第二言語コミュニケーション習得における学習者自身の阻害要因 : 中国人学習者へのインタビューを通して

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This paper focuses on Chinese learners who are acquring Japanese as a second language in Japan, but who have not yet achieved their goals of being able to communicate smoothly in daily life and of passing language proficiency exams. I examine why they cannot attain the level of language ability that they initially strive for. Subsequently, I will identify and categorize the obstacles holding back learners in a foreign cultural environment from communicating in Japanese. In this research, I have used the term "learners' obstacles", that is, factors that originate internally in learners. The rationale for the idea is the tapestry approach. According to Scarcella & Oxford (1997), learning a language is similar to weaving a tapestry. The learner acquires a second language in the same way that a weaver creates a tapestry. The learner eventually completes a product, which in this case is his or her communication ability. The factors that influence the development of language ability include the cognitive, the affective and the social characteristics of the learner. Together, these factors may be considered the weft threads of the tapestry. The research subjects comprised ten Chinese learners (6 men, 4 women), who are either currently enrolled in the Japanese Studies Program Department, or who have recently graduated from the Department and are enrolled in other departments as undergraduates. Two research methods were used. The main method consisted of unstructured, in-depth interviews; the second entailed a questionnaire which was handed to the interviewees prior to the interview. The data collected from the interviews were analyzed qualitatively in a similar way to Creswell (2003) The obstacle factors that were identified in the research were far more varied and complex than originally expected. Twenty-six types of learners obstacles were discovered, of which 20 factors occurred in two or more learners. I assigned the factors to five categories: (1) Motivation/ autonomous learning; (2) Awareness of language learning; (3) Affective aspects; (4) Learning methods; (5) Personal factors. Based on the results, the following proposal is made. It is important for Japanese language teachers to observe their learners, in order to identify any problems that learners have at an early stage, and then to try to resolve such obstacle factors in conjunction with the teaching institution. Furthermore, in the ideal case, it is hoped that any language instructor who reads this paper would be motivated to help their students overcome their personal learning obstacles.

source:Josai international review

identifier:JOS-KJ00004422981