NAT-TEST 4Q study plan

Read all 46 hiragana and 46 katakana aloud without hesitation, then produce each kana from romaji dictation within 3 seconds per character.

Write 30 high-frequency 4Q kanji from memory (numbers 一〜十, 日月火水木金土, 山川田, 人口目耳手足, 大小中上下, 学生先私今時分半円年) and pair each with its core on-yomi and kun-yomi reading.

Construct 20 original sentences using the particles は, が, を, に, and で with です／ます predicates, then mark every particle and justify the choice in one line.

Distinguish に vs で and は vs が in 15 minimal-pair sentences by labelling the function of each particle before checking the answer key.

Set up a single error notebook with three columns (item, why I missed it, re-test date) and log every mistake from week 1 onward.

Conjugate 40 common 4Q verbs through the full beginner grid (ます形, ません, ました, ませんでした, dictionary form, ない form), saying each form aloud before writing it.

Conjugate 20 i-adjectives and 10 na-adjectives through present, past, negative, and past-negative, and attach them correctly to nouns (大きい犬 / きれいな花).

Answer 30 wh-questions using いつ, どこ, だれ, なに, どう, いくら, and なんじ without translating from your first language.

Write 100 words of self-introduction covering name, nationality, job, family, daily routine, and one hobby, using only structures introduced so far.

Read and write 25 action and adjective kanji (行来見聞読書食飲買休語, 大小新古高安暑寒 and similar) inside real words rather than in isolation.

Produce the て-form of 60 verbs, including the う／つ／る, む／ぶ／ぬ, く／ぐ, and する／来る irregular patterns, with no reference table after the first attempt.

Apply てください, ています, てもいいです, and てはいけません to 25 situations and select the correct form from meaning rather than pattern-matching.

Order scrambled sentence fragments into correct sentences for 20 four-part ordering items, identifying what must attach to the final predicate.

Complete 20 comparison and quantity items using より, のほうが, いちばん, counters (〜まい, 〜ほん, 〜ひき, 〜だい), and あります／います selection.

Solve a 30-item timed grammar set (20 minutes) and re-solve every missed item two days later without notes.

Read six 150–200 character 4Q passages (notices, diary entries, short emails) and answer two questions per passage while underlining the exact line that supports each answer.

Locate explicit information inside short authentic-format texts such as shop signs, schedules, and price tables, then state the answer in one sentence of your own words.

Identify the topic and the main verb of every sentence in a passage before answering, to stop guessing from individual words.

Complete 30 task-based listening items (メモ取り style) and write down the key noun and number for each one immediately after the second listening.

Log each listening miss as one of four causes (unknown word, sound change, speed, trap answer) and tally the causes for the week.

Read four 300-character medium passages and answer main-idea questions (what does the writer want to say?) separately from detail questions.

Infer the referent of これ, それ, あれ, and そこ across sentence boundaries in 20 items, rewriting each sentence with the noun substituted for the pronoun.

Follow two-speaker dialogues in listening and correctly identify who does what (who asks, who agrees, who refuses) in 25 items.

Recognise 30 common sound changes and contracted forms in fast speech (ています → てます, のではない → んじゃない, すみません → すいません) and transcribe each one.

Answer 15 point-comprehension listening items where the question is stated before the audio, noting what to listen for in advance.

Read and write 150 cumulative 4Q vocabulary items in context sentences, not as isolated word lists, and mark the 20 items missed twice for a third pass.

Decode 60 katakana loanwords (メニュー, パソコン, アルバイト, スーパー, レストラン and similar) and write each one back from memory, since katakana orthography and loanword vocabulary carry their own exam weight.

Choose the correct kanji among look-alike distractors in 30 items by isolating the component that differs (待／持, 買／売, 語／話).

Respond within three seconds to 50 quick-response listening prompts (greetings, requests, apologies, 許可求め) with the socially correct reply.

Correct 20 misspelled words written in hiragana where kanji is expected, matching the level of formality the sentence calls for.

Sit two full timed mock papers end to end and record per-section timing so no section overruns its share of the clock.

Raise domain 2 (grammar plus reading) to 70% or higher by reviewing only the items missed in the mocks, grouped by cause rather than by question number.

Apply a reading strategy to every passage: read the question first, then scan for the answer sentence, then confirm against the ending of the sentence.

Eliminate listening trap answers that repeat a word from the audio but answer the wrong question, in 20 worked examples.

Re-attempt every item in the error notebook that is still unresolved as of week 7.

Re-drill only the items still flagged in the error notebook until each one is answered correctly twice in a row on separate days.

Sit one final full-length timed mock under exam conditions (no pauses, no dictionary) and finish every section within the time limit.

Run a fast recall pass over all 150 vocabulary items and all 4Q kanji, dropping the ones answered correctly twice and keeping the rest in rotation.

Rehearse the audio pacing by listening to every practice track at normal speed only, since re-listening is not permitted in the real exam.

Write one page of pre-exam rules: how to mark answers, how to guess from grammar rather than from a single word, and how to move on after 30 seconds on one item.