Using persuasion role-play data, this study examined the features of the persuasion by Japanese learners of English (JLE). The quantitative and qualitative comparisons between the JLE and the English native speakers (ENS) showed that (1) the JLE took turns 16-26% less and spoke 8-35% less, and they did not speak more than the interviewers; (2)…

This study examined the effects of explicit instruction on the development of pragmatic competence in L2 English. The study is based on Taguchi's (2012) study conducted in an English-medium university in Japan, which revealed patterns of change in Japanese EFL students' production of requests in high- and low-imposition situations. Students showed…

Few, if any, researchers would deny the existence of the developmental stages of language learning. However, there are questions about the applicability and the importance of the stages in pedagogy. Up to this point, these questions regarding the ESL (English as a second language) stages have never been addressed in a Japanese post-secondary…

This practical paper discusses the effect of explicit instruction to raise Japanese EFL learners' pragmatic awareness using online discourse completion tasks. The five-part tasks developed by the authors use American TV drama scenes depicting particular speech acts and include explicit instruction in these speech acts. 46 Japanese EFL college…

Examines whether the "foreign language effect", that is, a temporary decline of thinking ability during foreign language processing, is larger when similarity between a foreign language and a native language is less. The results of two divided-attention experiments indicate that this effect was larger when the native tongue was less…

Reports an experimental study on the acquisition of English reflexives by adult Japanese-speaking learners of English. Consonant with a review of previous studies on binding in second-language acquisition, results of the experiment yield no evidence of an interlanguage grammar that is illicit with respect to universal grammar. (Author/ER)

This paper presents an approach to analyzing the process of second language acquisition, entitled Interlanguage Analysis (IA). IA regards the transitional linguistic system from the learner's first language (L1) to the target language (L2 to TL) as interlanguage (IL). IA seeks to obtain pedagogical implications by clarifying: (1) the types of…

Investigated the correlation between global foreign accent (GFA) and voice onset time (VOT). VOT values for /p/, /t/, and /k/ were measured at two times, separated by an interval of 42 months. Subjects were 11 Japanese speakers of English as a foreign language; 5 age-matched native speakers of English served as the control group. (Author/VWL)

Discusses how second-language learners whose first languages contain an article system differ in their acquisition of English articles from learners whose first languages do not contain such a system. Reviews the approach of Mizuno's (1988) interlanguage analysis for uncovering the process in second-language acquisition, and summarizes findings of…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of interlanguage development in Japanese adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) in acquisition-poor environments. A total of 353 subjects were divided into 9 groups based on their level of English proficiency and tested to determine: (1) what types of errors Japanese adult ESL…

The 1997 issues of "JALT Journal" include the following articles: "Influence of Learning Context on Learners' Use of Communication Strategies"; "The Eiken Test: An Investigation"; "Assessing EFL Student Progress in Critical Thinking with the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test"; "Contrastive…

Examines whether negotiation addresses the need of second- language (L2) learners to focus attention on L2 form. The study analyzed the utterances of negotiation produced as 20 English native speaker-nonnative speaker (NS-NNS) dyads engaged in communication tasks. Negotiation assisted the NNS needs for data on features that were possible in the…

This issue of "Working Papers in Educational Linguistics" begins with "Negative Evidence in Language Classroom Activities: A Study of Its Availability and Accessibility to Language Learners" (Teresa Pica and Gay N. Washburn), which revisits the issue of negative evidence in second language classrooms. The second paper,…

This collection of papers includes the following: "Second Language Acquisition Research in Japan: Theoretical Issues" (Peter Robinson, Mark Sawyer, and Steven Ross); (2) "Focus on Form: Implicit and Explicit Form Focused Instruction Incorporated into a Communicative Task" (Hitoshi Muranoi); (3) "A Task that Works for…