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An fNIRS Study of the Effect of Extensive Reading on L2 Reading and Listening Proficiency

Research Project

Project/Area Number 19H01287
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)

Allocation TypeSingle-year Grants
Section一般
Review Section Basic Section 02100:Foreign language education-related
Research InstitutionBunkyo University

Principal Investigator

Katsuhiro Chiba  文教大学, 国際学部, 教授 (50352547)

Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) 横山 悟  埼玉大学, 教育機構, 教授 (20451627)
宮崎 敦子  東京大学, 先端科学技術研究センター, 特任研究員 (30771521)
Project Period (FY) 2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥13,520,000 (Direct Cost: ¥10,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥3,120,000)
Fiscal Year 2021: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Fiscal Year 2020: ¥2,730,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥630,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥9,880,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥2,280,000)
Keywords多読学習 / リスニング / 脳血流 / fNIRS / 第二言語習得 / NIRS / 第二言語処理 / 読解速度(WPM) / 脳血流量
Outline of Research at the Start

英語学習において大きな効果を示し、長く取り入れられている多読学習(簡単な英語の本を楽しみながら大量に読む)の効果を客観テストのスコアや1分当たりの読解速度(Word per Minute)、内容把握の正答率などの行動データに加えて、最新式の多チャンネルNIRS(近赤外線分光法測定装置:赤血球の量を量ることで脳活動の変化を測定する装置)を用いて測定することで、英語多読学習の効果を脳科学的に検証する。

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The study investigated the impact of extensive reading (ER) on second language (L2) listening comprehension by examining frontal lobe activity. Over three years, the team reviewed literature, designed experiments, measured brain activity using multi-channel NIRS, and compared vocabulary acquisition between ER and non-ER groups.
In the final year, the stduy involved 14 ER learners (over 500,000 words read) and 10 non-ER learners. Participants completed listening tasks at different speeds while frontal lobe activity was measured using fNIRS. The ER group outperformed the non-ER group in English proficiency, accuracy, and response time. Significant activation in Brodmann area 46 for the ER group suggested that ER influences L2 listening processing and enables effective utilization of the frontal lobe during high-difficulty tasks. The findings provide insights into the neural mechanisms underlying ER's benefits on L2 listening comprehension.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

多読学習は過去30年以上に渡り英語教育の中で取り入れられ、その効果について多くの研究がなされてきた。しかしながら、多くの指導者が多読学習によりリスニング力が向上することを経験的に認めるなか、科学的検証はされてこなかった。本研究は、英語多読学習が第二言語のリスニング理解力に与える影響を、多読学習者と非多読学習者の脳活動を比較することで、多読の効果をより客観的に評価しようとした点に学術的意義がある。また、多読学習の普及が十分とは言いがたい現状において、読解力以外への効果が脳科学的に確認されることにより、英語教育における多読学習の導入と普及に貢献するものである。

Report

(4 results)
  • 2023 Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2021 Annual Research Report
  • 2020 Annual Research Report
  • 2019 Annual Research Report
  • Research Products

    (3 results)

All 2023 2022 2019

All Journal Article (1 results) (of which Open Access: 1 results) Presentation (2 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 2 results)

  • [Journal Article] Extensive Reading Affects Second Language Listening Proficiency: an fNIRS Study2022

    • Author(s)
      Katsuhiro Chiba, Atsuko Miyzaki, Satoru Yokoyama
    • Journal Title

      preprint

      Volume: -

    • DOI

      10.21203/rs.3.rs-2245621/v1

    • Related Report
      2020 Annual Research Report
    • Open Access
  • [Presentation] Effects of 300,000 words of ER on English proficiency2023

    • Author(s)
      Katsuhiro Chiba, Atsuko Miyazaki
    • Organizer
      The Sixth World Congress on Extensive Reading
    • Related Report
      2021 Annual Research Report 2020 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] The Effects of Extensive Reading on SecondLanguage Listening Proficiency: an fNIRS Study2019

    • Author(s)
      Katsuhiro Chiba, Atsuko Miyazaki, Satoru Yokoyama
    • Organizer
      Society for the Neurobiology of Language
    • Related Report
      2019 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research

URL: 

Published: 2019-04-18   Modified: 2025-01-30  

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