Journal of Second Language Studies - Volume 6, Issue 2, 2023

We studied the perception of segmental boundaries in native English and Japanese accents in terms of foreign accentedness, intelligibility and discrimination accuracy. Five American English vowels /ɪ, æ, ɑ, ə, ɝ/ and seven consonants /r, l, v, θ, f, t, k/ were extracted from English and Japanese words produced by an American English-Japanese bilingual speaker, and manipulated, with the acoustic properties shifting gradually from 100% Japanese to 100% American English using segmental foreign accent and gradation techniques. Perception tests were conducted online with native American English speakers, and groups of Japanese speakers with either low or high English proficiency. All three groups showed a negative correlation between the degree of foreign accent and intelligibility. Also, there was a greater reduction in intelligibility due to acoustic deviation from the native norm in consonants than in vowels. The results suggest that more standard-like accent does not necessarily improve intelligibility, thus highlighting the importance of FA research in terms of segmental accuracy.

This longitudinal study employed latent growth curve modeling to investigate the development of EFL reading rate in a sample of L1-Japanese adolescents from Grade 9 to 11. It also examined the contributions of four components (word recognition, phonological processing, orthographic processing and vocabulary breadth) to the reading rate with word recognition as a mediator. The growth trajectory was non-linear with steeper gains between Grades 9 and 10 than Grades 10 and 11. The components contributed to the reading rate in complex ways, either directly or through the mediation of word recognition. Although some catching up by slower readers was observed, the advantage the faster readers had at the outset remained after two years, indicating the importance of the achievement levels at early stages for later development.

Drawing on longitudinal data from the perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, I portray how L2 language socialization is promoted by an L2 user’s agency borne out of his Ideal L2 self. This paper first showcases a decade-long longitudinal OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) data set elicited from an L2 Japanese user who speaks Korean as his L1, focusing on the process of affective adverb acquisition observed through transformations in his speech style. Then, employing the Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA), I examine holistically how changes in the use of affective adverbs reflects the L2 user’s language socialization by visualizing his language environment and language awareness chronically, including his own reflections through retrospective interviews.

In order to understand the development of automatization in second language (L2) acquisition and its role in speaking fluency development, 39 English as foreign language (EFL) learners performed a speaking task (subsequently analyzed for utterance fluency) as well as semantic classification (lexical processing measure) and maze (grammar processing measure) tasks at two time points (Time 1 and Time 2) over six months. The findings indicate that learners significantly speeded up their lexical and grammar processing, as reflected in faster reaction time (RT). However, only lexical processing showed a propensity for more stable processing at Time 1, as indicated by coefficient of variance (CV). Furthermore, multiple regression analyses revealed that more automatized grammar processing (faster RT and smaller CV) at Time 1 significantly predicted a larger reduction in mid-clause pause duration and frequency, respectively. These findings underscore the importance of automatization in grammar processing for developing fluency in an EFL context.

The present study examines the acquisition of definite noun phrases (NPs) in L2 English. Both English and Spanish have a definite article, but Japanese lacks articles, though definite anaphoric and definite non-anaphoric are present to some degree through the optional use of sono (the/that). A self-paced reading task was administered to assess real-time processing in the comprehension of different types of definite NPs by L2-English learners. The self-paced reading results show processing of definite NPs is influenced by proficiency level rather than L1 transfer effects. We discuss our findings in reference to the Morphological Congruency Hypothesis and the Lexical Learning/Lexical Transfer model and suggest that our data support the latter but not the former.

The study investigates the L2 acquisition of the Japanese reflexive zibun (self) by Chinese-speaking learners. The aim of the study was to find out whether there are any differences in the interpretation and processing of zibun, a long-distance reflexive that takes as its antecedent only sentential subjects, by native speakers and Chinese learners of Japanese. In the current study, we tested whether subject orientation, a property that Japanese and Chinese reflexives share, affects the processing of zibun. The results from an antecedent identification task show that L2 learners performed somewhat differently from native speakers, showing some preference for a non-subject NP, which is not an antecedent candidate for zibun. In a self-paced reading task, where two possible candidate antecedents could be considered for zibun, L2 learners took longer than native speakers to select an antecedent. We argue that L1-L2 similarity does not guarantee target-like real-time comprehension of zibun in Japanese.