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- Volume 15, Issue, 1998
Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. Supplement Series - Volume 15, Issue 1, 1998
Volume 15, Issue 1, 1998
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The teaching and learning of Japanese in Australian universities
Author(s): Nicolette Bramley and Naoko Hanamurapp.: 1–10 (10)More Less今回の号では、オーストラリアにおける大学レベルの日本語教 育に関する研究を特集する。本稿では、まず、日本語教育の歴 史的背景と日本語応用言語学研究の現状について概観し、次 に、本特集で取り上げた各論文を紹介する。
オーストラリアの大学における日本語教育は、1960年代に いくつかの大学を中心に始ま旬、1970年代後半までには約半数 の大学で日本語のコースが設けられた。1980年代後半には、日 本語コースを新たに開講する大学の数の増加に伴って、学宵者 の数も著しい伸びを見せ、日本語は外国語の中で最も多く教え られ、また学ばれる言語となった。このような日本語教育の発 展には、日豪間の経済関係が大きな要因として挙げられる。そ の後1990年代に入η、日本経済の停滞に直面して、--> n幸 の''Tsunarni'' と呼ばれたような日本語ブームは下火になっ た。しかし、現在もなお、38大学のほとんどで日本語のコース が開講されるなど、日本語が引き続き、オーストラリアにおい て、主要な外国語の一つであることに変わりはないと言えよ つ。
そんな中、1994年に豪州政府審議会よ旬、1996年から全豪 の小学校にアジア四言語(中国語・日本語・インドネシア語・ 韓国語)の教育を導入することが勧告され、連邦政府と各州教 育省はこれを受けて、2006年までに、3年生から10年生までの 全ての生徒の60%と、12年生の15%がアジア四言語のどれかを 学習するという言語政策をうち立てた。このような初等・中等 教育に対する政府の言語教育計画は、今後、大学における日本 語教育をさらに拡大・発展させることにつながるであろうO
日本語教授法も、従来のオーテ守イオリンガルから、コミュ ニカティブ・アブローチ、シチュヱーショナル・ファンケショ ナル・アブローチなどを基本にした教授法や、インターアクシ ョンを重視したシラパスが導入されるなど、コミュニケーショ ン能力の養成が主眼におかれるようになってきた。また、ここ 数年、コンビュータやサテライトを駆使したプログラムを開発 し授業に活かしている大学も増え続け、二十一世紀へ向けて、 日本語教育におけるマルチメディアの利用も、着実に進歩を遂 げつつある。
現在、オーストラリアにおける大多数の大学で日本語応用 言語学の研究がなされており、日本語教育関係者は日々研績を 積んでいる。その研究内容も様々な分野に及び、JSMやALAA などの大会が、それらの研究の発表の場となっている。教材や 教授法を開発するためにも、そして、より効果的な授業をする ためにも、研究は欠かせないものであり、また、研究の成果を 実際の教育の場に反映させることは、今後ますます重要になっ てくるであろう。
今回の特集には、言語使用・言語習得・学習ストラテジー・ 教育環境・「文化」の捉え方・教師の言語的知覚など、実に多 岐にわたる論文が寄せられた。いずれも、日本語教育関係者が 忙しい授業の合間をぬってまとめたものであ旬、これら日頃の 研究の成果が、オーストラリアでの日本語応用言語学の発展に 貢献することを願ってやまない。
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Knowledge of gendered sentence-final forms in Japanese as a second language
Author(s): Hirofumi Asada and Michael Harringtonpp.: 11–28 (18)More LessThis study examines the use of gendered sentence-final forms by learners of Japanese as a second language (JSL). Sentence-final forms (SFF) like wa, zo, kashira, etc., are pervasive in Japanese speech, and serve to signal agreement or empathy with the interlocutor and to maintain the ongoing discourse. Although these forms carry no syntactic or semantic meaning, they serve a range of pragmatic functions, including that of marking gender, which is an important distinction in Japanese. In this study the receptive and productive knowledge of gendered forms by advanced JSL learners is examined. Results from a recognition test and an analysis of oral speech samples produced by JSL learners are compared with those of a control group of native Japanese speakers. Three findings emerged. 1) The advanced JSL learners consistently used the same sentence-final forms, which were far fewer in number than those used native speaker counterparts. 2) No clear-cut male-female differences emerged in either language group for most of the forms studied. 3) The productive and receptive responses for both groups differed from traditional classifications of the forms. The implications of the results for JSL pedagogy are discussed.
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Teaching telephone closings in Japanese
Author(s): Naoko Hanamurapp.: 29–56 (28)More LessThis paper aims to examine the ways in which communicative approach is reflected in the content of Japanese language textbooks used for the tertiary level in Australia. It does this by comparing examples of telephone closings in Japanese with the features and mechanisms of actual telephone closings in Japanese based on Conversation Analysis, using naturally occurring data. The textbooks examined were found to ignore the potential to reflect cultural differences in telephone conversations between languages. First of all, compared to conversational openings, telephone closings were largely disregarded or overlooked. Secondly, a lack of variations in settings and terminal expressions were noticed, and thirdly there was a gap between the picture presented by the textbooks and actual conversations in the ways in which participants negotiate closings. Taking the importance of exposing learners to authentic materials into consideration, implications for ways of incorporating authentic telephone closings into textbooks and teaching are also suggested.
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Referential choice in foreigner talk and in learners’ speech in Japanese
Author(s): Satomi Kawaguchipp.: 57–76 (20)More LessThis study of referential choice by Japanese native speakers and learners of Japanese has revealed some significant features in three different types of speech: 1) NS (native speaker)-NS interaction; 2) FT (foreigner talk) and; 3) NNSs’ (non-native speakers’) speech production. The study revealed that both NS in FT and NNS simplified their referential choices. It demonstrates, moreover, that the development of referential choice by NNS correlates with their acquisition of syntax. This experiment was conducted to determine the underlying mechanism for referential choice. The results indicate that potential ambiguity and attention/focus shift affected the referential choices for both NS and NNS of Japanese. Excessive use of both full NPs and ellipsis were observed in NNS speech; by contrast only excessive use of full NPs was observed in FT. This may be explained in terms of the different underlying mechanisms for referential choice used by NS and NNS: different cognitive orientations in the use of two principles of speech production: 1) the clarity principle; and 2) the information economy principle (Williams 1988). Furthermore, the development of use of full NP and ellipsis by NNS varied according to their level of syntactic development.
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A study of Japanese back channels
Author(s): Duck-Young Lee and Chiharu Mukaipp.: 77–92 (16)More LessThis study presents findings from an analysis of the conversational data involving the Japanese back channel with special attention to the comparison of back channel behaviour between Japanese native speakers and Japanese learners at an advanced level. While the analysis is based on four aspects of the back channel (i.e. form, frequency, location and function), the study reveals that native speakers and Japanese learners show significant differences particularly in the locational and functional aspects. There were also trends that the native speaker tends to use back channels in a way of supporting and encouraging the learner to participate in the conversation.
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The study of culture in Japanese
Author(s): Yuriko Nagatapp.: 93–104 (12)More LessFor many years the study of culture in Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) has relied on a teacher-centred, prescriptive approach introducing cultural characteristics and facts about Japan. Most syllabuses used in JFL programs in Australian universities have cultural, as well as linguistic aims. However, objectives for cultural studies are harder to define than for linguistic studies and are generally treated as something extra, or detachable. The study of Japanese culture and society is regarded as the responsibility of Japanese Studies (JS) and there has been little integration of the two. However, as awareness about the nature of language studies grows, there is a concomitant need for JFL to shift educational focus to more interactive, cross-cultural participation. This paper explores an alternative approach to the study of culture in JFL, with particular attention to material and topics.
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Returning to the homeland
Author(s): Sachiko Noguchipp.: 105–122 (18)More LessResearch on the issues of the learners of Japanese outside Japan has increased with the expansion of Japanese language teaching worldwide, but research on those who teach them has received less attention. This paper focuses on one of the issues which Japanese instructors overseas face, in particular, that of native speakers. An individual’s competence in his/her first language in a foreign environment changes over time. The changes become more obvious when first language speakers find themselves in their own country after spending some considerable time overseas. In this study the speakers of the first language were thirteen native speaker instructors teaching at tertiary institutions in Australia. They were interviewed while on a visit to Japan regarding their communication skills in Japan both at the linguistic and non-linguistic levels. The results of the study show a wide range of changes observed; some features are common to many of these instructors while other changes are not. Changes in reading, writing, speaking and listening skills are reported. Associated aspects include skills for determining politeness levels. Non-linguistic features include socio-cultural aspects of Japanese society such as gift-giving customs, and appropriate dress. These changes in communication skills were detected and evaluated by the speakers themselves based on their own encounters while in Japan. The implications for their role as language instructors outside Japan are also discussed.
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Impact of an interaction-oriented Japanese course on learners
Author(s): Kyoko Ogawapp.: 123–138 (16)More LessNeustupny (1988, 1991) recommended an interactive competence approach for second language acquisition that places a greater emphasis on learners’ active interaction with native speakers in real communicative situations. In order to have the opportunity to interact with native speakers in the target language, a conscious effort by the learners as well as support from the teachers and the community is essential. The third-year Japanese course at Monash University was designed to encourage and support learners to establish and maintain relationships with Japanese people as well as to utilise various other resources of the target language and culture. This paper examines the impact of this interaction-oriented course on learners in their establishment and maintenance of relationships with Japanese people, and cultural and social understanding. It is based on data collected during 1996 and 1997.
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Listening strategies used by adult learners of Japanese to comprehend satellite television programs
Author(s): Kyoko Seo and Marilyn McMenimanpp.: 139–154 (16)More LessThis paper identifies listening comprehension strategies from the perspective of cognitive psychology, with a focus on the experience of Australian learners of Japanese as a foreign language (L2). In this study, a listening strategy is conceptualised as a mental operation undertaken by a learner to solve a listening comprehension problem in a non-interactional situation. Reading researchers in L2 identified one of the variables which affects text comprehension as formal schema or discourse organisation of text (Meyer and Freedle, 1984; Carrell and Eisterhold, 1988; Carrell, 1991). However, this variable has not been the subject of intensive and extensive research in L2 listening and consequently, there is little empirical evidence which has explored this important variable. With the increased availability of media technology, satellite programs offer rich content and have the potential to provide such information. This paper investigates how news and drama texts may affect the choice of listener strategies, and discusses how the strategies selected by listeners relate to L2 learners’ language proficiency. To collect data on strategies, an introspective ‘think-aloud’ procedure is used and the results are analysed quantitatively.
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Teaching Kanji by focusing on learners’ development of graphemic awareness
Author(s): Etsuko Toyodapp.: 155–168 (14)More LessIt has been widely claimed that Kanji is one of the most difficult aspects of Japanese language learning for learners with alphabetic language backgrounds. There are various techniques devised by teachers to teach Kanji effectively. However, given variables such as individual differences, none of these techniques can be a single perfect technique. In this paper, how learners process Kanji is analysed, then based on the findings of the analysis, techniques for teaching Kanji are classified into four categories for developing learners’ proper processing skills. The four categories are: 1) techniques to eliminate learners’ anxiety, 2) techniques to familiarise learners with Kanji, 3) techniques to store Kanji in long-term memory, and 4) techniques to restructure learners’ schema. The paper suggests 1) that learners need to have appropriate graphemic awareness to process Kanji, and 2) that techniques from each category should be implemented in teaching to facilitate the development of proper processing skills.
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Vocabulary acquisition by advanced learners
Author(s): Mariko Yoshikawapp.: 169–182 (14)More LessThis paper looks at the acquisition of the vocabulary used in daily conversation by advanced level English speaking learners of Japanese language. Five factors which were found to affect learners’ acquisition are discussed. The aim of this paper is to discuss lexical errors made by advanced learners of Japanese and identify the factors which hinder their lexical acquisition by focusing on intralexical factors and interlexical factors. The data was obtained from interviews with fourteen advanced level students. The findings of the study reveal that interlexical divergence of semantic structure is the most common reason for advanced learners failure to acquire vocabulary in the target language. This finding highlights the difficulty learners face in comprehending the lexical semantic structure in the target language and maintaining all the lexical items which correspond to single word in their native language. Intralexical phonological similarity is also a confounding factor for learners. These findings are relevant in the context of vocabulary teaching from the aspect of facilitating learners’ semantic knowledge.
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