Learners Decide What They Read

A Japanese Reading Course Grounded in Interactive Dialogue and Asking Students What They Understand and Think

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to reconsider the teacherʼs role in Japanese reading courses by presenting a Japanese reading course design, in which learners decide what they read in the course while the teacher supports their reading process, and to analyze what the students learn, and the catalysts for what they are learning. This course asked learners to engage in three interactive dialogues: with themselves, others, and the content of the books themselves. While they did so, learnersʼ relationships with the dialogues were retextured, based on what they learned. From the results of a task sheet description analysis, the researcher found concepts which emerged during the process and as a result of the lessons, and these concepts demonstrated what was unique about the lessons in this course. The following three considerations came from this analysis. First, these concepts were brought about by these dialogues. Secondly, some of these concepts arose because learners chose the books themselves. Finally, asking learners to engage in reflection via task sheets, and having dialogues with peers and their teacher, affects the learning process. Learners who would prefer teacher-directed book assignments may be attracted to a course where they have dialogues with others, which engages them in learning. This paper points out that by choosing what they read for themselves, it is possible for learners to have deep dialogues with the books, and reflect on their beliefs and way of thinking. During the reading process, it is important for teachers to ask learners about the books: what they understand, and what they think about what they have read.