言語教育研究においては、学習者と教師、および学習者間の口頭コミュニケーション活動についての重要性がこれまでも指摘されてきたが、日本の英語教育においても、授業に口頭コミュニケーションを取り入れる必要性が徐々に認識されつつある。本研究では、真正性の高い有意味な言語活動を促進するために作られたタスクの基準(e.g., Ellis, 2003; Ellis & Shintani, 2014)を用いて、中学校教科書に含まれる口頭コミュニケーションを志向 する活動がどのような基準に合致しているかを分析した。そしてその結果をもとに、中学校教科書に含まれている活動をそのまま用いることによって、学習者の言語スキル向上に対して結果が期待できるか、またはできないかについて、第二言語習得研究の研究結果を参照しながら考察した。そして教科書に掲載されている活動の多くは、そのまま用いると 自発的に発話内容を言語化するプロセスを学習者が経験したり、言語習得上有意義な意味交渉が起こったりすることが期待できないことを示唆した。
作成者: Yu Tamura
Nishimura et al (2017)
ライティングによる絵描写タスクを日本語を母語とする英語学習者に課し，その際に用いる文の数に制限をかけることで統語的に複雑な文の産出を誘発し，学習者がどのような節を用いて文を複雑に書こうとするのかを明らかにしようとした論文です。別途行ったエッセイライティング課題をライティングの熟達度として操作的に定義し，熟達度によって用いられる節の数が異なるのかも検討しました。結果として， 文の数が制限されることにより等位節，関係節，非定型節の産出が増え，これらの節は文を複雑にするために学習者がよく用いることが明らかになりました。また，非定型節は熟達度が高くなるほど多く用いられる傾向にありました。これらの結果に基づき，節の数や節の長さなどの指標を用いるのだけではなく，節の種類にも着目することで，学習者のライティングをより詳細に捉えられる可能性について論じました。
Nishimura, Y., Tamura, Y., & Hara, K. (2017). How do Japanese EFL learners elaborate sentences complexly in L2 writing? Focusing on clause types. Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan, 28, 209–224. [Full Article]
Tamura & Nishimura (2016)
名詞の複数形の頻度が高い複数形優位名詞（plural-dominant nouns）と，単数形の頻度が高い単数形優位名詞（singular-dominant nouns）の処理と表象について，日本語訳と絵とのマッチングタスクを用いて検証した論文です。単数形もしくは複数形で刺激語が提示されたのち，日本語訳か絵が提示され，刺激語の表すものと一致しているかを判断するタスクを日本語を母語とする英語学習者に課し，反応時間を比較しました。結果として，日本語訳とのマッチング課題では複数形に対する反応が単数形に対する反応よりも早かったのに対し，絵とのマッチング課題では複数形優位名詞の複数形に対する反応は複数形優位名詞の単数形よりも早いことが示されました。これは，複数形優位名詞の複数形は意味概念への直接的なルートを通るのに対し，複数形優位名詞の単数形はいったん日本語訳を介して意味概念にアクセスしている可能性を示しており，単数形と複数形の頻度の違いにより単語の処理プロセスが異なる可能性を示唆しました。
Tamura, Y. & Nishimura, Y. (2016). L2 word processing of singular- and plural-dominant nouns in English. Journal of the Japan Society for Speech Sciences, 17, 17-37.
Tamura et al. (2016)
第二言語習得研究でこれまで扱われてきた明示的・暗示的知識の定義について，認知心理学の分野での意識的・無意識的知識の定義を参照しながら再考を迫った論文です。これまで，暗示的知識とは母語話者が言語使用に用いるものとされ，「早く，かつ無意識的に」用いられるとされ，一方で明示的知識とは，「遅く，かつ意識的な」知識であるとされていました。この論文では，文法性判断課題ののちに主観的測度を測定し，学習者が文法性判断になんらかの規則を適用したか，または直感による判断かをたずねました。英語のtough構文（e.g., the problem is tough to solve）に焦点をあて，この文法項目に対しては直感による判断であると答えた場合に正答にいたる確率が高く，その際の反応時間は遅くなる傾向にあることが判明しました。つまり，無意識的である知識は必ずしも早く作動するとは限らず，そうした知識を日本語を母語とする英語学習者が獲得している可能性を示唆しました。この結果はこれまでの第二言語習得研究における明示的・暗示的知識の枠組みからは捉えることができず，意識軸とスピード軸が斜交していることを想定することにより学習者の文法知識を捉えることを提案しました。
Tamura, Y., Harada, Y., Kato, D., Hara, K., & Kusanagi, K. (2016). Unconscious but slowly activated grammatical knowledge of Japanese EFL learners: A case of tough movement. Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan, 27, 169–184. [Full Article]
How do Japanese EFL learners elaborate sentences complexly in L2 writing? Focusing on clause types
Syntactic complexity has traditionally been measured by “macro-perspective measures,” which provide a paucity of angles from which to examine how learners actually elaborate a sentence. Mixing up a large variety of clauses with only “the number of clauses” or “subordination ratios” could lead to overlooking desired relationships between complexity and proficiency or task manipulation and linguistic performance. The current study attempted to capture the features of writing syntactically complex sentences through “micro-perspective measures,” such as clause types (main clauses, coordinate clauses, adverbial clauses, relative clauses, complement clauses, and non-finite clauses), and differences in learner proficiency levels. Participants were 28 Japanese EFL learners. Proficiency was operationalized via argumentative essay scores. To elicit syntactic knowledge, we offered the participants a specialized task that restricted the number of sentences in describing a plot consisting of six related illustrations. The results revealed that coordinate clauses, relative clauses, and non-finite clauses are more frequently produced in elaborating syntactic structures, irrespective of the writer’s proficiency level. Our findings also indicated that non-finite clauses are a more practical expedient for proficient learners than less proficient ones. Some pedagogical implications are also discussed.
Nishimura, Y., Tamura, Y., & Hara, K. (2017). How do Japanese EFL learners elaborate sentences complexly in L2 writing? Focusing on clause types. Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan, 28, 209–224. [Full Article]
L2 word processing of singular- and plural-dominant nouns in English
This study explored the word frequency effects of plural and singular nouns in second language (L2) word processing. Although previous studies have pointed out the influence of word frequency in accessing L2 words and their corresponding concepts or the first language (L1) translations (e.g., Habuchi, 2005), they have not taken up the frequency dominance in singular and plural forms as done by Baayen, Dijkstra, and Schreuder (1997). Thus, the present study conducted two types of matching task to investigate the associations linking the L2 word, L1 translation, and the concepts of singular-dominant words (e.g., cat, photo; k = 12) and plural-dominant words (e.g., sock, bean; k = 12) on the basis of the revised hierarchical model (RHM) (Kroll & Stewart, 1994). Thirty-two Japanese learners of English participated in the study. In the experiment, the target L2 words were presented, either in singular or plural forms, on a computer screen followed by either their L1 translation (L1 matching) or a representative picture (picture-matching), and the participants were asked to judge whether the L2 word matched the L1 translation or picture. Reaction times for each trial were recorded and analyzed. The results revealed a significant interaction between the frequency dominance and word form, indicating that singular-dominant words and plural-dominant words were processed differently.
Tamura, Y. & Nishimura, Y. (2016). L2 word processing of singular- and plural-dominant nouns in English. Journal of the Japan Society for Speech Sciences, 17, 17-37.
Unconscious but slowly activated grammatical knowledge of Japanese EFL learners: A case of tough movement
Among foreign language teachers and researchers, it has been widely acknowledged that grammatical knowledge of a foreign language comprises two types of mental storage. One of the two, explicit knowledge, is quite likely linked to adjectives such as “slow” and “conscious,” whereas the other, implicit knowledge, is associated with words such as “fast” and “unconscious.” The present study challenges this conventional and popularized view, by addressing the consciousness and speed dimensions of Japanese EFL learners’ (N = 24) knowledge about tough movement. We conducted a grammaticality judgment task adopting two experimental paradigms: (a) a subjective measure of consciousness known as the meta-knowledge criterion, and (b) response time modeling. The participants judged the grammaticality of the stimuli under the two conditions, (a) control and (b) tough movement, and described their mental state during judgments (explainable vs. intuitive) trial by trial. We analyzed the dynamics among the recorded judgment responses, reaction times, and responses on the subjective measure. The results supported the hypothesis that the consciousness and speed dimensions intersect obliquely. This means that unconscious knowledge does not entail faster grammatical performance. Some pedagogical implications, particularly in light of English grammar teaching in Japan, are also discussed.
Tamura, Y., Harada, Y., Kato, D., Hara, K., & Kusanagi, K. (2016). Unconscious but slowly activated grammatical knowledge of Japanese EFL learners: A case of tough movement. Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan, 27, 169–184. [Full Article]
Tamura (2015)
Fotos (1993)の追行研究として，気づき（noticing）の測定方法に焦点を当てた研究です。Fotosと同様に意識高揚タスク（consciousness-raising task）を用いた文法指導を行い，その後読解中に気づいた箇所に下線を引く課題を行いました。その後，刺激再生法と呼ばれる事後インタビューで，下線を引いた際の思考過程を調査した結果，学習者は単に形式に注意を向けたから下線を引いたとは言い難い結果が得られました。今後の研究では，気づきを様々な角度から調査する必要性があることを示唆しました。
Tamura, Y. (2015). Reinvestigating consciousness-raising grammar task and noticing. JABAET Journal, 19, 19–47.
Foreign Language Grammatical Carefulness Scale: Scale development and its initial validation
This study aimed to develop and validate a scale to measure the Grammatical Carefulness (GC) of foreign language learners. GC, by its definition, refers to psychological, behavioral, and meta-cognitive traits of a learner, and it entails highly controlled, cautious, analytical, and time-consuming language use. By conducting a set of questionnaire surveys targeting Japanese junior high school, high school, and university students (N = 2,288), a Foreign Language Grammatical Carefulness Scale (FLGCS) with 14 items, written in Japanese, was developed and tested for its factorial structure, reliability, convergent, content, and criterion validity. The results demonstrated that FLGCS yields three factors: (a)phonological, (b) lexical-syntactic, and (c) pragmatic carefulness, with a high reliability for each. The factorial validity was also supported by using both xploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further, a set of analyses confirmed various types of validity. The evidence for the validity is as follows: (a) the linguistic experts (n = 10) consistently judged that all the items properly referred to each factor in an appropriate linguistic sense, (b) FLGCS showed correlations with learner beliefs, consistent with theoretical expectations, and (c) FLGCS correlated to the scores of a C-test, and with the time to finish the C-test. The applicability of FLGCS in EFL teaching and research will also be discussed.
Kusanagi, K., Fukuta, J., Kawaguchi, Y., Tamura, Y., Goto, A., Kurita, A., & Murota, D. (2015). Foreign Language Grammatical Carefulness Scale: Scale development and its initial validation. Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan, 26, 77–92.
The notional number attraction in English as a foreign language: A self-paced reading study
The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether or not the notional number attraction phenomenon is evident during L2 learners’ online processing of subject–verb agreement. L2 sentence processing studies have frequently reported the L2 learners’ online insensitivity to number mismatches, and it has been claimed that L2 learners have difficulty in representing grammatical number features, or they have a tendency to fail to access the number features in online tasks. L2 learners’ sensitivity to “notional number”, however, has not been considered by researchers. Hence, this research conducted a self-paced reading study targeting highly proficient Japanese learners of English (N = 28). The participants read the three types of sentences; (a) control (e.g., everyone in the room was/were…), (b) notional attraction (e.g., everyone in the team was/were…), and (c) grammatical attraction (e.g., everyone in the halls was/were…). In order to examine the participants’ sensitivity to number attractions, the differences in the reading times between the number matched and the mismatched verbs (was/were) were compared among the attraction types. The observed reading time differences in the grammatical and notional attraction condition were different than in the control condition, indicating that both attraction phenomena were evident. L2 learners’ imperfect representation of number features, which we call representation vulnerability, was discussed.
Yu Tamura 