Teaching Japanese Monologue Speech through “Rakugo” (Japanese traditional comic storytelling)

Introduction. Teaching monologue speech in a foreign language has been one of the key methods for developing foreign language communicative competence. Japanese traditional stories, known as “rakugo” are effective tools for teaching Japanese monologue speech due to their richness in linguistic and cultural information and humorous elements. Purpose. The article aims to explore the potential of Japanese “rakugo” stories as a means of edutainment from linguistic and cultural perspectives. It investigates the mechanisms of comic effects and their effectiveness in forming foreign language communicative competence. Methods. The research includes an analysis of the history of “rakugo” stories, the peculiarities of their structures and elements that create comic effects, and the differences between “rakugo” and the “stand-up comedy” genre. The study also describes the simplified version of rakugo, “kobanashi.” Results and Conclusion. Analyzing Japanese “rakugo” stories from linguistic, cultural, and foreign language teaching methodologies, they are classified as a specific type of monologue speech that includes elements of dialogue/polylogue with an entertaining function. Due to the presence of both Japanese and universal humor elements, “rakugo” stories are considered effective edutainment tools for teaching Japanese to foreign students, since the elements of universal humour contribute to easier comprehension of those. “Kobanashi” is recommended primarily for beginners, while “rakugo” stories are more suitable for intermediate to advanced learners of Japanese.