2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Semantic Clustering of the Mental Lexicons of Japanese EFL Learners
| Project/Area Number |
21520444
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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 |
Linguistics
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| Research Institution | Kumamoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
ORITA Mitsuru 熊本大学, 大学教育機能開発総合研究センター, 教授 (60270386)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2009 – 2011
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| Keywords | 心内辞書 / 母語と第二言語 / 意味的クラスリング / 単語仕分け課題 |
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| Research Abstract |
A series of psycholinguistic experiments using free word sorting tasks revealed that the structure of semantic clustering built by Japanese intermediate and advanced EFL learners and native speakers of English differs between L1 and L2 learners and also by the level of proficiency in L2. It was also found that, even at advanced levels, Japanese EFL learners have been persistently affected by loan words imported from English and learned at early L1 acquisition, which makes it difficult for them to develop native-like L2 lexical organisation. Sorting tasks using semantically equivalent lexical items between Japanese and English disclosed that the two mental lexicons were statistically different from each other, and that the organisation of learners' English mental lexicon differed quantitatively(or semantically) from that of their L1 mental lexicon.
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Research Products
(15 results)
