Culture

Obama's Speeches Used in Japanese English Classes

by TFleming | January 23, 2009 at 02:47 pm

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English language students in Japan have been using past speeches of Barack Obama to practice their understanding and pronunciation.

In fact, this trend has become so popular that the book they are using, titled "Speeches of Barack Obama", has sold over 420,000 copies since November 20th, taking it to the No. 2 spot in Japan's bestseller list this week.

According to Japanese publisher Asahi Press, it is an "unprecedented huge hit" considering foreign-language publications rarely exceed 20,000 in sales.

Obama's 95-page book consists of several speeches that he has given, including his 2004 convention speech and his victory speech after he beat Hillary Clinton to secure the Democratic nomination.

The language he uses is quite simplistic, which is why his speeches are chosen for English-language students and as long as they take it slow it can become a good tool to learn a new language.

"Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let's face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely," the students at Kaplan Japan school recited together Friday.

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VCollins (not verified)

at 13:32 on January 26th, 2009

How suprising! I never really noticed that Obama's speeches used very simple English but now that I think of it, they do. I think that's part of his overall appeal.