“Finished one, finished eight more!” A seventh grader from Brazil who was so frustrated at his slow progress at school came across one Japanese Graded Reader. He was very reluctant at first but when he finished reading it, he wanted more and read eight others. He has a Japanese book ready all the time now. An assistant teacher for foreign students in Aichi Prefecture
It used to take me hours and hours to read through a Japanese book. Now I read them in an hour or two. It’s so much fun to read a Japanese book at my own pace that’s exactly at my level. I don’t look up a dictionary every time I see a word I don’t know. I guess at the meaning and it makes reading a lot more fun. A learner of Japanese (Korea)
My students have often complained that years of Japanese learning hasn’t made reading in Japanese easy. I was trying to find a way to tackle the problem when I learned about Japanese Graded Readers. Students love reading Japanese books they can really enjoy. I want you to know Spain has also JGR fans who laugh and cry with JGR’s and who can’t put them down. Suzuki Yuko, Complutense University of Madrid
I get more questions now about life and culture in Japan! Pupils who find Level 1 too tough can read Level 0 books and exclaim, ‘I can read this!’ and ‘I enjoy reading!’. Then they simply devour JGR’s. Their enthusiasm is infectious and younger pupils come to me to ask when they can start reading JGR’s. Level 0 books have made my students intrigued by Japanese life and culture. I get definitely more questions about Japan. Lim Hye-young, teacher of Japanese as a Foreign Language at Epsom Girls’ School in Oakland, Nz.