課題理解 — Task-based Comprehension

N3 課題理解: Task Comprehension in the Workplace

The N3 task-comprehension block (6 items) keeps the N4/N5 question — "what does this person do next / first?" — but moves the stage: conversations now happen at work, on the phone, and in service situations, spoken at natural speed with light keigo. Instructions come in bundles ("fix the document, then copy it — oh, but book the room first"), and the exam's job is to see whether you can hold a task list while it gets edited live. This chapter upgrades your decision-tracking for N3's register and complexity.

1. What's New at N3

• Multiple tasks, one target. The dialogue lists 3-4 tasks; the question asks only for the FIRST (まず) or the one the listener must do (vs tasks others will handle). You now track ownership and order.
• Workplace register. Instructions arrive wrapped in keigo and softeners: 〜てもらえる？, 〜ておいてくれる？, お願いできますか — all mean DO IT. Refusals and reassignments sound like あ、それは私がやるからいいよ ("I'll handle that one — leave it").
• Corrections mid-stream: やっぱり (on second thought), じゃなくて (not that — rather), 〜に変更になりました (changed to). Each one edits the task list retroactively.

2. The Task-Ledger Method

Upgrade from mental tracking to a paper ledger. As tasks appear, jot one-word notes with your pencil (コピー / 会議室 / メール). Then edit:

• Hear もう〜した／〜ておいた → strike it (done).
• Hear それは私が／〜さんに頼んだ → strike it (someone else owns it).
• Hear あとで／来週でいい → demote it.
• Hear 先に／その前に／まず → promote it to the top.

When the audio ends, the top surviving item IS the answer. This ledger takes 5 seconds of writing and converts N3's hardest listening block into bookkeeping.

3. The Signal Vocabulary, N3 Edition

4. Full Worked Script

会社で女の人と男の人が話しています。男の人はこのあとまず何をしますか。
女：田中さん、明日の会議の資料、もうコピーした？
男：いえ、まだです。今から30部コピーします。
女：あ、ちょっと待って。部長が資料の3ページを直したいって言ってたから、先に部長に確認してもらって。
男：わかりました。じゃ、確認をもらってからコピーですね。会議室の予約は？
女：それは私がもうしておいたから、だいじょうぶ。
男：ありがとうございます。
男の人はこのあとまず何をしますか。
① 資料を30部コピーする ② 部長に資料を確認してもらう ③ 会議室を予約する ④ 資料の3ページを直す

Ledger replay: コピー (task) → 待って + 先に確認してもらって (new task, promoted) → コピー demoted to after (確認をもらってからコピー — the man even summarizes the order aloud for you, a common N3 gift) → 会議室: 私がもうしておいた = done by her, struck. Top of ledger: ②. Trap notes: ④ twists "the section chief wants to fix page 3" into the listener fixing it (ownership!); ① is the pre-correction plan; ③ was completed by someone else.

5. Phone-Call Variants

N3 loves phone tasks: rebooking a clinic appointment, changing a reservation headcount, asking for a callback. Special furniture to know:

• お電話かわりました — "(transferring) this is now ~ speaking".
• あいにく〜はずしております — "unfortunately (he) is away" → expect 伝言 (message) or callback logistics to become the task.
• 〜名様でご予約の… — headcount confirmations; number changes (4名→5名に変更) are the tested point.
• 折り返しお電話ください — please call back (a frequent answer option).

6. Strategy Checklist

• Hold the question filter: このあとまず — first action, by THIS listener.
• Run the paper ledger; edit on every signal word. The final state answers the question.
• Speaker summaries (じゃ、〜てから〜ですね) are gold — the exam often has the listener repeat the final plan. If you hear a confirmation echo, trust it.
• Softened instructions are still instructions: 〜てもらえる？＝do it.
• 6 items in a row: reset the ledger between items ruthlessly.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• N3 課題理解 = workplace/phone task dialogues; track a LIVE-EDITED task list and answer the listener's first action.
• Use the paper ledger: add on requests (〜ておいて, お願いできますか), strike on done/ownership transfers (もう〜した, 私がやる), promote on 先に/その前に, replace on じゃなくて.
• Order-flippers: 〜てから, 〜前に, 〜次第.
• Listen for the confirmation echo (じゃ、AてからBですね) — the plan restated is the answer restated.
• Phone furniture: あいにく〜はずしております, 折り返し, 〜に変更 — rebooking is N3's favorite task plot.