Project/Area Number |
22K00793
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
Section | 一般 |
Review Section |
Basic Section 02100:Foreign language education-related
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Research Institution | University of Niigata Prefecture |
Principal Investigator |
ステクル ティモシー 新潟県立大学, 国際地域学部, 教授 (40601711)
|
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
Mclean Stuart 近畿大学, 経営学部, 准教授 (10624794)
石井 友子 明治学院大学, 教養教育センター, 准教授 (40440200)
金 映愛 京都精華大学, その他の部局, 研究員 (60934594)
|
Project Period (FY) |
2022-04-01 – 2025-03-31
|
Project Status |
Granted (Fiscal Year 2023)
|
Budget Amount *help |
¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000)
Fiscal Year 2024: ¥390,000 (Direct Cost: ¥300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥90,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
|
Keywords | coverage comprehension / reading comprehension / meaning recall / coverage / vocabulary knowledge / contextualization / vocabulary |
Outline of Research at the Start |
This project looks at the relationship between the % of words known in a text and reading comprehension. Three studies have investigated this issue. The present study differs from earlier studies in that it will assess knowledge of (a) all the content words in the study's reading passage and (b) vocabulary to the meaning-recall level. This means we will ask learners to recall word meaning from memory and to write it down in their first language. This type of word knowledge correlates more strongly with reading comprehension than vocabulary measures in past research.
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Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The research purpose is to examine the relationship between the percentage of words known in a text (i.e., coverage) and reading comprehension with different methods from past research. That is, coverage is estimated by having learners translate most of the content words in the text into their first language. This is significant as it is the first coverage-comprehension study to use meaning-recall vocabulary assessment. To date, we have created and published a website, freely available to researchers, to test meaning-recall vocabulary knowledge in context (see https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTJJ45.2-2). We also published research comparing meaning-recall vocabulary knowledge at different levels of contextualization (see https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmal.2023.100075). From this, we determined that for the main study, vocabulary would be assessed by having learners translate short sentences containing target words, as this yields results basically the same as full contextualization and is more expedient. We then developed and piloted reading comprehension and vocabulary tests for the main study with learners from Japan, Vietnam, and China. The data were coded and analyzed, and a power analysis was conducted to determine an appropriate N-size for the main study. In March of 2024, data collection for the main study began.
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Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
4: Progress in research has been delayed.
Reason
The study is delayed because data collection and analysis for the pilot study took longer than expected. We assess vocabulary knowledge by having learners translate target words into their first language. Words in one language often do not map neatly onto words in another language. So, to determine whether responses are correct requires highly bilingual, trained markers to judge responses, which takes time. Additionally, because the study involves learners from multiple first-language (L1) backgrounds, care is needed to ensure that judgments are consistent across the different L1 groups. Other than that, the research is progressing smoothly, and data collection for the main study has begun.
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Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In 2024, we plan to collect data for the main study from learners in Vietnam, China, and Japan. This differs from our original research plan in two ways. First, it is delayed by one year as described in 現在までの進捗状況. Second, we planned to collect data from learners whose first language (L1) is Arabic, but our contact in Saudi Arabia is no longer able to participate in the project. While having learners from many L1 backgrounds make the findings more robust, we will continue with 3 L1 groups. Data coding and analysis will begin in late 2024, and the results will be submitted for publication and disseminated in academic conferences in 2025 and 2026.
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