Developing A Model to Explain Argument Structures and Its Application to English Language Education

目前的研究项目已经完成了四个主要目标。首先，它比较了日本人和美国人的书面论点结构，找出与跨文化交际理论相一致的差异。其次，它成功地确定了两个个人层面的因素，一个是情境因素，另一个是特征因素，这两个因素解释了书面论点结构的差异。第三，调查了日本人对书面论据质量的看法。第四，基于本课题的研究成果，成功开发了面向大学生的英语论述结构教学材料。

The present research project has accomplished four main goals. First, it compared structures of written arguments between the Japanese and the U.S. people, identifying differences that are consistent with intercultural theories of communication. Second, it successfully identified two individual-level factors, one situational and the other trait, that explain differences in structures of written arguments. Third, it examined perceptions of the qualities of written arguments among Japanese people. Fourth, based on the findings of the present research project, it successfully developed materials for teaching how to structure arguments in English to college students.