C1 operating system (Japanese)
Advanced Japanese here means adult work: clear summaries, 敬語 control where it matters, soft disagreement, and production with models — not only more anime vocabulary. Novelty nouns are optional; glue and register are not.
Weekly non-negotiables
- One native short (news / workplace clip) + retell
- One real-world writing task with model compare — try output workshop structure even when using Japanese packs elsewhere
- Two 15-minute sprints: politeness rewrite + connectors
- One self-scored task (task / register / markers / control) aiming ≥6/8
Model formal email: お世話になっております。先日ご依頼いただきました件につき、資料がまだ揃っておりません。恐れ入りますが、火曜までのご提出ではいかがでしょうか。何とぞよろしくお願いいたします。
Model soft disagreement: ご提案は理解できます。ただ、テストが終わっていない点が気になります。火曜の公開はいかがでしょうか。
Domain month
Pick workplace, media, or academic for four weeks. Keep emails and retells inside that domain so collocations cluster. Guide: Mandarin advanced register for parallel habits (different language, same production discipline).
Four-week block
- Workplace email + meeting lines (丁寧語 default)
- Broadcast summary + neutralize opinion
- Soft disagreement + hedges
- Timed mixed rewrite under 12 minutes
Japanese advanced traps
- Keigo avoidance that makes workplace writing sound like chat
- Translationese particles and English word order
- Passive news binge with no register rewrite
- Collecting rare on’yomi while hedges stay English
Hub: Japanese resources · B2→C1 emails · C1 assessed tasks (use structure even when models are Romance-first).
A solid practice day
Do three things: listen or read and retell; write or speak one real-world task and compare with a model; run a short register or connector drill. Under 4/8? Repeat the same brief before making it harder. Keep phrases in a notebook by situation.