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Do you think manga and anime are good language study tools for children?

16 Comments
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16 Comments
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I think unfortunately the content is not good for children with the oversexualisation. And I say that as an anime fan.

1 ( +16 / -15 )

Yes. I don’t think it should be underestimated how much interesting/entertaining content matters to learning.

Rote reading and memorizing words is ok for introducing or reviewing but it gives little context in the way entertainment does.

It shouldn’t be the only way obviously but reading manga is still reading and watching tv is still listening and seeing context.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

Probably. Back in the day I read the Meitantei Konan [Detective Conan]. It is a pretty painless way to improve vocabulary.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Oh, certainly both are great ways for kids to learn from. When I was young I read comic books and watched cartoons all the time. I learned a lot from them, actually. When I got into manga and anime, the interaction of the characters was more complex and I learned a lot about different kinds of relationships, both good and bad, that I had not had access to before. Kids love comic books and manga and cartoon and anime. Reading comic books and manga required reading and I read quite a lot of both. All four categories expose kids to understanding of human interactions. If a kid is reading that's a great way to learn story telling and grammar. If kids are engaged with these things (and they will be) and like them a lot, which most kids do, they are going to learn.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Definitely yes!!! Now manga and anime are respected but in past century, it was wrongly badly considerated.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

They can be, but also they can hinder a much more productive study using other tools. Not all stories are the same and it is not the same for a beginner to study the language using something like Sazae-san (with a relatively common, simple, every day Japanese) than a show where every character speaks with slang or obscure references (like some that deal with otaku subcultures).

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Still have to follow the ratings, because some manga and anime are not appropriate for children

2 ( +3 / -1 )

It's definitely good as supplementary content. I learned a lot of English from video games and cartoons myself, it's a good way to practice reading and listening.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Obviously it comes with the caveats of choice of manga. My daughter reads One Piece, which is fine. The other caveat is the type of things people say in some manga, are only said in manga, and would sound strange in real life.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Japanese Manga and anime is not good for a language teaching tool because it is difficult to find school age appropriate content. While the level of engagement is high for some students especially with anime, most want to watch in their native tongue not Japanese.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Learning doesn't have to be boring despite many teachers doing their utmost to make it that way. The most effective way to learn a language is constant exposure to it. If done voluntarily, it is even more effective.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I would say yes. My kid goes to the local Saturday morning Japanese school here in the US (where most of his classmates like him have 1 Japanese parent, 1 American parent).

There are some kids in the older classes, family friends, who can't seem to put down manga books in their free time. Those kids have really good Japanese. It seems to give the kids an enthusiasm for the language that goes beyond communicating with grandparents on FaceTime calls and yearly visits and whatnot.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Plot twist.

As a Japanese, I will tell anyone NOT to study from Mangas. Mangas are NOT suitable to learn Japanese, because the real Japanese, or the day to day, even polite Japanese, is totally different from the one in Manga. If you speak like a Manga character, the Japanese peoe might think you as a weirdo, or someone with mental issues, and never be accepted here.

Just a warning unfortunatelly.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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