4 visual novels for learning English
Gameplay in learning English has been successfully used for a long time and teachers are looking for new opportunities to improve it.
A visual novel is something between a computer game and a classic book. In fact, this is an interactive story, which is based on the text, but for the convenience of perception, the reader is shown pictures of characters and locations.
It is because of the emphasis on the text that visual novels are considered to be a great way to learn foreign languages. But there are a few nuances.
Many visual novels allow the reader to influence the plot through the choice of answers in dialogs. And these choices directly affect the outcome of the game - the developers provide for individual endings that vary depending on the choices.
The beauty of visual novels to learn English is that you manually control the text. That is, the paragraph will be on the screen until you read it. If necessary, you can sit on a replica for 10 or 20 minutes in order to understand all its nuances and subtext - the mechanics of visual novels allow it.
We picked up several popular visual stories with excellent translation that will help you to improve your English.
Novella, which tells about the life of a Japanese teenager Tomoy Okazaki. His mother died and the boy lives with his father. Relations with him do not go well, so the schoolchild prefers to disappear from morning to evening anywhere, just not at home.
But there are changes in Tomoi’s life after he meets a little strange girl named Nagisa.
At first glance, the game looks like a banal dating simulator. Actually, this is what scares many adult readers. But it is necessary to wade through the first 1.5-2 hours, as the game opens up new facets of the characters of the characters and surprises with the plot.
The original game was released in Japan in 2004 and immediately became a cult. For her, they wrote the manga, shot a full-length film and a small anime series on 24 episodes. However, only in 2014, Kickstarter received a fundraiser for the creation of the English localization.
In the first 24 hours, the project raised $ 140,000, which was almost half the amount required. As a result, the campaign raised over $ 540,000, almost double the limits set. The translation was handled by the Sekai Project studio, which professionally deals with the localization of computer games from Japanese to English, so the quality of the translation was excellent.
An example of dialogue in the story:
Speech and vocabulary is quite simple, so EnglishDom teachers recommend the novella to students with an Intermediate and higher level of knowledge. At the same time, it can be read by students with Pre-Intermediate without any special problems - in some cases you will have to open a dictionary, but on the whole everything will be clear.
A little about the scale of the story. To go through all of her endings, it takes about 100 hours of unhurried reading.
To be honest, none of our teachers could reach the very end and get a true ending, despite the interesting plot and sincere empathy for the heroes. But you should definitely try the game.
“Song of Sayi” is a cult Japanese visual novel in the horror genre. Frankly, it comes well only to fans of the genre. The rest even try it is not worth it. Although the story is extremely atmospheric and bright - there are very few such visual stories. And the drawing is impressive - the artists did their best.
The main character is a medical student named Sakisaka Fuminori, who, after a car accident, began to see the world completely different from what it really is. Now all people seem to him disgusting monsters, and all the objects around are woven of meat.
But one fine moment in his life appears a girl who looks like an ordinary pretty girl, and not like a monster. And from that moment on, his life changes abruptly. And not only his own fate depends on the decisions of the hero.
The novel is very specific, but this is its charm. She perfectly combines Lovecraft-like horrors, an excellent detective story and a powerful emotional component that makes you even empathize with negative heroes.
In 2009, a fan translation of the novel was released, and there were a lot of mistakes and inaccuracies in it. And only in 2013 the professional studio JAST USA brought the translation to mind. Now the story is nice to pass, and it causes the readers exactly the emotions that should cause.
An example of the text of the story:
The language is quite simple, but to understand the context and individual phrases will have to delve into the Internet. In principle, this does not interfere with the general understanding of the story, but if you are reading a novel to upgrade English, you will have to work.
Actually, this is why we recommend it to students with an Intermediate or higher level.
Important! Novella has a rating of 18+ due to the presence of scenes of violence and sex scenes. But they competently fit into the plot and occupy only a small part of the story.
“Song of Saya” is considered a short story - it has only 3 endings, and its complete passage will take only 5-7 hours. So it can be completely mastered in a few evenings.
“When cicadas cry” is a whole series of visual stories about “an ordinary Japanese schoolchild”, which falls under completely unusual circumstances. This is such a popular beginning for Japanese manga and anime, that the phrase has already become a household name. We will look here at the first two parts of the series, which form a complete story.
The main character is Keiichi Maebara, who recently moved to a small village and has to go to a small village school. He meets some girls there and generally has a good time with them. But gradually the guy learns that the history of the village and its inhabitants is far from being as simple and naive as it may seem at first glance - the schoolboy discovers secrets that he would prefer not to recognize.
The game is quite long. A total of 8 chapters in two parts, and the first 4 in essence reveal the characters of the characters, describe the history of the place. In the same place, the main mysterious start of the story takes place. The following 4 chapters provide answers to questions and tell the story in full. And we guarantee you that it is much, much more deeply than it might seem at first.
“When cicadas cry” does not provide the reader with choices in the dialogue. You will not be able to influence the plot. Rather, it is a book with visual and sound design, but it even increases its value as a work of art.
What is interesting, in the novel very coolly they explain the features of Japanese culture or information from the game world - as you read, small dialogues with characters open, in which all the nuances are discussed. Dialogues are available separately from the main plot.
Sample text from the novel:
The story is very big. Each chapter (and their 8) takes from 10 to 25 hours of thoughtful reading. Therefore, the entire novelty will take about 150 hours - it all depends on the level of the language and the speed of reading. But believe me, it's worth it.
Excellent visual story from domestic developers. In general, it is almost a unique game, because there are very few good visual stories from the post-Soviet countries.
The game tells about an ordinary guy Semen, who by chance and with the help of 410 buses moved from our time to the end of the 90s and got into the strange owlet camp "Owlet". There he will have to stay exactly one week, unravel his secret camp and get to know the pretty pioneers.
The novella is built on the relationship between the main character and the girls. At the same time, the variability is quite high - the reader can quite strongly influence the plot through the choice of replicas in the dialogues. But “Endless Summer” is not a dating simulator. As you progress through the reader learns new details about the game world, and the story takes on a mystical hue.
Initially, translation into English was done by volunteers. Naturally, such localization was far from ideal. Neyvy, who liked the game, helped in proofreading and improvement.
If we take into account that the novel was fully developed by a team of enthusiasts who in fact had no experience in this, the result was very, very worthy. The final version in English is also good. It is noteworthy that, on the initiative of the netivs, the developers added explanatory textual dice to individual moments of pioneering life or references to popular films or stories that English-speaking readers cannot know.
Example text in the story:
The vocabulary is quite simple, but in some cases, the neyty completely reworked the dialogues so that they sounded more natural, so the complexity of the perception of the text will jump - from very easy to "need to think." To understand the text and context of the Intermediate level will be enough, but to understand all the nuances of the story, you need a minimum of Upper-Intermediate.
Visual novels are a great tool for learning a language. And of course, we could not list here all the good games in this style. Otherwise, the article would have been very heavy. These 4 stories are a subjective choice of our team of teachers who advise them most often.
If you have in mind the visual novels in English or in English localization, which came to you personally - write them in the comments. Perhaps we will create a separate note, where we describe them all.
And for learners of English we emphasize separately that visual novels are excellent as an additional learning tool. But it must be used together with the classical classes.
→ Crank in English on online courses from EnglishDom.com
According to the link - 2 months of premium subscription for all courses as a gift.
→ For live communication - choose individual training via Skype with a teacher.
The first trial lesson is free, register here . The promo code goodhabr2 - 2 lessons as a gift when buying from 10 lessons. The bonus is valid until 05/31/19.
A visual novel is something between a computer game and a classic book. In fact, this is an interactive story, which is based on the text, but for the convenience of perception, the reader is shown pictures of characters and locations.
It is because of the emphasis on the text that visual novels are considered to be a great way to learn foreign languages. But there are a few nuances.
- First, most visual novels are created in Japan. Naturally, in Japanese. If you learn Japanese - rejoice and use. But to learn English you need to pay attention to the localization - they do not always turn out good.
- Secondly, if the localization was successful, then it is doubly good. Indeed, when translating localizers very rarely use complex or little-used constructions and vocabulary, limited to the well-known. Therefore, almost all good stories can be read with the level of English Intermediate and Upper-Intermediate.
Many visual novels allow the reader to influence the plot through the choice of answers in dialogs. And these choices directly affect the outcome of the game - the developers provide for individual endings that vary depending on the choices.
The beauty of visual novels to learn English is that you manually control the text. That is, the paragraph will be on the screen until you read it. If necessary, you can sit on a replica for 10 or 20 minutes in order to understand all its nuances and subtext - the mechanics of visual novels allow it.
We picked up several popular visual stories with excellent translation that will help you to improve your English.
Klannad
Novella, which tells about the life of a Japanese teenager Tomoy Okazaki. His mother died and the boy lives with his father. Relations with him do not go well, so the schoolchild prefers to disappear from morning to evening anywhere, just not at home.
But there are changes in Tomoi’s life after he meets a little strange girl named Nagisa.
At first glance, the game looks like a banal dating simulator. Actually, this is what scares many adult readers. But it is necessary to wade through the first 1.5-2 hours, as the game opens up new facets of the characters of the characters and surprises with the plot.
The original game was released in Japan in 2004 and immediately became a cult. For her, they wrote the manga, shot a full-length film and a small anime series on 24 episodes. However, only in 2014, Kickstarter received a fundraiser for the creation of the English localization.
In the first 24 hours, the project raised $ 140,000, which was almost half the amount required. As a result, the campaign raised over $ 540,000, almost double the limits set. The translation was handled by the Sekai Project studio, which professionally deals with the localization of computer games from Japanese to English, so the quality of the translation was excellent.
An example of dialogue in the story:
Tomoya: I hate this town. It's too filled with memories. I go to school every day, hang out with my friends, and then I go home. There's no place I'd rather go ever again. I wonder if anything will ever change? Will that day ever come?Interestingly, localizers explain certain points that may be incomprehensible to readers. For example, in a separate window reveal the meaning of the word "Anpan" - and it becomes clear that this is a kind of Japanese pie.
Nagisa: Anpan! Do you like this school? I have to say that I love it very, very much. But soon everything changes. Well, at least it eventually.
Tomoya: I don’t know ... She’s not talking to me ...
Nagisa: Fun things ... Happy things ... They'll all ... They'll all eventually you know? But can you still love this place?
Tomoya: Just go and find more. Find all fun and happy things. It's not so hard. Come on, let's go. And so we begin ... A long, long upward climb ...
Speech and vocabulary is quite simple, so EnglishDom teachers recommend the novella to students with an Intermediate and higher level of knowledge. At the same time, it can be read by students with Pre-Intermediate without any special problems - in some cases you will have to open a dictionary, but on the whole everything will be clear.
A little about the scale of the story. To go through all of her endings, it takes about 100 hours of unhurried reading.
To be honest, none of our teachers could reach the very end and get a true ending, despite the interesting plot and sincere empathy for the heroes. But you should definitely try the game.
Saya no uta
“Song of Sayi” is a cult Japanese visual novel in the horror genre. Frankly, it comes well only to fans of the genre. The rest even try it is not worth it. Although the story is extremely atmospheric and bright - there are very few such visual stories. And the drawing is impressive - the artists did their best.
The main character is a medical student named Sakisaka Fuminori, who, after a car accident, began to see the world completely different from what it really is. Now all people seem to him disgusting monsters, and all the objects around are woven of meat.
But one fine moment in his life appears a girl who looks like an ordinary pretty girl, and not like a monster. And from that moment on, his life changes abruptly. And not only his own fate depends on the decisions of the hero.
The novel is very specific, but this is its charm. She perfectly combines Lovecraft-like horrors, an excellent detective story and a powerful emotional component that makes you even empathize with negative heroes.
In 2009, a fan translation of the novel was released, and there were a lot of mistakes and inaccuracies in it. And only in 2013 the professional studio JAST USA brought the translation to mind. Now the story is nice to pass, and it causes the readers exactly the emotions that should cause.
An example of the text of the story:
The language is quite simple, but to understand the context and individual phrases will have to delve into the Internet. In principle, this does not interfere with the general understanding of the story, but if you are reading a novel to upgrade English, you will have to work.
Actually, this is why we recommend it to students with an Intermediate or higher level.
Important! Novella has a rating of 18+ due to the presence of scenes of violence and sex scenes. But they competently fit into the plot and occupy only a small part of the story.
“Song of Saya” is considered a short story - it has only 3 endings, and its complete passage will take only 5-7 hours. So it can be completely mastered in a few evenings.
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
“When cicadas cry” is a whole series of visual stories about “an ordinary Japanese schoolchild”, which falls under completely unusual circumstances. This is such a popular beginning for Japanese manga and anime, that the phrase has already become a household name. We will look here at the first two parts of the series, which form a complete story.
The main character is Keiichi Maebara, who recently moved to a small village and has to go to a small village school. He meets some girls there and generally has a good time with them. But gradually the guy learns that the history of the village and its inhabitants is far from being as simple and naive as it may seem at first glance - the schoolboy discovers secrets that he would prefer not to recognize.
The game is quite long. A total of 8 chapters in two parts, and the first 4 in essence reveal the characters of the characters, describe the history of the place. In the same place, the main mysterious start of the story takes place. The following 4 chapters provide answers to questions and tell the story in full. And we guarantee you that it is much, much more deeply than it might seem at first.
“When cicadas cry” does not provide the reader with choices in the dialogue. You will not be able to influence the plot. Rather, it is a book with visual and sound design, but it even increases its value as a work of art.
What is interesting, in the novel very coolly they explain the features of Japanese culture or information from the game world - as you read, small dialogues with characters open, in which all the nuances are discussed. Dialogues are available separately from the main plot.
Sample text from the novel:
[Keiichi Rena is following him.]The language is quite accessible. There are no complicated constructions and little-used words - everything is clear to the maximum, but at the same time emotionally. Novel can be read by students, starting at the Pre-Intermediate level.
Keiichi: What do you want?
Rena: Um ... Nothing ... Um ...
Keiichi: What happened to the club, huh?
Rena: Well ... I ... I was worried about you ... So I ...
Keiichi: Don't follow me anymore. I said don't follow me!
Rena: But Keiichi, I have to go this way. My house is over there.
Keiichi: Then go ahead of me. [Walks to the side] You go first and then I'll go.
Rena: Keiichi, I just wanted to-
Keiichi: Hurry up and go! Now!
Rena: Um ... I will, but ... Please put that bat down first. You're scaring me.
Keiichi: Keep on walking!
The story is very big. Each chapter (and their 8) takes from 10 to 25 hours of thoughtful reading. Therefore, the entire novelty will take about 150 hours - it all depends on the level of the language and the speed of reading. But believe me, it's worth it.
Endless summer
Excellent visual story from domestic developers. In general, it is almost a unique game, because there are very few good visual stories from the post-Soviet countries.
The game tells about an ordinary guy Semen, who by chance and with the help of 410 buses moved from our time to the end of the 90s and got into the strange owlet camp "Owlet". There he will have to stay exactly one week, unravel his secret camp and get to know the pretty pioneers.
The novella is built on the relationship between the main character and the girls. At the same time, the variability is quite high - the reader can quite strongly influence the plot through the choice of replicas in the dialogues. But “Endless Summer” is not a dating simulator. As you progress through the reader learns new details about the game world, and the story takes on a mystical hue.
Initially, translation into English was done by volunteers. Naturally, such localization was far from ideal. Neyvy, who liked the game, helped in proofreading and improvement.
If we take into account that the novel was fully developed by a team of enthusiasts who in fact had no experience in this, the result was very, very worthy. The final version in English is also good. It is noteworthy that, on the initiative of the netivs, the developers added explanatory textual dice to individual moments of pioneering life or references to popular films or stories that English-speaking readers cannot know.
Example text in the story:
The vocabulary is quite simple, but in some cases, the neyty completely reworked the dialogues so that they sounded more natural, so the complexity of the perception of the text will jump - from very easy to "need to think." To understand the text and context of the Intermediate level will be enough, but to understand all the nuances of the story, you need a minimum of Upper-Intermediate.
Instead of conclusions
Visual novels are a great tool for learning a language. And of course, we could not list here all the good games in this style. Otherwise, the article would have been very heavy. These 4 stories are a subjective choice of our team of teachers who advise them most often.
If you have in mind the visual novels in English or in English localization, which came to you personally - write them in the comments. Perhaps we will create a separate note, where we describe them all.
And for learners of English we emphasize separately that visual novels are excellent as an additional learning tool. But it must be used together with the classical classes.
EnglishDom.com - online English learning platform
→ Crank in English on online courses from EnglishDom.com
According to the link - 2 months of premium subscription for all courses as a gift.
→ For live communication - choose individual training via Skype with a teacher.
The first trial lesson is free, register here . The promo code goodhabr2 - 2 lessons as a gift when buying from 10 lessons. The bonus is valid until 05/31/19.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/437480/