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Japanese Short Stories for Intermediate Learners: Learn Japanese and Build Your Vocabulary the Fun and Easy Way
Reading in Japanese is perhaps the most effective way to build up your vocabulary. With our book Japanese Short Stories for Intermediate Learners , you can practice reading while working on your Japanese vocabulary and grammar skills.
110 pages, Paperback
First published August 9, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 7, 2022
As a beginner, I thought it’d be nice to read some stories in addition to the study material I’m using. However, I’ve only covered -desu and -masu verb endings so in the first story, I only found one verb with these endings. Having looked through the rest, this seems to be the case for all the stories so I couldn’t go any further.
This ultimately is the problem with this book at the moment - what do they mean by “beginner”? I’d recommend that the publisher include some details on either the back cover or inside detailing what grammar/vocabulary is expected and link it to a language learning framework (CEFR, JLPT, etc.) so that the right people pick this book up.
If I had understood the stories, the multiple choice questions afterwards are a good idea to check that you’ve understood what you’ve read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This ultimately is the problem with this book at the moment - what do they mean by “beginner”? I’d recommend that the publisher include some details on either the back cover or inside detailing what grammar/vocabulary is expected and link it to a language learning framework (CEFR, JLPT, etc.) so that the right people pick this book up.
If I had understood the stories, the multiple choice questions afterwards are a good idea to check that you’ve understood what you’ve read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
September 6, 2022
This book is solidly in my opinion in the intermediate learners category. As someone who has both been classroom taught and self-taught Japanese, I couldn't see a beginner using this book in anyway. I will say that this is excellent supplementary material to really get your brain working on the things you should be learning at this level. As an intermediate myself I found the book a good challenge. The furigana helped a lot and I spent time really thinking about the context clues of the things I didn't know off hand. That being said, I don't know if I'm the type of learner or reader they were looking forward. I did find it a bit difficult to navigate for me personally. So, all in all I give this a 3.5/5. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Language Guru for the chance to review this ebook.
September 23, 2022
I received a free copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
tl;dr 3.5/5 stars. Not a bad addition to your collection for early intermediate (N4 or between N4-N3) learners. Hard to recommend it if you're above that level, as it may be too easy and thus not worthwhile.
Not tl;dr:
The opening of this book definitely had words of advice I both agreed with and appreciated seeing mentioned. The author stresses the importance of quantity over quality in terms of language consumption, and while they could've gone more in depth with it, the basic concept is there. Many language students stress too much on understanding everything, which slows them down in how much content they can consume. Whereas if they learned to rely on context clues, they could surprise themselves at how quickly they could come to understand things naturally.
If you've read any of my reviews on Japanese materials before, I'm definitely a reader who has done a little of everything. I've read intensively (looking up every word), extensively (as the author calls it, where you look up nothing), and in between. I don't discount intensive reading entirely, as the author seems to, as I do think it has its place, but I do think extensive reading is a process overlooked or under-discussed in the language learning community, so there is value in pushing it.
For the actual contents of the book, for each short story, there is a vocab list, quiz, and English translation, in that order. I would recommend readers to go through the story first without looking up anything, (potentially read it twice), then look over the vocab, go back and reread, do the quiz either after reading or after the vocab, then read the English translation. The answer key for the quizzes are in the back of the book, and there are ten stories total.
Each story has a central focused theme, which I think is great, as you get to see similar vocabulary together, and can revisit stories with vocabulary you wish to study. (Medical, food, excercise, etc.) We follow Makoto's life effectively in order after a medical diagnosis, it's very 日常生活 （にちじょうせいかつ）. I do wish the stories were a little more exciting, but given the real-life nature of them and the practical vocabulary, it's hard to complain much there.
The English translations here and there felt a little stiff or awkward. It's obvious they were aiming for a more literal translation, rather than localization, which is fine, but perhaps a little more touching up would've been nice.
I did appreciate some carry over with some vocabulary and grammar, so you get more instances of them in action in later stories, which is another chance to remember them.
The title and cover on Net Galley (where I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review) differs from Goodreads, where it states it is for intermediate learners, rather than beginners and intermediate. I have to say, that is a welcomed change, as the text in this book is not for beginners. (I do agree with another reviewer, where mentioning the more specific level, such as JLPT or CEFR, would've helped a lot in determining their demographic and attracting learners.)
I would personally place this between N4 and N3, as far as JLPT levels go. So early intermediate. (I was a little surprised to see a more advanced grammar when I read the first story, but the author included it in the vocab list, which was great to see.) Though if you are more advanced with kanji, the furigana may be distracting. The author notes that they purposely made the font size larger there, so I found it annoying myself, but I could see how it could be helpful for those less familiar with kanji.
Honestly, not a bad book. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though. The last story, after all that build up of reading through Makoto's life, just...abruptly stops. I see what they're going for, but it was still a little :/ to read. An additional section of further reading could've been a nice addition too, felt like a missed opportunity there.
Otherwise, it certainly delivers what it promises. If you're looking for more materials to learn from, especially when it comes to reading, and you're at least N4, this could be worth considering.
As a quick aside, the Kindle version I received from Net Galley did not have the bold text in the stories to match the vocab list. Not sure if there was an editing error there, but mentioning it just in case.
tl;dr 3.5/5 stars. Not a bad addition to your collection for early intermediate (N4 or between N4-N3) learners. Hard to recommend it if you're above that level, as it may be too easy and thus not worthwhile.
Not tl;dr:
The opening of this book definitely had words of advice I both agreed with and appreciated seeing mentioned. The author stresses the importance of quantity over quality in terms of language consumption, and while they could've gone more in depth with it, the basic concept is there. Many language students stress too much on understanding everything, which slows them down in how much content they can consume. Whereas if they learned to rely on context clues, they could surprise themselves at how quickly they could come to understand things naturally.
If you've read any of my reviews on Japanese materials before, I'm definitely a reader who has done a little of everything. I've read intensively (looking up every word), extensively (as the author calls it, where you look up nothing), and in between. I don't discount intensive reading entirely, as the author seems to, as I do think it has its place, but I do think extensive reading is a process overlooked or under-discussed in the language learning community, so there is value in pushing it.
For the actual contents of the book, for each short story, there is a vocab list, quiz, and English translation, in that order. I would recommend readers to go through the story first without looking up anything, (potentially read it twice), then look over the vocab, go back and reread, do the quiz either after reading or after the vocab, then read the English translation. The answer key for the quizzes are in the back of the book, and there are ten stories total.
Each story has a central focused theme, which I think is great, as you get to see similar vocabulary together, and can revisit stories with vocabulary you wish to study. (Medical, food, excercise, etc.) We follow Makoto's life effectively in order after a medical diagnosis, it's very 日常生活 （にちじょうせいかつ）. I do wish the stories were a little more exciting, but given the real-life nature of them and the practical vocabulary, it's hard to complain much there.
The English translations here and there felt a little stiff or awkward. It's obvious they were aiming for a more literal translation, rather than localization, which is fine, but perhaps a little more touching up would've been nice.
The first girl he met from yoga class was Sachiko, who seemed really smart right away. She was a big reader of fiction but not non-fiction. She liked literature and could talk for hours about the novel she was currently reading.
I did appreciate some carry over with some vocabulary and grammar, so you get more instances of them in action in later stories, which is another chance to remember them.
The title and cover on Net Galley (where I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review) differs from Goodreads, where it states it is for intermediate learners, rather than beginners and intermediate. I have to say, that is a welcomed change, as the text in this book is not for beginners. (I do agree with another reviewer, where mentioning the more specific level, such as JLPT or CEFR, would've helped a lot in determining their demographic and attracting learners.)
I would personally place this between N4 and N3, as far as JLPT levels go. So early intermediate. (I was a little surprised to see a more advanced grammar when I read the first story, but the author included it in the vocab list, which was great to see.) Though if you are more advanced with kanji, the furigana may be distracting. The author notes that they purposely made the font size larger there, so I found it annoying myself, but I could see how it could be helpful for those less familiar with kanji.
Honestly, not a bad book. I was a bit disappointed with the ending though. The last story, after all that build up of reading through Makoto's life, just...abruptly stops. I see what they're going for, but it was still a little :/ to read. An additional section of further reading could've been a nice addition too, felt like a missed opportunity there.
Otherwise, it certainly delivers what it promises. If you're looking for more materials to learn from, especially when it comes to reading, and you're at least N4, this could be worth considering.
As a quick aside, the Kindle version I received from Net Galley did not have the bold text in the stories to match the vocab list. Not sure if there was an editing error there, but mentioning it just in case.
September 25, 2022
"Japanese Short Stories for Intermediate Learners" by "Language Guru" delivers exactly what the title promises. However a more accurate title might have been "Practice Reading Japanese with 10 Easily Consumable Episodes of a Typical Salaryman's Life Including Glossaries, Comprehension Questions, and Excellent Language Advice."
I completely agree with the author's premise that reading is an excellent method to develop language skill. People with a good command of any language are typically avid readers. As an educational tool, this book provides an excellent framework for an intermediate student of Japanese that would be well suited for a formal learning environment. Each chapter covers an aspect of the life of Makoto, a typical single male college educated worker at an insurance company. The topics are well chosen to showcase a variety of vocabulary and situations that are stereotypically representative of life in Japan. These include medical care, dieting, food, hobbies, exercise, dating & relationships, work environment, house work, family, and education. The glossary that accompanies each chapter is sufficiently comprehensive that a separate dictionary is unnecessary for the intermediate learner.
The target audience for this book is accurately described as "Intermediate Learners". This book assumes that the learner can read Hiragana, is not afraid of Kanji (But don't worry! All kanji are annotated in Furigana!), and has a decent grasp of Japanese grammar (but here too, some of the grammar is explained in the glossary). In other words, the target is someone who can already read Japanese, but needs some more practice, and could stand to learn more vocabulary. For advanced learners (or even intermediate learners that do not need formal structure), I would suggest reading something a bit more entertaining, perhaps a novel by a Japanese author that writes in a genre that you like.
I thank The Language Guru for kindly providing a temporary electronic copy of this work for review.
I completely agree with the author's premise that reading is an excellent method to develop language skill. People with a good command of any language are typically avid readers. As an educational tool, this book provides an excellent framework for an intermediate student of Japanese that would be well suited for a formal learning environment. Each chapter covers an aspect of the life of Makoto, a typical single male college educated worker at an insurance company. The topics are well chosen to showcase a variety of vocabulary and situations that are stereotypically representative of life in Japan. These include medical care, dieting, food, hobbies, exercise, dating & relationships, work environment, house work, family, and education. The glossary that accompanies each chapter is sufficiently comprehensive that a separate dictionary is unnecessary for the intermediate learner.
The target audience for this book is accurately described as "Intermediate Learners". This book assumes that the learner can read Hiragana, is not afraid of Kanji (But don't worry! All kanji are annotated in Furigana!), and has a decent grasp of Japanese grammar (but here too, some of the grammar is explained in the glossary). In other words, the target is someone who can already read Japanese, but needs some more practice, and could stand to learn more vocabulary. For advanced learners (or even intermediate learners that do not need formal structure), I would suggest reading something a bit more entertaining, perhaps a novel by a Japanese author that writes in a genre that you like.
I thank The Language Guru for kindly providing a temporary electronic copy of this work for review.
August 31, 2022
I am studying Japanesse for 1 year couple years ago. And as beginner we mostly read cute Japanesse children picture books with big hiragana letters and how to read it. This book is similar practice read contains with ten daily topics such as illness and medicine, food, exercise, hobbies, work etc. All stories are written in hiragana, kanji and furigana. Mini dictionary is attached in each story for vocabulary help. There is provided mini quizzes as well.
For me this book is too advance for people who starting learning. The story are short but kanji characters itself need more practice. As beginner learner I will enjoy additional explanation, how to read the hiragana/kanji, and maybe illustration picture to make this book more appealing and standout.
Thank you Netgalley and Language Mastery Publishing for let me read my copy. I am grateful and my thoughts are my own.
For me this book is too advance for people who starting learning. The story are short but kanji characters itself need more practice. As beginner learner I will enjoy additional explanation, how to read the hiragana/kanji, and maybe illustration picture to make this book more appealing and standout.
Thank you Netgalley and Language Mastery Publishing for let me read my copy. I am grateful and my thoughts are my own.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews