Factors in the path from native language to the acquisition of second language proficiency

与函馆未来大学的亚当·史密斯合作的一项在线研究已于3月底完成。本研究评估了接触对日本英语作为外语学习者阅读流畅性的影响。曝光操作包括6块，每块20个短文本。每个块中的文本在受控词汇表中有大约相同数量的单词（300到550）。参与者被告知在三个多月的时间里，想读多少就读多少。反馈优先考虑的是阅读速度，而不是完美的理解。与前测的结果相比，后测的每个单词的阅读时间显示了阅读流畅性的提高，因为(a)每个单词的阅读时间快了300毫秒，但理解能力没有明显下降，(b)矩阵动词的阅读速度随着参与者阅读的文本数量的增加而增加。对动词测试结果的一种可能解释是，接触文本可以通过磨练学习者的预期来提高他们的句子处理能力，从而降低将动词与句子中的主语等先前成分结合起来的成本。如果正确的话，这将表明这种类型的接触可以通过增强学习者预测句子中接下来的内容的能力来促进阅读流畅性的质的提高。研究结果将在2023年7月举行的第24届日本语言科学学会国际会议（JSLS2023）上发表。

An online study in collaboration with Adam Smith from the Future University Hakodate was completed at the end of March. The study evaluated the effect of exposure on the reading fluency of learners of English as a foreign language in Japan. The exposure manipulation consisted of six blocks of 20 short texts each. The texts in a block had about the same number of words (300 to 550) from controlled vocabulary lists. Participants were told to read as many as they wished of the 120 texts within a period of just over three months. Feedback prioritized reading speed rather than perfect comprehension. Compared to the results of a pre-test, reading times per word in a post-test revealed improved reading fluency as (a) reading times per word were 300 milliseconds faster without significant declines in comprehension, and (b) the speedup at matrix verbs increased along with the number of texts that the participants read.One possible explanation for the result at the verbs is that exposure to the texts improved learners’ sentence-processing abilities by honing their expectations, thus decreasing the cost to integrate verbs to previous constituents such as the subject in the sentences. If correct, this would suggest that this type of exposure may promote qualitative improvements in reading fluency by enhancing how learners predict what is coming next in the sentence.The results will be presented at the 24th Annual International Conference of the Japanese Society for Language Sciences (JSLS2023) in July 2023.