I completed the N5 schedules in renshuu and signed up for the JLPT exam in December. I was wondering if continuing to move on to N4 would help prepare me for the N5 exam at all, or if I’d be better off just reviewing N5 as much as I can and focusing on N5 listening exercises etc. Thanks!
No one can tell you what exactly is going to be on the exam, not even past examinees. The N4 material might be helpful, but it may not be. The main thing is to stay engaged. If you’re just reviewing old material, you may not be challenging yourself enough to build your Japanese skills.
While I haven't taken the JLPT, taking similar ones for other languages showed that having 1 level above what one is aiming for could be very helpful. As sometimes questions or listening parts on the exam may be slightly beyond (a bit of N4) what one expects for that certification (N5) level. All of them may also just be N5, which will be very nice.
If you're planning to master N4 in the future, it is not a waste of effort to start it now, as it expands your grammar and vocabulary and if there is a tricky question or two in the exam, that might end up being helpful.
