The Japan America Society of Pennsylvania will host its first "Japanese-English Reading Circle" in Shadyside on October 17. An overview, from the event's Facebook page:
Join us for the Japanese-English Reading Circle, a first of its kind reading group!The apartment complex at 401 Shady Ave. (map) has a large number of Japanese residents who work and study in the city, and often hosts cultural events for its international residents. The event on Saturday the 17th runs from 5:00 to 6:30 pm.
Mission: to promote language learning through reading and language exchange. We aim to keep positivity and motivation high while developing reading fluency, vocabulary, content discussion, and reading strategies in a fun, collaborative environment.
How it works:
Members choose what they want to read (we have a library of Japanese and English books)
Members read individually on their own time (meetings are for conversation)
Reading material is generally easier level (to limit looking up vocabulary)
Members usually read for the purposes of pleasure, information, or general understanding (instead of tests/quizzes, we have conversations, discussions, language-related games)
Members read as much as possible (to promote reading fluency)
Meetings: will consist of icebreaker language games, discussions about book topics, questions about language, formation of reading goals, and reading strategy sharing/reflection
Who can join: Japanese learners of English or English-speaking learners of Japanese. Any proficiency level is okay, although it would help to have at least beginner level knowledge of the second language you are studying.
Cost: Free for the first meeting. After that the group will be free for JASP members, with a $5 book deposit to be reimbursed upon return of all borrowed books. Non-members will be $10 +$5 book deposit.