国際化が進む世界の中で、外国人に日本語を教える「日本語教師」という仕事があるということが、近年社会的にも認知されるようになってきました。私は日本語母語話者の日本語教師として、国内外で10年以上にわたり世界中の日本語学習者に出逢ってきました。今回は私のこれまでの経験から日本語教師の社会的意義や日本の国際化、多文化共生時代において日本語教師が果たす役割についてお話ししたいと思います。
Oct 14
EL本棚紹介(65) Bone, by Jeff Smith
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Bone is an epic adventure in which the three Bone cousins, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone find themselves lost in a mysterious forest valley. The first few episodes are weird and silly: Fone Bone falls in love with a girl called Thorn, and Phoney and Smiley try to cheat the villagers in a cow race. But soon you learn that everything is not all fun and games. There’s something important about the dragon that Fone keeps seeing. Thorn has a secret past. Giant rat creatures have started to attack the village. And an ancient evil is awakening.
This book hits you hard with “next page syndrome”: you think you are finished reading for the day, but you just have to read one more page…then another…then another. You want to know the answer to the mystery. You want to see the conclusion of the adventure. You want to know if they get home safe in the end. You want to know if dragons are really real. Although the whole series is quite long, each episode is short enough to read in one sitting.
My two cents: This book is highly recommended! I have divided it into three volumes to make it easier to borrow.
Jul 22
EL本棚紹介(61) Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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Neil Gaiman, author of Stardust, Coraline, and Dream Hunters (all on the English Lounge bookshelf), is one of the most celebrated fantasy writers in the world today. This book, like Coraline, is very much a fairy tale. There are witches, a unicorn, magic, flying through the sky, goblins, etc. But it is also creative, charming, and quite unique.
Stardust is the story of a Star who has fallen from the sky in a fantasy world. The Star is being chased by several princes (who need her to become king), some witches (who want to eat her heart), and a young man from England (who promised to bring a fallen star to a girl he is in love with). There are many surprises and twists and turns in the story, which keeps it interesting. The language is also not especially difficult.
Stardust was also made into a movie. You can see the trailer here: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4018471193/?playlistId=tt0486655&ref_=tt_pr_ov_vi
My two cents: The movie and the book are quite different. You can learn about Hollywood values by seeing what was changed…but for English practice, I recommend watching the movie first and reading the book second.
Jul 08
EL本棚紹介(57) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
[Welcome to the EL Book Introductions series. These posts are all short (<180 words) introductions/reviews of books in the EL library. They focus on telling you what we think will be interesting for you, a college student and English learner, so use them to help you find the right book for you. You can also use the tags to find books about topics you might be interested in.]
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This is a very silly book. Earth is destroyed because aliens want to build a space highway and Earth is in the way. The President of the Galaxy has two heads and three arms. He rides a flying sofa and is incredibly stupid. And Arthur Dent, the last (maybe) human alive, goes on a crazy space adventure with his best friend Ford Prefect and a spaceship that makes the most mathematically improbable things happen.
Hitchhiker’s Guide is a classic and is the first in a series of very silly books. Like other SF titles, this book is full of weird alien names and cultures, and therefore may be difficult read. Also, there is some British English and a very few cultural references that you may not understand. I often tell students to do “extensive reading”(多読). However, this might be a good book for “close reading” (精読). Choose one chapter or even just a few pages and try to understand 100%. Adams is a skillful writer, and you can learn quality English from reading his work.
My two cents: This book is a cultural “touchstone.” When people mention “the number 42” or “babelfish” you will know what they are talking about!