Japanese 102<\/strong>
\nThe Japanese 102 course at the University of Hawai’i is the followup to Japanese 100 \/ Japanese 101. Each semester, there are 12-15 sections with about 15 students per section, and the sections meet five times a week for sixteen weeks. JPN 102 was chosen because 100\/101 teaches hiragana, katakana and enough grammar and vocabulary that the students should be able to start reading low-level books. The extensive reading program was part of one section that had 14 students; it was taught by Hitosugi, and Day was the leading collaborator and mentor for the extensive reading component of the course.<\/p>\n

Implementing extensive reading in JPN 102<\/strong>
\nBecause all of the sections had to use the same syllabus, the extensive reading program was added to the section’s existing tasks and did not replace any part of the course. Although the project started three months before classes started, it wasn’t ready in time and was only in place during the last ten weeks of the 16-week class.<\/p>\n

Although there are books written specifically for English language learners, Japanese language learners didn’t have that resource, and so students read books written for children whose native language was Japanese. The authors worried that such low-level material would seem insulting to college students, so they explained the project’s expected benefits and the difficulties in finding appropriate material to the section. They collected 266 new and used books and created classification and rating systems to help students select appropriate, interesting reading material. 39 books were level 1 (the easiest), 76 books were level 2, 50 books were level 3, 87 books were level 4, 11 books were level 5 and three books were level 6.<\/p>\n

Participating in the program accounted for 10% of the student’s final grade; participation was required so that students would understand the importance of reading and find time for it in their busy schedules, as they might not do if it was just optional. To gain the full 10%, each student had to read 40 books over the 10 week period, with a weekly target of four books per week; there was also extra credit for reading more than 40 books. This was thought to be a challenge, but not impossible because the books were short.<\/p>\n

Reading was done outside of class as homework, so that the students could keep up with the other sections during class. However, the students’ reading was incorporated into the class during a 30-minute session once a week, where the students did things like promote their favorite books or act out stories they had read. This was fun for them, but it also linked the reading that had been done individually to the whole class, and it promoted reading, as those who hadn’t done any felt left out.<\/p>\n

To measure the impact of the extensive reading program, a three-part reading test and a 22-item survey were created. They were given to students in the extended reading section and a non-extended reading section before the program was introduced, then again at the end of the course.<\/p>\n

What the authors learned<\/strong>
\nAlthough the authors only expected one or two students to read 40 or more books, four students hit or exceeded the mark. Five students read less than 25 books; the lowest number read was by a student who had a family and a full-time job.<\/p>\n

The authors expected the extensive reading group to have made more gains in reading than the section that followed the standard curriculum, and the three-part test shows that to have been the case. (It must be kept in mind that the sample size was too small to be conclusive, and the program was done to aid in learning, not primarily for research.) Both classes improved their scores on part A and did about the same on part B, but students in the extensive reading program gained an average of .88 points (out of a possible 10) on part C, which was the hardest section (taken from the JPN 201 final exam), while the students in the other class did slightly worse than they had the first time around, dropping on average .13 points. In total, the extensive reading class gained an average of 1.08 points on the three-part test, while the regular class gained an average of .37 points.<\/p>\n

The questionnaire asked questions such as “I have confidence in my ability to read Japanese” and “So far, I am enjoying Japanese 102”; the students in the extended reading section had a greater increase in positive affective responses than the ones in the regular class. The extensive reading students reported that they didn’t need to use a dictionary as much as the students as the regular class, and that they came to read outside of class and watch Japanese TV more than the non-extensive reading students. Answers to some of the questions indicate that the extensive reading students considered reading more difficult than students in the regular class did; the authors theorize that this may be because the books they read had little connection to the vocabulary or topics found in the textbook. However, even though these students saw reading as a challenge, their attitudes towards it, and towards their Japanese class, improved between the first and second times the questionnaire was administered.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong>
\nEven though ten weeks is a fairly short period in which to expect significant gains in reading ability, the 14 students read a good deal, improved their scores on the reading test and came to feel positive about the experience. The authors continued the extensive reading program and expanded it to JPN 101 and 202; they’ve found that it appeals to some students but not to others, that it promotes overall reading fluency, and that for some students it triggers an interest in Japanese culture, prompting them to study independently.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n