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

随着在日本留学的外国学生数量的增加，各种问题也随之增加，必须加以解决。其中一个问题是他们在课堂上听日语的能力。本研究旨在调查非母语学生的听力水平，并提出一套讲课指导原则，以便于外国学生听懂讲课内容。受试者在不同声级的情况下，从电视和广播节目中录制了10个日语短句。17名日本学生和32名外国学生被要求写出他们听到的句子。结果表明：(1)当句子中有未知词或不清楚的部分时，受试者试图根据上下文猜测它们。(2)语言知识有助于对不清楚部分的猜测。未知术语必须通过语音猜测，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，他们很难听懂日语。(4)当关键字被识别时，句子就很容易理解。建议给外国学生讲课的指导原则是：(1)使用投影仪等视觉辅助工具，以及音频辅助工具。(2)在黑板上写，至少关键字。(3)语速慢、语调清晰。(4)重复重点。(5)使用简单的句子结构，并添加有用的信息来理解语境。(6)安静的环境，尤其是讲课时禁止私下交谈。

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.