Tadoku (多読) - Extensive Reading Resources: Home

When you are choosing a book from the library, try to find a book that interests you and is at your reading level.

To find out if a book is at your reading level look at the level (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). If you still are not sure, use the Five Finger Method. To start, count the number of new words you see on the first few pages.

• No new words or only one new word means that the book is too easy.
• Two or three new words means that the book is perfect for you.
• Four new words means that the book is a little hard, but you can try it if the book is interesting.
• Five or more new words means that the book is too hard and you may not enjoy it.

(The Five-Finger Rule taken from the Extensive Reading Foundation).

Extensive reading (what you would think of as leisure reading) differs from intensive reading (what you often do in class). There will no vocabulary lists or grammatical points and you will not be tested on your ability to read aloud fluently. 

Start with books that you can enjoy without using a dictionary. Tadoku has four "golden" rules:

• Start with simple stories
• Read without using a dictionary
• Skip over words you don't understand
• Stop reading if it is boring or difficult and choose another book 

In Japanese: 

1. やさしいレベルから読む
2. 辞書を引かないで読む
3. わからないところは、とばして読む
4. 進まなくなったら、他の本を読む

If you need help to find the right levels of the books to read or want to read more in Japanese, please please don't hesitate to contact me.

(adapted from NPO 多読のはじめかた)  

Watch this video for more information: 多読の読み方

Tadoku (多読) - ‘Ta’ (多) in tadoku means ‘a lot’, and ‘doku’(読) means ‘to read’. Extensive reading can help you gain reading comprehension, reading speed, vocabulary, and writing skills in Japanese.

This guide will help you locate books you may find interesting. Please let me know if you have questions or would like to read more in Japanese.