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In
Japan there has long been a concern that children are reading
less and less. As a way of introducing them to the pleasures
ofreading, there has been a mini boom in reading to children.
読み 聞かせ
is an activity mainly aimed at early primary children, in
which parents and teachers read to children from picture books.
In some cases, upper primary students read to younger children.Unlike
the art of 朗読(seeアラカルト
section), it
does not require
a dramatic and skilful rendition of the text. As long as it
is clear and easy to understand, children can rely on the
pictures and use their imagination.
It is also possible to do this activity in a foreign language
if the books are selected carefully. In fact, younger children
in particular can enjoy the sound of words without concern
for their logic while looking at the pictures. Furthermore,
having older children read to younger ones provides an opportunity
for enjoyable interaction between the two, and both reader
and listener can fully engage in and benefit from the activity.
Perhaps you could set up such a program at your school!
In this issue we introduce some picture books which may appeal
to young Japanese learners, and suggest how they can be used.
* indicates that these books are available for loan from the
JF Sydney Library. We are hoping to add the others to the
library collection soon.
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The following books
use simple language written in big hiragana letters, and are
good for learning words and phrases. |
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五味太郎の絵本
1 − のりもの
Author:
五味太郎
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Publisher: 絵本館*
Starting with
“じてんしゃ だいすき”,
every page introduces a vehicle using this pattern. The
last page has a nice twist! |
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五味太郎の絵本
2 − きもの
Author:
五味太郎 Publisher:
絵本館*
All pages introduce
an animal dressed in different clothing, using the simple
sentence pattern of: animal name + description + clothing
eg. “ひつじさんは ふわふわジャケット” |
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五味太郎の絵本
5 − あかちゃん
Author:
五味太郎 Publisher:
絵本館*
This starts
with a boy saying “When I was a baby, I often used to
... .
The pattern 「よく〜したものだ」 (Long ago, I often used to ~) is
used because it gives a humorous touch when used by a
child, but you can change this to「よく〜しました。」 |
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五味太郎の絵本
7 − ひ
Author:
五味太郎 Publisher:
絵本館*
This book introduces
different kinds of fires. Each page has a modifying word,
+の+ひ. One exception
is “あちちいててのひ”あつい+あつい ⇒ あち あち ⇒ あちちいたい+いたい ⇒ いて いて ⇒ いてて
Your students will enjoy learning these expressions! |
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五味太郎の絵本
8 − みず
Author:
五味太郎 Publisher:
絵本館*
This book introduces
various kinds of water, eg. おどるみず (dancing
water, ie. a fountain!) |
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(To show the size
of the letters there is a 10 cent coin on the bottom left hand
corner of the page.) |
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ぽたぽたとぷん
Author: 谷川俊太郎
Illustrator: 今井弓子
Publisher: さ・え・ら書房*
Onomatopoeia provides
the best opportunity to enjoy the sound of words. Moreover,
there are more than 20 onomatopoeic expressions which refer
to water. Shuntaroo Tanigawa is a famous Japanese poet. This
book is written in たてがき,
vertically from right to left. The letters are quite small (see
10 cent coin). |
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あいうえおっとせい
Author: 谷川俊太郎 Illustrator:
白根美代子 Publisher:
さ・え・ら書房*
Each page uses one
line of the kana syllabary, eg. あいうえお to
present a comical 5-line poem with each line beginning with
the next syllable. The pictures are fun and may stimulate students
to learn new words. |
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 がたごとがたごと
Author: 内田麟太郎 Illustrator:
西村繁男 Publisher:
童心社*
This book uses only
a few phrases and is easy to read. The pictures are very entertaining.
おきゃくがのりますぞろぞろぞろぞろ Mimetic
word for a moving crowd.
おきゃくがおりますぞろぞろぞろぞろ。
がたごとがたごと Onomatopoeia
for the sound of a moving train (click, clack). |
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 さよならさんかく
Author: わかやまけん
Publisher: こぐま社*
The phrases in this
book are based on a traditional Japanese word game utilising
connections between things, colours and shapes. It starts with
さよなら さんかく、またきて しかく (Goodbye,
triangle, come again, square). Then you ask しかくはなあに?
(What is square?),
and answer with, しかくはとうふ とうふはしろい (The
square thing is tofu. Tofu is white) and the exercise is repeated
by asking しろいはなあに? (What
is white?). It is easy and fun. |
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 ぐるんぱのようちえん
Author: 西内みなみ Illustrator:
堀内誠一 Publisher:
福音館書店*
Gurumpa the elephant
is looking for a job. First he worked for Mr. Bii at a biscuit
shop but he was soon fired. Then he tried another shop. The
following phrases are repeated at each shop:
そのつぎぐるんぱがいったのは、Aさんところ。The
next place Gurumpa went to was Mr. A's shop.
とくべつはりきっておおきな・・・をつくりました。He
made a huge...... with great enthusiasm.
Aさんは「もうけっこう」といいました。Mr.
A said “That's enough”.
ぐるんぱはしょんぼり、しょんぼり・・・。Gurumpa
was very disappointed. |
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おおきなかぶ
Retold by: Alexei
Tolstoy _ Translator:
内田莉莎子
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Illustrator: 佐藤忠良
Publisher:
福音館書店
This is a famous Russian
folk tale, 'The Big Radish'. The teacher can read the narrative
parts and students can chant the refrain, which is repeated
each time, eg. |
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| Narration: |
おばあさんがおじいさんをひっぱって
おじいさんがかぶをひっぱって−−− |
| Refrain: |
うんとこしょどっこいしょ |
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 If
children know a story, this facilitates the understanding and
learning of new language.
Eg. はらぺこあおむし
(The Very Hungry Caterpillar)
Author: Eric Carl Publisher:
偕成社 |
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 おふろやさん
Author: 西村繁男 Publisher:
福音館書店*
これから、あっちゃんは、おとうさんとおかあさんとあかちゃんといっしょにおふろやさんにでかけます。(Acchan
goes to the public bath with dad, mum and baby.)
This is the only sentence in this book, but it has a simple
pictorial story about a family going to a public bath.
You can make up your own text and introduce this aspect
of Japanese culture to your students. |
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 旅の絵本
I - VI
Author:
安野 Publisher:
福音館書店*
The author
of this book is a very famous Japanese illustrator. This
series beautifully illustrates his travels around the
world. You can find heroes and heroines from various countries
in each book. The books have no text but tell many stories.
I. Northern Europe; II. Southern Europe; III. England;
IV. America; V. Spain; VI. Hans Christian Andersens World. |
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- Remembering
content is not the main aim. When you ask students questions
about the content of the book, show them the relevant page.
- Reading books
to children is to familiarise them with reading. Don't force
them to read themselves, but encourage them if they want
to try.
- You can ask
students what they think about a book, but don't ask them
to write or give book reports.
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After you have read
some picture books to your students, they may like to make their
own book. They could make the Japanese equivalent of an ABC
picture book, an
“あいうえお絵本”! Unexpected
pictures, such as the following example, are a stimulus for
remembering words. This is also good practice for English spelling.
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This
section written by Kaori Sasaki |
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& Copyright © The Japan Foundation, Sydney 2000 - 2006 |
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