2001 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A cognitive approach to discourse processing in interlanguage development
| Project/Area Number |
11680313
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Japanese language education
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| Research Institution | Aichi University of Education |
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Principal Investigator |
INADA Midori Aichi-University of Education, Education, Associate professor, 教育学部, 助教授 (50273298)
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| Project Period (FY) |
1999 – 2001
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| Keywords | first language acquisition / second language acquisition / discourse / Japanese / narrative / narrative / global structure / discourse processing |
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| Research Abstract |
This study investigated the characteristics of L2 (second language) narrative discourse processing with particular attention to development of the structural and linguistic knowledge required for narrative production (Hudson and Shapiro, 1991), and the interrelation of these kinds of knowledge in development.
The theoretical background is Berman and Slobin s (1994) work on the development of LI (first-language) narrative discourse competence, which claimed that linguistic knowledge itself does not suffice for children to construct a well-organized narrative and that, rather, narrative production is a joint process of structural and linguistic knowledge; and Karmiloff-Smith s (1985, 1986a, 1986b, 1992) Representational Redescription model showing that LI development occurs bottom-up and then via top-down in the middle period, and finally through integration of data and internal representation.
The main concern of the study, then, is to identify the features of L2 discourse processing, exa
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mining the LI features proposed in the above-mentioned studies. The central issue here is what features L2 learners, who are supposed to have a mature perspective on the story but do not have full L2 linguistic command, show in their discourse processing.
A fictional story elicited from adult JSL (Japanese as a Second Language) learners at five different levels of JSL proficiency was arfalyzed regarding the thematic coherence on the macro-level of plot organization (global structure), stipulating' three elements: onset, unfolding, and resolution of the plot (Labov and Waletzky, 1967).
The results of the study showed that L2 learners manifest completely opposite trends to those of the L1.That is, 1) they showed top-down processing of their narratives from the initial phase of development; and 2) structural knowledge itself did not suffice for L2 learners to produce a well-constructed narrative: rather, whether they could construct it depended largely on their L2 linguistic command itself. This study will provide a broader perspective on the study of narrative discourse in LI and L2 language acquisition. Less
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