JAPN 396 was an intensive Japanese reading workshop held over the summer. The primary focus of this course was reading at least 10 picture books per week and writing summaries of them in both Japanese and English. Additionally, this class used a textbook with semi-authentic Japanese reading materials, such as signs, online listings for products, and stories from Japanese culture. Throughout this course, I also familiarized myself with the story of Urashima Taro. Every week, I practiced telling this story in class and with VLT partners online by looking at the pictures to retell the story based on what I saw instead of using a script. Thanks to the storytelling assignments in this course, I learned to think more off the top of my head in Japanese. I also used the storytelling skills I learned from the many readings in this course to create my own picture book.

JAPN 396は夏学期の日本語を読むクラスでした。1週間に10つ以上の日本語の絵本を読んで、絵本についてサマリーを日本語と英語で書きました。それに、日本の生活について読みものがある教科書も使いました。例えば、この教科書は日本語の知らせとか日本の昔話がありました。このクラスで特に浦島太郎という昔話を勉強しました。毎週写真を見ながら、授業とVLTで浦島太郎を話しました。浦島太郎を話した時に文を読まなくて、頭の中だけからストーリーを話しました。この課題おかげで何かを見て、日本語で説明できるようになりました。最後に、いろいろな絵本から覚えたことで自分の絵本を作りました。

Coursework Examples/宿題の例:

Picture Book/絵本:

Using the grammar patterns and transitional phrases I learned from my extensive reading of picture books during this course, I created a picture book of my own. Because I had read many Japanese stories, I was able to describe my cat’s nightly routine in the form of an engaging story rather than only from a dry, factual perspective.

絵本で覚えた文法とか表現で私は絵本を作りました。本当のことを説明しただけじゃなくて、面白く話せることもしました。

Picture Book Summaries/絵本のサマリー:

Tadoku-多読-Reading-Journal-_Week-5_

This is an example of the final week of picture book summaries I wrote for this class. These assignments significantly increased both my reading and writing abilities. Since stories are more engaging than a textbook, I found it considerably easier to read more, enabling me to learn and retain new vocabulary and grammar patterns. Writing summaries in Japanese was also extremely helpful because it allowed me to practice writing in a low-stakes environment where I could learn from my mistakes. Throughout the semester, I gradually became able to read longer picture books and write more detailed summaries of them in Japanese.

上に最後の絵本のサマリーの宿題があります。この課題で日本語で読めるようになって、書けるようになりました。絵本が教科書より面白かったので、たくさんの絵本を読むのが簡単でした。だから、新しい文法とか言葉を覚えられました。それに、書く間違いで覚えられたので、この課題はいい書く練習になりました。学期中に私の書くスキルがどんどん上がっていました。