Research Guides: East Asian Studies : Language & Literature

Extensive Reading (Japanese)

Extensive reading differs from intensive reading. There are no vocabulary lists, one is not supposed to look up words in a dictionary, and grammatical points are not to be covered.

Extensive readings follows the philosophy that readers should choose simple books and read lots of them. The act of "extensive" reading will build up fluency and a rich vocabulary without causing one to get bogged down in minutia. There are 4 golden rules to follow

Start with simple stories
Read without using a dictionary
Skip over words you don't understand
Stop reading if it is boring or difficult and choose another book

In Japanese:

やさしいレベルから読む
辞書を引かないで読む
わからないところは、とばして読む
進まなくなったら、他の本を読む

Japnese Graded Readers
Graded readers are books that have either been adapted from other texts or are written for particular reading levels. They are designed to support extensive reading efforts by having limited vocabulary and length.

Level Vocabulary range 語彙数 No. of characters per story　字数主な文法項目

Level 0 入門 350 less than 400 現在形、過去形、疑問詞、～たい　など。基本的に「です・増す形」を使っている
Level 1 初級前半 350 400~1500 現在形、過去形、疑問詞、～たい　など。基本的に「です・増す形」を使っている
Level 2 初級後半 500 1500~2500 辞書形、て形、ない形、た形、連体修飾、～と（条件）、～から（理由）～なる、～のだ　など
Level 3 初中級 800 2500~5000 可能形、命令形、受身形、意向形、～とき、～たら・ば・なら、～そう（様態）、～用（推量、比喩）、複合動詞　など
Level 4 中級 1300 5000~10000 使役形、使役受身形、～層（伝聞）、～らしい、～はず、～もの、～ようにする・なる、ことにする・なる　など
Level 5 中上級 2000 8000~200000 機能語・複合慣用表現･敬語など　例）～につれて、～わけにはいかない、切り開く/召し上がる、伺う
はじめての文学 Hajmete no bungaku (short stories series)

East Asian Studies

Extensive Reading (Japanese)

Literary Journals

Prize Winning Fiction (from 2003 to the present)