How Comprehension-Based Storytelling Builds Literacy in Beginner Japanese Readers

What happens when Year 2 students are given a brand new Japanese text—with no pre-teaching and no picture cues—and asked to read it cold? In this video, you’ll see them attempt their very first read-through of a longer, unseen text that recycles language from the Boris book. The goal: to see whether students could transfer what they had already acquired to a brand new context.

✨ The result? Remarkably confident reading for such young learners! This experiment shows the power of accessible, recycled language and how comprehension-based, story-rich teaching builds lasting literacy skills—even in the early years.

In the Early Literacy Project, we trialled input-rich, student-centered approaches: co-created stories, personalised Q&A, collaborative reading, and playful language recycling. The result? Students are reading more, enjoying it, and discovering that reading can be joyful.

I had the privilege of sharing this work at the National 2025 AFMLTA Conference in Adelaide. For those who couldn’t attend, the full recording is accessible here to explore the approach in action.