test –

先生の部屋 Teachers’ room先生の部屋 Teachers’ room

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About the app

Currently, around 50% of learners of the Japanese language overseas are studying in junior high or high school. The Japan Foundation offers these learners a smartphone app, “Challenge with Erin! –Japanese Language Test–,” which has a variety of features and allows learners to study Japanese and test their ability more easily and in a more enjoyable way. The app can be used to study beginner-level Japanese vocabulary and expressions in an engaging way through card games, manga and quizzes, and can also be used to check how much you were able to remember.
The app’s target learning levels are assumed to range from people who have just started learning Japanese to those who are in the first half of elementary level (from below CEFR and JFS A1 level to around A1 level); it can be used from the level where kanji, hiragana and katakana have not yet been learnt. In addition to an English version, there is an Indonesian version for learners in Indonesia, where a large number of students are learning Japanese in junior high and high schools.
We hope you’ll make the most of “Challenge with Erin! –Japanese Language Test–” when learning Japanese.

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Where to download the app

Google Play Android

The Android English・Indonesian version
Get it on Google Play

iOS

iOS English・Indonesian version
Download on the App Store

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Contents and how to use the app

Study and enjoy yourself. Study section

In the study section (‘Let’s Try’) there are four maps: spring, summer, autumn and winter, and you start with spring in the same way as Japanese schools start in spring.

Contents:
  • KOTOBA 1 remember words through a game where you match cards with the same pictures
  • KOTOBA 2 make sentences by matching illustrations of verbs with cards of vocabulary often used with those verbs
  • KOTOBA 3 choose illustration cards with the same meaning as Japanese character cards and match the cards
  • MANGA become characters in a manga, choose the appropriate lines from the choices you are given, and read them out loud
  • BUNKA deepen your understanding of Japan through a quiz about Japanese culture and society
  • STAGE TEST a review test of what you studied at each stage. 20 multiple choice questions each with four options

Challenge yourself! Test section

There are 16 tests altogether in the test section (‘TEST’). You can take eight of these any one week. The questions change each week. Challenge yourself and check which Japanese vocabulary and words you remember and know with this test. Once you finish the tests, you will be issued with a certificate of results that includes your name. If your percentage of correct answers exceeds 80%, you receive a pass certificate that includes a medal (illustration)!

A variety of features

・KOTOBA LIST
A mini dictionary where you can find all the vocabulary and expressions that appear in the app. Each of the words that you answered that you had remembered have a check mark next to them. In the list each word is also written in Roman alphabet and hiragana/katakana, and there is a translation of the word’s meaning to enable you to study Japanese characters.
・STATUS
The score you received in the study section (Let’s Try!). Every time you log in to the study section and study, you receive 100 points, and when you take a stage test, that score is added as points. You can see the results of your study to date, including your overall points, your weekly points (total points from the most recent Monday to Sunday), the number of words you have remembered so far, the number of stages you have cleared, and the number of tests you have passed.
・RANKING
Displayed here is the overall point ranking of all learners using this app and the number of stages they have cleared, as well as your own overall points and number of stages cleared.
・HONIGON’S CAMERA
When you clear the stage test of each stage in the study section, HONIGON’S CAMERA starts up. For each stage various different frames (background illustrations) are displayed, and you can take a ‘celebratory photograph’ combining these frames and a photo of yourself that you take.

[For Teachers] Hints on how to make use of the app and contents list

The following page is for teachers who use "Challenge with Erin –Japanese Language Test-."

先生の部屋 Teachers’ room

The features of this app are described in 'Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin' article (only in Japanese).

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FAQ

Q. Can the words be displayed in hiragana, katakana or kanji, instead of romaji?

A. The app is not compatible with hiragana, katakana, or kanji. The texts in the app are in romaji, so that the people who have not learned hiragana, katakana, or kanji can use the app.

Q. The MANGA section does not recognize my voice.

A. As shown in the picture below, press the ●[Tap and read aloud.] button and speak clearly near the mic. When finished speaking, press the ■[Tap after answering.] button, and the result gets shown a few seconds later. If the app still does not recognize your voice, please contact us (jf_kyozai@jpf.go.jp) with this information: product name of your device, OS, browser and its version.

Q. Can I take a photo again with the same frame on HONIGON’S CAMERA?

A. If you want to take a photo with the same frame again, please finish the same stage test on the study section (‘Let’s try’) again.

Q. I want to go back to the seasonal map from ‘KOTOBA LIST’ and ‘RANKING’, but I get sent to the HOME screen. What should I do?

A. The < button connects to the HOME screen when you press it on ‘KOTOBA LIST’ and ‘RANKING’. Please re-enter the seasonal map from the HOME screen.

Q. The points I got are shown on 'STATUS' but not shown on 'RANKING'.

A. This app can be used offline for users' convenience, but users can join the 'RANKING' by saving your points with a tap on the 'SAVE POINTS' button when the app is in online-mode.
Please make sure that the app is set as online-mode in the 'SET UP'.
When and where you can find the "SAVE POINTS" button:

In the study section ('Let's Try')
  • STATUS
  • When you finish each STAGE TEST
  • When you finish all 10 stages of one season
In the test section ('TEST')
  • When you finish each WEEKLY TEST

We look forward to your participation!

For all other enquiries, please contact us (jf_kyozai@jpf.go.jp).

What do you think? Please be sure to challenge yourself with Erin!

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