Instruction on natural speech disfluencies for Japanese learners of English

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K20028
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0102:Literature, linguistics, and related fields
• Research Institution: Toyama Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: Mokhtari Akiko 富山県立大学, 工学部, 講師 (90963413)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 非流暢性 / 英語学習者 / コミュニケーション

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, 13 Japanese learners of English were taught how to be disfluent in an English-like manner, and the effect of this on listeners' evaluations was investigated. First, five sessions of learners' English speech were recorded. The purpose of the study was stated before the start of the second recording. In the second to fourth recordings, the learners were trained to be disfluent in a natural English way, and the results were tested in the fifth recording session. Four English teachers (native English speakers) then listened to the learners' first and fifth recordings and rated them on a five-point scale. The results showed that the learners who were evaluated higher in the fifth recording than in the first recording showed a drastic reduction in the usage of Japanese disfluency markers in their English. It was also found that all the learners used more English-style disfluencies in the fifth session than in the first.

Free Research Field

言語学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日常会話は、言い淀みに満ちている。母語話者でさえそうであるのだから、学習者の発話にいたっては尚更である。しかしながら、学習者が、どのように学習言語で言い淀むかを学ぶ機会は限られている。本研究は、「完璧に話す」のではなく「自然に言い淀みながら発話を維持する」という現実のコミュニケーションに即した指導を行い、その評価を示したことに学術的意義があると考える。教科書・教室の中でのことばと、現実のことばとの間には隔たりがある。本研究における単語・文法の習得とは異なる、よりコミュニカティブな視点からの指導は、学習者にとってより実践的であり、その点に社会的意義があると考える。