Sharon Domier's blog

Tadoku ?? is the Japanese term for extensive reading. A very direct translation for the Japanese characters is to read a lot, and that is what we want anyone who is learning a language to do. Read a lot at a level that is comfortable to you. Read at a level where you understand the content, where you don’t have to try to translate it in your brain before you can understand it or have to look words up in a dictionary, and where you are willing and able to enjoy it even if you are tired.

There are a set of guiding principles for Extensive Reading.
Read a lot
Read regularly
Read a range of materials
Read for the story not for the grammar or vocabulary
Read on your own

The extensive reading movement has really started gaining traction with Japanese language instructors, thanks to the pioneering efforts of Prof. Kumagai at USC, Prof. Inabusa at the University of Notre Dame, and the strong leadership of Awano Sensei from the NPO Tadoku Organization. The NPO Tadoku’s website is here: https://tadoku.org/japanese/

Tadoku really started taking off in 2015 and I can’t imagine that there are any Japanese language instructors in colleges and universities who haven’t heard of it and tried a variation of it – whether through in-class assignments, extra credits, clubs, or credit courses. UMass Amherst has had a 1 credit course offered since 2014, and it was actually conceived as an experiment for a master’s thesis that proved so popular that the students petitioned to have it continue. The way the course operates has changed over time, but the fundamental purpose of tadoku – providing students with the time, appropriate reading materials, and moral support – remains the same.