The effect of oral reading practice using L1 leveled readers on the speaking ability of science majors: An empirical study

• Project/Area Number: 16K02867
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Setsunan University
• Principal Investigator: Matsuda Sae 摂南大学, 外国語学部, 教授 (50388641)
• Research Collaborator: IMURA Makoto ; NAKANISHI Noriko ; HERKE Michael
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
• Keywords: 多読 / 多聴 / スピーキング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study attempts to examine whether repetitive input and output with L1 leveled readers can help university science majors improve their speaking skills. In 2017, seventeen science majors participated in nine sessions in which they read and listened to Oxford Reading Tree, followed by shadowing, repeating, and oral reading. Three kinds of online tests (Progress, Versant, and OPIc) and original speaking tests were also conducted before and after the treatment. While Progress did not show as much improvement as in the previous study, Versant results displayed higher average scores. Furthermore, the phonological and lexical analyses of the recorded data using Phoneme Counter, Praat, and Lextuter displayed improvements in some aspects of oral proficiency. These findings suggest that even the limited amount of input and output may have had a positive effect on the utterance fluency, yet it was not sufficient to affect the cognitive fluency.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

今回の研究は、何をスピーキング力と呼び、それをどう測るのかという根本的な問いに立ち返るきっかけとなった。今回用いた3種類のオンラインテストでは測り方も測っている能力も違うので、同じ活動の効果を測った場合でも異なる結果となった。これは、現在議論されている「入試への英語民間試験利用」のありかたを慎重に考える必要性を示唆している。
2017年の研究からは、多読絵本による反復練習のみでも音声や語彙にプラスの影響を与える可能性が観察された。さらに、2016年の結果を踏まえると、発話能力をより高めるためには、ブックトークや再話による効果的な認知的負荷のかけ方をさらに探る必要がある。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Encouraging L2 science majors to talk using L1 readers (2018)
  • Author(s): Matsuda, S., Imura, M., & Nakanishi, N.
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of the Fourth Extensive Reading World Congress Volume: なし Pages: 145-154
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Repetitive input and output practice using children’s books: Will reading practice transform speaking ability? (2019)
  • Author(s): Matsuda, S., Imura, M. & Nakanishi, N.
  • Organizer: The 15th Annual CamTESOL Conference
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] The effect of oral reading practice using L1 leveled readers on the speaking ability of science majors (2018)
  • Author(s): Matsuda, S., Imura, M. Nakanishi, N., & Herke, M.
  • Organizer: JACET Kansai Chapter 2018 Conference
• [Presentation] Repetitive input and output using L1 leveled readers―boring or effective for science majors? (2018)
  • Author(s): Matsuda, S. & Imura, M.
  • Organizer: The 57th JACET International Convention
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Encouraging L2 Science Majors to Speak English Using L1 Readers (2017)
  • Author(s): Sae Matsuda, Makoto Imura, and Noriko Nakanishi
  • Organizer: The Fourth Extensive Reading World Congress
  • Int'l Joint Research