Extended discourse in Japanese learners of English: From the perspective of oral and written narratives

本研究的目的是通过研究日本英语学习者的口头和书面叙述来考察其扩展语篇技能的习得情况。在该项目的前四年（2018财年至2021财年），引发了两种类型的叙述（即，青蛙的故事和气球的故事）收集了日本大学生在三所大学和三个不同的熟练程度。与早期研究中从日语和英语母语者以及日英双语者（例如，中村，1990，1999，2004，2009，2014）。从情感和评价、运动事件的表达和叙事组织（例如，于2022财政年度，数据收集工作继续以口头叙述方式进行，并在课堂及网上收集故事。数据分析取得了进一步的进展，着眼于叙述的差异（例如，参考结构，运动表达式）在L2叙述由于熟练程度（高级，中级和初级）。特别是，今年提出并发表了关于运动事件表达的研究结果。在英语运动表达中经常使用的策略，如方式动词和多个路径片段/地面元素，在较高的水平上使用的能力更好。修辞风格的差异（例如，静态场景设置与运动描述）。

The purpose of this project is to examine the acquisition of extended discourse skills in Japanese learners of English by studying oral and written narratives. In the first four years of the project (FY2018-FY2021), elicited narratives of two types (i.e., Frog Story & Balloon Story) were collected from Japanese university students at three universities and three different proficiency levels. Comparisons were made with data gathered in earlier studies from native speakers of Japanese and English as well as Japanese-English bilingual speakers (e.g., Nakamura, 1990, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014). The narratives were analyzed from the perspective of affect and evaluation, expression of motion events, and narrative organization (e.g., referential strategies).In FY2022, data collection continued with oral narratives, collecting stories in the classroom and online. Data analysis has progressed further, looking at differences in narrative (e.g., referential structure, motion expressions) in the L2 narratives due to proficiency level (advanced, intermediate, and elementary). In particular, findings regarding expressions of motion events were presented and published this year. The ability to use strategies often used in expressions of motion in English, such as manner verbs and multiple path segments/ ground elements, was better at higher proficiency levels. Differences in rhetorical style (e.g., static scene-setting vs. motion descriptions) were also observed.