Nara (Japanese language and linguistics, U. of Pittsburgh) and Noda (Japanese, Ohio State U.) explore what reading is for Japanese as a language, and how instructors should teach it to students of Japanese. The authors examine the social and cultural dimensions of reading, and the current understanding of the cognitive process of reading and reading in a foreign language with special reference to reading in Japanese. They combine this information to create a concrete set of pedagogical ideas, including techniques and procedures for the design of a reading program, implementation of reading in the classroom, evaluation in reading, selection and development of learning materials, and the use of high technology in developing teaching materials. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)