<Originals>A Longitudinal Experimental Case Study of How an L2 Japanese Learner Makes Requests in Japanese

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the development of request expressions in JSL (Japanese as a Second Language) and to contribute to a better understanding of pragmatic development in general. To this end, a longitudinal investigation was conducted on the development of request expressions of a JSL learner. The participant was an international student in Kyoto, and the data was collected from observations of online classes in which the subject took part, oral discourse completion tests(ODCTs), and follow-up interviews after each ODCT. The data from the ODCTs was quantitatively analyzed for response speed, formal complexity, directness, and diversity. The data from the interviews and the observations of online classes were used to evaluate the quality of learner's attitude such as motivation, changes in language environments, and engagement in the learning process. The result was consistent with the two-dimensional model proposed by Bialystok (1990, 1993, 1994), and a mixture of the first two out of the five stages of requests development was observed. Among factors that might have affected learner's development of request expressions, motivation and the online lessons as input were identified as key factors, while the learning environment seems to play a minor role.

本研究の目的は，第二言語としての日本語学習者（JSL）における要求表現の発達を明らかにし，一般的な語用論の発達の理解に貢献することである．そのために，本研究ではJSL学習者の要求表現の発達を縦断的に調査した．調査参加者は京都の留学生であり，学習過程のデータはオンライン日本語クラスの観察，口頭談話完成テスト（ODCT）およびフォローアップインタビューによって収集した．ODCT で得たデータは，応答速度，形式的複雑性，直接性，多様性の観点から定量的な分析を行った．また，授業観察とフォローアップインタビューで得たデータは，参加者の学習意欲，自然な文脈の変化，学習過程への関与について質的な分析を行った．その結果，参加者の発達過程は2次元モデル（Bialystok, 1990, 1993, 1994）と一致し，要求表現発達の5段階のうち，最初の2段階が混在していることが明らかとなった．また，学習者の要求表現発達に影響を与えたと思われる要因として，動機づけと，インプットとしてのオンラインレッスンが重要な役割を果たしているのに対し，学習環境はあまり関与していないことも明らかとなった．