2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Extended discourse in Japanese learners of English: From the perspective of oral and written narratives
| Project/Area Number |
18K00789
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| Research Institution | Meikai University |
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Principal Investigator |
中邑 啓子 明海大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (20449044)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | oral narrative / written narrative / spoken discourse / written discourse / English learners / Japanese learners / biliteracy |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The purpose of this project is to examine the acquisition of extended discourse skills in Japanese learners of English by studying oral and written narratives. In the first three years of the project (FY2018-FY2020), elicited narratives of two types (i.e., Frog Story & Balloon Story) were collected from Japanese university students at three universities and three different proficiency levels. Comparisons were made with data gathered in earlier studies from native speakers of Japanese and English as well as Japanese-English bilingual speakers (e.g., Nakamura, 1990, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014). The narratives were analyzed from the perspective of affect and evaluation, expression of motion events, and narrative organization (e.g., referential strategies).
In FY2021, data collection continued with oral narratives, using a new method to avoid personal contact due to Covid-19. Also, thus far, the data analysis had focused mainly on the Frog Stories, but this year, the Balloon Stories were also transcribed and analyzed. In addition, data analysis progressed further, looking at differences in narrative (e.g., referential structure, motion expressions) in the L2 narratives due to proficiency level (advanced, intermediate, and elementary). Results show that the narratives of the Japanese learners of English in the elementary stage are often restricted due to limitations of vocabulary and grammar, but as their proficiency increases, learners gradually acquire the necessary strategies needed to create good stories, such as referential strategies and expressions of motion.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
Most of the transcription, data collection and analyses have been completed. The oral narratives have been collected in Powerpoint form to allow for minimal contact, as it has been difficult to hold interview sessions to elicit oral narratives due to Covid-19.
Narratives continued to be collected, organized, and uploaded into a narrative database comprised of the Balloon Stories and Frog Stories. The creation of the database is the most time-consuming part and will be the main focus of this coming year. Many of the written stories are handwritten and need to be typed and uploaded first. In addition, the newly collected oral stories need to be transcribed first before being uploaded.
Unlike FY2020, in FY2021, conference presentations were mainly moved online, allowing for timely dissemination of results at international conferences.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
As most of the transcription, data collection and analyses are in the process of being completed, in FY2022 the results will be finalized. Conference presentations have been scheduled (e.g., JSLS2022) and several research publications are in preparation. In particular, the focus will be the narratives of Japanese learners of English according to different levels of proficiency and how different aspects of narrative (e.g., evaluative language, referential strategies, expressions of motion) are influenced by the level of the learners. Implications for the teaching of extended discourse skills (i.e., narrative skills) to Japanese learners of English will also be considered.
Narratives continue to be organized and uploaded into a narrative database comprised of the Balloon Stories and Frog Stories. The creation of the database is the most time-consuming part and will be the main focus of FY2022. Efforts are being made to organize the data in a manner that will be easy for the public to access.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The remaining amount will be used for expenses related to the dissemination of research results (e.g., conference-related fees, printing costs) and for the creation of the narrative database (e.g., personnel costs for transcription and uploading).
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| Remarks |
Recent research publications will be made available on ResearchGate page.
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