There are six types of reading comprehension material: ‘JFS Reading Activities’, ‘KC Yom Yom’, ‘Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin Essays’, ‘Elementary Reading Comprehension’, ‘Intermediate Reading Comprehension’, and ‘Now in Japan’. There are also materials featuring vocabulary lists, grammar lists, practice questions, audio recordings, and illustrations.
JFS Reading Activities
These are series of A1-, A2- (elementary), and B1- (Intermediate) level reading comprehension activities based on the JF Standard.
There are 14 activities for A1 level, 12 for A2 level and 12 for B1 level. They are assumed to be read by learners while they are interacting in the classroom.
This collection of activities was put together from language activities that take place in real-life everyday situations. The objective of the activities is not to acquire knowledge of things such as sentence patterns and vocabulary, but to attain objectives through actually using Japanese in real life. Each of the activities includes a Can-do objective (what one can do in Japanese). The materials are not arranged so as to be easy for learners, but rather, because authentic materials are used (materials that native speakers actually read or near to that), they might seem difficult at first. However, do not worry if it sometimes cannot be understood, the important thing is becoming able to attain the Can-do objectives using one’s ability to guess meaning.
At A1 level, learners locate very basic information from shop and restaurant signs and displays, such as opening times and days when closed; look at fast food restaurant menus and understand names of food, prices, and so on; and read, for example, e-mails from family or friends written in short simple terms, and understand what they did and where they did it.
At A2 level, learners locate information they need from short simple texts, such as holiday pamphlets, coupons for shops and restaurants, and job advertisements; read menus in Japanese restaurants, or short simple newsletters about local events and understand several pieces of information; and read short, simple e-mails from family or friends written about something that happened on a trip and generally understand the contents.
At B1 level, learners read newspapers, magazines, articles on the Internet, or e-mails on familiar topics such as on family or daily life, and understand the points or locate the information they need.
If possible, translating instructions and Can-dos into the learners‘ first language and using these is recommended. Feel free to edit and use the attached Word files.
| Editor |
YOKOYAMA Noriko, ISEKI Sugako, UEHARA Yumiko, NAGASAKA Miaki, ITO Yukiko, HABUKI Miyuki |
| Writer A1series |
ISOMURA Kazuhiro, SATO Tomoaki, YOKOYAMA Noriko, OZEKI Fumi, UEHARA Yumiko, FUJINAGA Kaoru, YAMAMOTO Mika, NIHEI Tomoko, KOU Iken |
| A2series |
NAKAO Yuki, YAMAMOTO Mika, SHINOZAKI Setsuko, OFUNE Chisato, HAMADA Noriko, UEHARA Yumiko, ITO Yukiko, NIHEI Tomoko |
| B1series |
HABUKI Miyuki, ARIMA Junichi, UEHARA Yumiko, YAMASHITA Yukino, KIJIMA Hiromi, KIMURA Ryoko, SHIBAHARA Tomoyo, ISHIYAMA Tomoyuki, YAMAMOTO Mika, KITANI Naoyuki, OSHIO Kazumi |
＜References＞
上原 由美子（2017）「JF日本語教育スタンダードに準拠した読解教材「A1活動集（読解）」と「A2活動集（読解）」」『日本語教育通信 日本語教育ニュース』
Habuki, M., Uehara, Y. & Nagasaka, M. (2021). Development and Evaluation of the Can-do Based Material "JFS Reading Activities". The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Education Bulletin, 17, pp.32-47.
KC Yom Yom
These are the materials for extensive reading for elementary learners produced by The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai. Focusing on topics related to Osaka and the Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai, various stories about daily life and culture in Japan are introduced. You can enjoy the comical stories, pictures, and photos. There are also some stories with audio recordings.
You can download and bind them. How to bind them is introduced in an article in the ‘Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin’.
See NPO Tadoku Supporters’ website for more information about extensive reading.
＊These materials are provided under the rules of Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 2.1 Japan (CC BY-NC 2.1 JP).
| Supervisor |
KC YomYom Production Committee |
| Writer |
AZUMA Kentaro, HATAKENAKA Tomoko, ADACHI Shoko, NOHATA Rika, TODA Toshiko, MIURA Mutsuki, TAKEDA Motoko, TANAKA Tetsuya, YUMOTO Kahori, YASHIMA Yasuhiro, ONISHI Kaoru, KATSUKI Yusuke |
＜References＞
東 健太郎（2016）「入門・初級レベルのオリジナルの「本」を作ろう」『日本語教育通信 授業のヒント』
東 健太郎（2018）「多読教材『KC よむよむ』の開発と多読授業の実践」日本語プロフィシェンシー研究学会第3回例会
東 健太郎・畠中 朋子（2019）「国際交流基金関西国際センターにおける日本語多読の実践―司書と教師の協働から―」
『JLA図書館実践シリーズ 40 図書館多読のすすめかた』151-156、日本図書館協会
Waguri, N. & Tanaka, T. (2021). The Inclusion of a Project to Create a Book for Extensive Reading as Part of Various Programs for Japanese-Language Teachers and Students. The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Education Bulletin, 17, pp.215-226.
Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin Essays
‘Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin Essays’ offers 16 essays with the authors’ permission from the essay collection released by the Japan Foundation ‘Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin’. Featuring relatively short essays on the theme of Japanese language, Japanese society and culture, foreign language study, foreign cultures, and so on, it is possible to enjoy unique essays by people who represent each field. Many are aimed at intermediate level and above.
About ‘Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin (Cover-page Essay)’
‘Nihongo Kyoiku Tsushin’ is a newsletter that The Japan Foundation has published since January 1990 mainly for Japanese-language educators overseas in order to provide a variety of information on Japanese-language education (pedagogy, teaching materials, culture of Japan). While publication in print ended with Issue 63 of January 2009, the newsletter continues to be offered on the Japan Foundation website
The newsletter has featured a ‘Cover-page Essay’ 42 times, beginning with Issue 13 of January 1993 through Issue 54 of January 2006. For each issue, prominent individuals from various fields in Japan contributed an essay of approximately 1,000 characters on various themes, including memories related to language and experiences in modern Japanese society or culture. Currently, Cover-page Essays from Issue 28 through Issue 54 are available as back numbers in PDF file format.
| Writer |
ATOHDA Takashi, TAKAHATA Isao, SUO Masayuki, TSUCHIYA Kenji, KATO Hidetoshi, NODA Hideki, HAYASHI Mariko, O, Sonfa, NAKANISHI Susumu, FUKUHARA Yoshiharu, KADONO Eiko, KAWABUCHI Saburo, KOKAMI Shoji, OOKA Makoto, SAWA Tomoe, NADA Inada |
Elementary Reading Comprehension
These are reading comprehension teaching materials for elementary learners on the theme of old Japanese tales. Altogether there are four stories. These teaching materials include reading texts, comprehension questions and illustrations. The reading texts and comprehension questions are Word files, so they can also be edited. Learners can enjoy the texts even more if you also introduce related Japanese culture, customs, and so on, before reading the texts.
| Picture production |
OKAZAKI Kumi |
Intermediate Reading Comprehension
With these materials, students who have completed study of beginning-level Japanese can learn reading while reviewing upper beginning-level sentence patterns that are especially necessary for reading compression. There are 10 materials, and the main texts include audio recordings.
● Structure of Reading Comprehension Resources
| Key vocabulary |
Approximately 10 expressions that are necessary to grasp the outline are chosen. |
| Main text |
Reading comprehension texts of various themes and lengths. |
| Grammar |
A list of grammar items and expressions in the main text. |
| Reference |
Explanation to deepen understanding of the main text and related topics are introduced. |
| Vocabulary list |
A list of vocabulary in the main text. In the vocabulary list each part of speech is displayed in the following way: 「固」 = proper noun, 「副」 = adverb, 「接」 = connector, 「慣」 = idiom, 「擬」 = onomatopoeia. |
| Exercises |
Exercises designed for the main text. Two types of exercises are offered: ‘reading compression’ for acquiring skills necessary for reading comprehension; and ‘grammar’ for organizing sentence patterns in the main text and learning usage and differences. |
About Chukyu Dokkai: Nihon Rikai e no Step
From 1990 through 1996, the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa offered Japanese language training, ‘Japanese-Language Program for Librarians’ for overseas librarians of institutions of higher education, academic research institutions, cultural exchange institutions, public libraries, and other institutions.
'Chukyu Dokkai: Nihon Rikai e no Step' (‘Intermediate Reading Comprehension: Steps to Understanding Japan’) is reading comprehension material produced by The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa for this program. It targets the level bridging introductory and intermediate study.
Each lesson consists of an Introduction, Vocabulary, Text, Understanding the Content, Classroom Activities, Summary and Expansion. Each lesson is expected to require six to nine hours of classroom time. The texts written by the authors advance in level from easy to difficult and gradually increase in length from 800 to 1600 characters. The texts include the Introductory-level and Intermediate-level sentence patterns used most frequently in a study carried out in advance of 14 types of Intermediate- and Advanced-level reading-comprehension textbooks, as well as newspaper and magazine articles. The Classroom Activities and Review sections focus on exercises for understanding the context, logic, and overall meaning of the texts.
Text themes cover Japanese culture and society, especially aspects of today's Japan on which it is difficult to obtain information from overseas. Efforts have been made to provide more than mere descriptions of Japanese culture and society by including topics and essays that clearly communicate the Japanese outlook as a backdrop for Japanese culture and society.
Publisher: Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa(1997)
| Writer |
YANASHIMA Fumie, KIJIMA Hiromi (Lecturers of The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)SHO Yukiko, KASEDA Harumi (Visiting lecturers at The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa) |
| Co-writer |
FUKUYA Shoko, YAMAZAKI Miyuki (Visiting lecturers at The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa) |
Revision of text, creation and writing of other materials for publication on 'Minna no Kyozai' website
NAKAMURA Masako, MIHARA Ryushi (Lecturers of The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
INABA Kazue, YATABE Yukiko (Visiting lecturers at The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)
TSUBANA Tomoko, AKAZAWA Miyuki, KONO Chieko (Research and Development Section, The Japan Foundation
Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa) |
(The position titles noted above were current at the time of publication.)
Now in Japan
Mainly for learners studying outside Japan, this is three sets of materials that, together with activity plans, introduces reading comprehension materials about ‘What is generating a lot of interest now in Japan,’ and ‘What is popular now in Japan.
’This series appeared as a series of posts by ‘Sakura and Musashi’ in ‘Forum’ from June 2005 to July 2015. The three sets of materials have been kept and the things that are no longer generating interest ‘now’ have been archived. The posts in the archive appear the same as when they were first made.