The newly revised edition of English textbook “World Trek English Communication I” (intended to teach English to Japanese students) will feature renowned KyoAni heroine Haruhi Suzumiya, bound to be regarded as an effective motivator for young anime fans whilst confusing those unfamiliar with the fictional girl.
The textbook will be available to first year Japanese students of the new school year starting April 1st and will boast a reading section based on the Haruhi series, however this 6-hour reading is slated for near the end of the school year and will likely serve as the most difficult content in the book.
While the concept of anime characters being used to teach students about important issues or to maintain their interest is nothing new, some are wondering if Haruhi’s popularity will be able to reach that of a certain famed English teacher…
I wish they had this but with Bill O’Reilly as the guide
While I agree, he’s an old white dude with zero relations to the Japanese aside from that one book.
He wouldn’t increase appeal to learn
Have they still not figured out, that you cannot learn a language through a book?
It’s for beginners. Not meant to make you a master at the language.
Doesn’t really change anything. You can learn any language you wish in 6 months (with an hour per day investment) if you do it right and using language books is doing it wrong.
It would be pretty neat if it were released online in some form. I could see it being used as a study aid for those learning japanese.
If they use Haruhisky’s artwork, they might be on to something . . .
Does the textbook use the same English translation as the Yen Press version or has it been simplified a bit for Japanese teens?
Replying to myself, I’m looking at the Yen Press version and the textbook version seems to have used the Yen Press translation as a starting point but it’s a bit more concise compared to the same paragraph in the image.
Yen Press: “Apparently, it was decided at some point that the seating order was to be changed every month. Class President Ryoko Asakura went around with a cookie tin of quadruple-folded pieces of paper to be drawn. I drew a quite-excellent seat next to the window facing the courtyard, second from the back of the room. And as for the person in the seat behind me, I don’t know how it happened, but Haruhi Suzumiya sat behind me looking like she was suffering a cavity.”
There are a number of differences, most notably how the paragraph in the textbook omits mention of Ryoko Asakura, almost like she’s been erased before she even gets erased by Nagato.
” the textbook version seems to have used the Yen Press translation as a starting point but it’s a bit more concise compared to the same paragraph in the image.”
Sorry, I meant to say that the textbook version in the image is a bit more concise compared to the same paragraph in the Yen Press version.