Effects of Short-term Study Abroad Programs on the Development of English Skills : Improvement of Writing Skill and Fossilization

本研究调查了与日本大学生英语学习相关的两个问题：（1）短期英语留学项目是否有助于提高日本大学生的英语写作能力;（2）母语迁移是否会导致日语学习者的英语写作能力下降，如果是的话，日语学习者的英语写作能力下降的语言成分是什么。我们分析了JEFL在三个不同测试中的结果？密歇根州英语语言能力测试，书面英语的机构测试，和语法接受性测试。研究结果表明：（1）量身定制的、以呈现为中心的海外留学项目对提高英语写作的逻辑性和连贯性是有效的;（2）母语迁移是英语屈折形态习得的重要因素，而不是像狭义句法那样导致第三人称单数/s/和名词复数/s/在JEFL中的重复化。

This research project investigated two questions pertinent to the acquisition of English by Japanese college students learning English as a foreign language (JEFL) : (1) Whether a short-term English study abroad program can help the JEFL improve their writing ability and (2) whether first language (L1) transfer results in fossilization, and if so, in which linguistic component such fossilization is found among the JEFL. We analyzed data from the JEFL's results on three different tests?the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency, the Institutional Test of Written English, and the grammar acceptability test. Our analyses have showed that (1) the tailor-made, presentation-centered study abroad program is indeed effective for the improvement of logical and coherent writing in English among the JEFL, and (2) L1 transfer is a serious factor in the acquisition of inflectional morphology, unlike in narrow syntax, which seemingly leads to the fossilization of 3rd person singular /s/ and noun plural /s/ among the JEFL.