This quasi-experimental study explores the effects of three types of instruction (form-based, meaning-based, and form- plus meaning-based) on the learning of Japanese relative clauses (RCs) and postsecondary Japanese as a foreign language learners' ability to generalize different types of relativization, examined in comparison to the predictions of Keenan and Comrie's (1977) noun phrase accessibility hierarchy (NPAH). The study investigated whether instruction focused on a marked relativization type could facilitate the learning of other types. Results of comprehension and sentence-combination pretests and posttests showed that although the scores of all three groups increased, the form-based group outperformed the other two groups on both tests. Whereas the comprehension pretest results did not reflect the predictions of the NPAH, participants were able to generalize rules for other relativization types. This study suggests that learners' attention to detailed analysis of form facilitates the learning of RCs in this context, and that the teaching of marked items might inform effective syllabus development in second language relativization.