Clarification of the Effectiveness of Extensive Reading in Japanese as a Second Language

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370580
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Japanese language education
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Principal Investigator: SUZUKI MIKA 東京外国語大学, 大学院国際日本学研究院, 准教授 (90226556)
• Research Collaborator: SAKUTA Nanae 聖学院大学, 講師 (80648014)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 多読 / Extensive Reading / 日本語教育 / 中級 / 自立的な読み / 読解中の視線 / 多読授業 / Think Aloud

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The research aimed to clarify the effect of extensive reading in Japanese language learning and designed experiments to (1) record and analyze readers’ eye-movements and relate their text comprehension, (2) describe readers’ attention and observable activities such as content and types of utterances and/or questions over two semesters. The results, based upon think-aloud protocol data, showed that the readers usually placed their attention on the words in the text at the beginning and gradually began to focus more on and enjoy the content of the stories. The readers demonstrated the ability to control their speed and grasp the content through extensive reading in Japanese based upon eye movement surveys conducted while participants read texts.

Free Research Field

日本語教育学、教育工学