60%

I’m reviewing the previous units that I have finished in my Japanese textbook, and today I did a short test for the first three units. There were one to six answers for the first five numbers, one or two answers for the next five, and just one answer for the last 15 numbers.

When I checked, I gave myself just one point for each number so the total score was 25. I got 15, which is 60% of the total score. That percentage, for me, is a BIG failure.

In schools in the Philippines, getting less than a 75% final grade in a subject is a failure. If a student got a grade like that, they had to do additional school work or take an additional exam. In my university, less than 70% was the failing grade. If you had a failing grade in a subject, you had to take it again.

Since I was a child, I’ve always believed that anything less than 80% is a failure. Today I got 60%. Today I failed, but I don’t feel bad about it at all. My learning Japanese is not like the exams I took at school. Learning a language is a lifelong process, and every mistake is as important as every right answer.