(でじたる)

digital

(きょうかしょ)

textbook

(つかう)

to use

(がっこう)

school

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(かみ)

paper

(たぶれっと)

tablet

(ぱそこん)

personal computer

(よむ)

to read

(もんぶかがくしょう)

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

(まず)

first of all

(えいご)

English (language)

(さんすう)

arithmetic (school subject)

(はじめる)

to begin, start

(べんり)

convenient

(てん)

point, score

(ある)

a certain (some)

(こえ)

voice

(きく)

to listen, hear

(どうが)

video; moving image

(みる)

to see, watch

(じ)

character, letter

(おおきい)

big; large

(こども)

child

(やくにたつ)

to be useful

(かばん)

bag

(かるい)

light (weight)

(しんぱい)

worry / concern

(ながい)

long

(じかん)

time

(がめん)

screen, display

(め)

eye

(つかれる)

to be tired

(おぼえる)

to remember, memorize

(いけん)

opinion

(りょうほう)

both

(ほうほう)

method; way

(さがす)

to search for; to look for

instead of ~; in place of ~

Attached to a noun with の to say one thing replaces another. The article opens with it to contrast paper textbooks with the digital ones now taking their place.

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

to decide to do ...

Expresses a decision made by someone. Formed with verb plain form + ことにする. Indicates a deliberate choice or resolution.

doing things like A and B

Lists example actions.

can do ..., to be able to ...

Verb dictionary form + ことができる expresses ability or possibility. More formal than the potential verb form. Common in written Japanese and announcements.

because ~ / since ~

Causal connector. Because JA is buying at higher prices, store prices will also rise.

hard to ~; difficult to ~

Attached to a verb stem to describe difficulty — 'people who have difficulty hearing'.

to become (い-adjective)

Expresses a change of state for い-adjectives. Drop the final い and add くなる. Indicates something has changed or will change to a new state.

if / when (natural consequence)

Conditional と indicating a natural or expected result. 一緒に捨てると…火が出て means 'if you throw them away together, fire starts.'

is more / rather

Indicates a preference or comparison; 紙の本のほうが読みやすい means 'paper books are easier to read'.

easy to ~ / tends to ~

Used in 'うつりやすくて' meaning 'easily contagious / easy to catch'.

called/named ~

Used to introduce or name something. In this article, 「鳥貴族」という店 means 'a store called Torikizoku'.

while doing ...

Verb stem + ながら indicates doing two things simultaneously. The action before ながら is the secondary action; the main action follows.

デジタル教科書を使う学校が増える

More schools are using digital textbooks

紙の教科書のかわりに、デジタル教科書を使う学校が増えています。

The number of schools using digital textbooks instead of paper ones is increasing.

タブレットやパソコンで教科書を読みます。

Pupils read their textbooks on tablets and computers.

文部科学省は、まず英語と算数で始めることにしました。

The Ministry of Education has decided to start with English and arithmetic first.

デジタル教科書には便利な点があります。

Digital textbooks have some convenient points.

声を聞いたり、動画を見たりできます。

You can do things like listen to audio and watch videos.

字を大きくすることもできるので、読みにくい子どもにも役に立ちます。

You can also make the letters bigger, so they help children who find reading difficult.

かばんも軽くなります。

School bags become lighter too.

心配な点もあります。

There are worrying points as well.

長い時間画面を見ると、目が疲れます。

If you look at a screen for a long time, your eyes get tired.

紙のほうが覚えやすいという意見もあります。

Some people say that paper is easier to remember things from.

学校は、紙とデジタルの両方を使いながら、いい方法を探しています。

Schools are using both paper and digital while looking for a good approach.