Teaching Reading to EFL Learners in Japan Using an Extensive Reading Approach

by Beniko Mason
International Buddhist University, Habikino, Japan
Fall, 1992 TESOL/EFL Newsletter, 13(1), 10-11.

The Problems

Japanese EFL learners have a difficult time learning how to read in English for a number of reasons.

First of all, almost everything Japanese learners see is written in Japanese. Often advertisements and T-shirt logos are written in English, but they are written as designs to be looked at and not to be read. Clearly, visual input and exposure to English are very limited, and, as a result, students do not feel a need to read English in their everyday lives.

Secondly, in schools, traditional grammar-translation is the main method of class room instruction. What the students learn from these typical intensive reading classes are dictation and memorization skills in Japanese, and not the reading comprehension skills so vitally necessary to understanding English.

Since the learners are not interested in developing reading skills as much as other skills, English does not hold a high priority for them. Communicative competence in speaking and listening seem to be the main focus of both teaching and learning.

Although one of the reading objectives for the EFL learners in Japan is supposed to be the development of good readers, this objective is not usually achieved. I think this is due to the fact that the goal for most of the learners is simply to pass an English test. The students are more concerned about achieving good scores on the test than becoming good readers. The problem is further compounded by the fact that Japanese learners are very much discouraged from reading in English at all. The traditional way of learning has also led them to believe that reading is both difficult and unpleasant.

As a result of these problems, many Japanese EFL learners never get past the sentence level of reading.

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