Some of our Tadoku (多読) books at Thompson Library, now available online, too!

What is Tadoku?

Do you like to read? Seeing that you have made it to this library website, I’m guessing you do. If so, tadoku (多読 )—literally, “extensive reading”—is one of the best things you can do to improve your Japanese language skills. In fact, you may have done tadoku before without even realizing it!

As a grade-schooler, did you ever have “silent reading?” An “SSR” (Sustained Silent Reading) period? If this rings a bell, then you are already familiar with the practice of tadoku. Now, if you hated being forced to read for long periods of time in school, don’t fret! Tadoku need not be so regimented. In principle, it is the reading of a large quantity of comprehensible material rather than reading short-yet-difficult material (think chapter books over academic reading assignments).

While not a uniquely Japanese concept, tadoku is popular in the Japanese language learning sphere to improve reading speed, comprehension, and vocabulary. Incidentally, you can also use this method for listening practice!  The concept is simple: read a lot from a book that you mostly understand, without the help of a dictionary.

Getting Started – Materials at OSU Library

You may be wondering where to start—there are millions of books to choose from, after all! A quick visit to NPO Tadoku Supporters is a great first stop for finding more information and loads of “graded readers”—books categorized by reading level and progress with you as you master higher levels of difficulty. Graded readers, like the ones pictured above, are the best place to start if you don’t have your own material in mind –and they are available to check out at your friendly neighborhood University Library!

In addition to the print books, you can get free online access to a huge host of books from level 0 (very beginner) to level 4-2 (JLPT N2 and above)  through our library catalog, and the Japanese eBook database known as Maruzen eBook Library (or MeL). This is an invaluable resource offering books from the social sciences, to the humanities, science and engineering, and more. With over 100 tadoku e-book titles (plus thousands of other Japanese ebooks), this is a site that OSU students, staff and faculty can start using straight away. In addition, these online tadoku books possess audio files that allow readers to listen and read at the same time.

Using MeL for Custom Tadoku

Let’s take a deeper look at Maruzen eBook Library (MeL), and how you can use it for tadoku graded readers. A database of Japanese eBooks, MeL may seem a bit intimidating at first, both due to its outdated interface and for people with limited kanji experience. To help those struggling to get the most out of Maruzen, here is a quick step-by-step overview of menu navigation and features. The MeL website is subject to change, however this tutorial should be able to help you learn to navigate the site. Click on each image below to get a better look at each item.

 

Figure 1

 

Here, in Figure 1 we see the homepage after you login with your OSU credentials. #1 indicates where you can select the desired type of materials. In this search, we will look for all formats. #2 is the search button, and #3 is the order in which results will display. Here we will keep the default sorting by gojuu-on (五十音), the standard organization of Japanese syllables. Let’s go ahead and put tadoku (多読) into our search bar.

 

 

 

Figure 2

 

 

In Figure 2 you see what should appear after searching for tadoku (多読) with the above criteria. However, you can further narrow your results by choosing a publisher.  #4 is indicating  Ask Publications (アスク出版), the publishing arm of NPO Tadoku Supporters.

 

 

 

Figure 3

 

Figure 3 is the page after you have selected a book from your search. The book in figure 3 is one by Ask Publications. #5 is the “Read” button, or you can use #6 to export a small selection of pages from the file. Note that you cannot download whole books. Finally, #7 shows the table of contents if you would like to skip to a certain section.

 

 

 

Figure 4

Once you click “Read,” you will be taken to a view of the book cover, as seen in Figure 4. Click the button indicated by #8 to close the book. By using the options in #9 you can choose to magnify or reduce the size of the book to your comfort level. Additionally, you can use the symbol marked at #10 to open the book as a two-page spread, as seen below in Figure 5. You can then use the arrows at #11 to navigate through the pages. Alternatively, the table of contents on the left side can be used to navigate. In order to download select pages of the book, use the printer icon in #12.

 

Figure 5

 

Figure 5 shows an example of the screen image while reading in two-page view. Note the addition of furigana all throughout the book, to provide a smooth reading experience!

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

If you have ever thought of trying tadoku or are looking  to take your skills up a notch, both physical books and the vast Maruzen eBook Library provide an exceptional route to create your own tadoku journey. In fact, research shows that reading Tadoku (or “comprehensible input”) can be a very effective way for L2 learners to acquire greater fluency (Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition, Krashen 1982).
Remember, the most important part is to enjoy what you read! If one method does not work for you, switch to a different one. If you’re up for adventure, try finding a different subject area apart from graded readers. Whatever you choose, there’s sure to be a resource out there for you.

Happy reading!

 

References

Japanese Area Studies’ Full Guide to Tadoku

Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition by Stephen Krashen (Pergamon Press Inc., 1982).