A study on blocked and interleaved practice on the acquisition of naming patterns in a second language: The case of Japanese numeral classifiers

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K12474
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 02100:Foreign language education-related
• Research Institution: Doshisha University
• Principal Investigator: Yugo Tsunai 同志社大学, 全学共通教養教育センター, 助教 (20772487)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 第二言語習得 / 日本語教育 / 助数詞 / 集中練習 / 交互練習

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The primary aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of blocked and interleaved practice on the (re)learning of L2-Japanese numerical classifier words in terms of the degree of convergence with the pattern of word use by Japanese-speaking monolinguals. To this end, we asked exchange students who had learned Japanese as an L2 at university to engage in an intervention study. Results showed that even a single session of practice helped all study participants learn how to use a distinct set of Japanese classifier words depending upon the type of object. Results also showed that study participants who studied in the interleaved practice condition showed an advantage at a 1-week delayed posttest than those who studied in the blocked practice condition, suggesting that interleaved practice is more powerful in knowledge retention than blocked practice.

Free Research Field

外国語教育

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の意義は、第二言語を熟達していくにしたがって次第に必要となる、「数ある単語のなかから、どうすれば文脈に合わせて的確な単語を選択できるようになるのか？」という問題に取り組んでいる点ある。また、機能語の学習（とくに助数詞の使い分け方の学習）に注目しているという点に本研究の独自性がある。