Age Factor in the Mechanism of Spoken English Acquisition: An Analysis of Production Patterns and English Proficiencies

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370700
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Foreign language education
• Research Institution: Juntendo University
• Principal Investigator: SUDO Michiko 順天堂大学, スポーツ健康科学部, 教授 (60226587)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HARADA Yasunari 早稲田大学, 法学学術院, 教授 (80189711)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 英語教育 / 第二言語習得 / 音声言語 / 年齢要因 / 読解力 / 聴取力 / 生成パターン / 母音

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The present study investigated the effect of living in the target language country and that of the age factor on the acquisition of English by Japanese learners. Four subject groups participated in this study: native speakers of American English, Japanese returnees who had lived in the U.S., proficient learners and non-proficient learners who had never lived overseas. For measuring listening and reading abilities, we employed official TOEIC scores. We examined ISI durations, stressed vowel shortening and the quality of a weak vowel. We observed significant differences between the returnees and the proficient learners in listening abilities and the production of a weak vowel, but not in reading abilities and stressed vowel shortening. We also observed that the age factor had an effect on the different degrees of attainment of the production proficiency and on listening ability of the returnees, but not on their reading ability.

Free Research Field

人文学