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

本项目的目的是通过研究口语和书面叙述来考察日本英语学习者扩展语篇技能的习得。在该项目的前四年(2018财年-2021财年)，从三所大学和三个不同熟练程度的日本大学生中收集了两种类型的叙事(即青蛙故事和气球故事)。并与早期研究中收集的数据进行了比较，这些数据来自以日语和英语为母语的人以及以日英双语为母语的人(例如，Nakamura，1990,1999,2004,2009,2014)。从情感和评价、动作事件的表达和叙事组织(如指称策略)的角度对叙事进行了分析。在2022财年，数据收集继续进行口头叙事，收集课堂和在线故事。数据分析取得了进一步的进展，考察了由于熟练程度(高级、中级和初级)而导致的二语叙事在叙事(例如，指称结构、动作表达)上的差异。特别是，今年提出并发表了关于运动事件表达的研究结果。熟练程度越高，英语动作表达中常用的策略，如方式动词和多个路径段/背景成分的使用能力越强。在修辞风格上的差异(例如，静态场景设置与运动描述)也被观察到。

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.