Listening ability of non-native language under the presence of noise

随着在日本留学的外国学生人数的增加，各种问题也随之增加，这些问题必须得到解决。其中之一是关于他们在课堂上的日语听力能力。本研究旨在调查非母语的听力能力，并提出一个讲课的指导方针，使外国学生能够容易地理解讲课。从电视或广播节目中录下的十句日语短句在有系统变化的牙牙学语噪音的情况下呈现给受试者。17名日本学生和32名外国学生分别接受了测试，并被要求写下他们听到的句子。结果表明：(1)当句子中有不知道的术语或不清楚的部分时，被试会根据语境进行猜测。(2)语言知识有助于对不清晰部分的猜测。不认识的词必须从音素上猜出来，这是一项非常困难的任务。(3)尽管外国学生的听力水平很高，但在条件恶化的情况下，他们很难听到日语。(4)识别了关键词，句子就容易理解了。(1)使用投影仪等视觉辅助设备和音频辅助设备。(2)在黑板上写字，至少要写关键词。(3)说话缓慢清晰。(4)重复要点。(5)使用简单的句子结构，并添加有用的信息来理解上下文。(6)环境安静，尤其禁止在讲课时私下交谈。

As the increase of the number of foreign students studying in Japan, various problems have increased which must be solved. One of them is concerned with their listening ability of Japanese in lecture rooms. This study was designed to investigate the listening ability of non-native language and propose a guideline for giving lectures so that foreign students can easily understand the lecture.Ten Japanese short sentences recorded from TV or radio programs were presented to subjects under the presence of babble noise, the sound level of which was systematically varied. Seventeen Japanese and thirty-two foreign students were tested individually and asked to write the sentence they heard.The results suggested ; (1) When there are unknown terms or unclear portions in sentences, subjects try to guess them from the context. (2) Knowledge concerning the language contributes to the guess of unclear portions. Unknown terms must be guessed phonemecally, which is a very difficult task. (3) Even though foreign students have high listening ability, they feel difficult to listen to Japanese under deteriorated conditions. (4) When key words are recognized, it is easy to understand sentences.The following guidelines were suggested for giving lectures to foreign students : (1)Use of visual aids such as overhead projectors as well as audio aids. (2)Writing on blackboard, at least keywords. (3)Speaking slowly and clearly. (4)Repeating important points. (5)Use of simple sentence structures and adding useful information to understand the context. (6)Quiet surroundings, especially forbidding private talk during lectures.