A Study of Phonetic Acquisition in Learners of Japanese: Relationships with Orthographic Information

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K00727
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 02090:Japanese language education-related
• Research Institution: Kansai Gaidai University
• Principal Investigator: Motohashi Miki 関西外国語大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (80411560)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 石澤 徹 東京外国語大学, 大学院国際日本学研究院, 准教授 (00636095)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 日本語教育 / 第二言語習得 / 文字表記 / 音声教育 / 特殊拍 / 拗音

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examines whether the availability of L2 orthographic forms in input facilitates L2 Japanese learners' speech perception and production. To improve recognition of words containing sounds considered difficult, such as long vowels and palatalized sounds (e.g., "りょこう" (ryokou) and "しゅくだい" (shukudai)), data were collected using a pretest-training-posttest procedure. As part of a training program conducted three times a week for three weeks, participants practiced discriminating minimal pairs while being aware of the number of morae by presenting the hiragana representation of the words along with their sound. At the same time, a control group was formed that received audio-only training without any visual information, and the test results were compared. The results suggested that the hiragana representation as visual information could promote the acquisition of both listening and pronunciation skills.

Free Research Field

日本語教育

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、他言語において様々な研究で書字情報と音韻習得の強い関連が明らかになってきているのにも関わらず、日本語における研究はほとんど見られない。本研究はひらがなという表音文字は、音声に関するメタ認知を促す可能性があり、音声教育への効果があることを明らかにした。また、拍と発音を表わすひらがなは、特に初級学習者にとって音声項目の有益な視覚情報であることが分かった。文字表記の指導と同時に音声習得を促すことが未だ難しいと言える教室活動における音声教育の一旦になることを提言したい。