Cross-linguistic study of elliptical utterances in task-oriented dialogues with classroom implications

Ellipsis is a phenomenon whereby constituents which are normally obligatory in the grammar are omitted in actual discourse. It is found in all types of discourse, from everyday conversation to poetry. The omitted constituents can range from one word to an entire clause, and recovery of the ellipted item depends sometimes on the linguistic and sometimes on the non-linguistic context. From a practical point of view, the contribution of ellipsis in the context is twofold. First, it is one of several important means of achieving cohesion in a text. Secondly, ellipsis contributes to communicative appropriateness determined by the type of linguistic activity (e.g., narrative, casual conversation), the mode of communication (e.g., written / spoken) and the relationship between participants. The aim of this research is to provide a description of the functions of elliptical utterances – textual and interpersonal – in English and Japanese, based on a cross-linguistic analysis of dialogues in the English and Japanese map task corpora. In order to analyse ellipsis in relation to its two key functions, elliptical clauses in the map task dialogues were examined. I discuss how ellipsis is used to realise cohesion in the map task dialogues. The findings challenge the well-known claim that topics are established by full noun phrases, which are subsequently realised by pronouns (English) and null pronouns (Japanese). Rather, the results suggest that full noun phrases are used for topic continuity in both languages. Constituents which are ellipted in an utterance are identified and related to the moves types which the utterance realises within the exchange structure. The ellipted elements will be categorised according to the constituent types (Subject, Finite, Predicator, Complement and Adjunct), using the systemic functional approach. This analysis reveals that whereas in the English dialogues the most common types of ellipsis are that of Subject and Finite elements, in the Japanese dialogues the most common type is that of Subject. Types of ellipsis are also correlated with speech acts in the dialogues. The relation between types of ellipsis and particular speech acts associated with them is strikingly similar in the English and Japanese dialogues, despite the notable difference in grammar and pragmatics between the two languages. This analysis also shows how these types of ellipsis are associated with interpersonal effects in particular speech acts: ellipsis of Subject and Finite can contribute to a sharp contrast in the question and answer sequence, while Subject ellipsis in Japanese can contribute to modifying the command-like force in giving instructions. These effects can be summed up as epistemic and deontic modality respectively. Ultimately, it is argued that some types of ellipsis can serve as modality expressions. Additionally, in comparison to the way of realising the speech act of giving instructions in the English dialogues, it emerges that the Japanese speakers exploit ellipsis, which seems to be associated with lowering the degree of the speaker’s commitment to the proposition. As implications for pedagogical settings, I present pedagogical descriptions of ellipsis for Japanese learners of English and English learners of Japanese. Since the description is for specific learners, the approach which takes the difference in grammar and pragmatics between the two languages is made possible. Although descriptions state some detailed facts of ellipsis in English and Japanese, primarily highlighted is the importance of raising awareness of elliptical forms for particular functions in particular contexts. As ellipsis is a product of forms, functions and contexts, it is a most remarkable feature of spoken language. Spoken language is claimed by some researchers to show similar linguistic features among languages because of the restrictions inherent in the medium on communication. In the form of pedagogical description, I show the similarities and differences in ellipsis which derive from the grammar and pragmatics of each language, which are observed in the preceding linguistic research. Through the presentation of the findings which are modified for learners, learners will know how languages show convergence and divergence cross-linguistically

The effect of a teacher’s guidance on Japanese University EFL learners’ voluntary reading outside class

多読における教師の役割の一つは、学習者が自分の英語力にあった教材を選び、読み進めていくように指導することである。また、教師は日頃学習者がどのような読みをしているのかを観察し、問題のある読み方をしている学習者を指導する。更に、学習者の多読記録から学習者の読みのパターンや興味を読み取るなども教師の役割として挙げられる。本研究は授業外での多読において、学習者の本の選択に関する教師の指導がL2リーディングにどのように影響するかを検証した。多読クラス5つのうち、4クラスを実験群、1クラスを統制群とし、130名の大学生英語学習者の一年間の読書量、読み能力の伸びを観察した。研究結果は、学習者がL2リーディングのどの発達段階にいるのかを教師が的確に判断し、学習者の英語力、興味などを鑑みながら本の選択をアドバイスすることの重要性を示している。研究論

Developing a Japanese-English Bilingual Grammar Test: Measuring Japanese EFL Learners’ Grammatical Ability in Relation to Extensive Reading

This paper focuses on the development of the Japanese-English Bilingual Grammar Test(JEBGT, henceforth), which is intended to measure Japanese EFL learners’ grammatical ability in relation to extensive reading in English. The paper starts with the rationale for developing the JEBGT: the lack of previous studies of the effects of extensive reading on the development of grammatical ability and the lack of instruments which measure grammatical ability with independent tasks. The test specifications, the principles for item writing, specifications of the Overall Test Structure, and specifications for individual tasks were made. After a small-scale pilot study, minor revisions were made. Then, the JEBGT was administered to 450 Japanese EFL learners at the university level. The test data was Rasch analyzed and the findings were presented.研究論文JSPS 科研費24520678、15K0280

New Challenges to Motivate Remedial EFL Students to Read Extensively

Although one of the keys to improving language ability lies in the continuous and prolonged exposure to the target language, providing learners with the opportunities in the EFL environment is not easy. For Japanese learners of English, in fact, the amount of input of English is severely limited. Additionally, it is hard for them to keep motivating themselves to study English as the use of the language is often not requisite in the society. This paper explains that extensive reading (ER) is an effective method for learners with low proficiency and poor motivation to learn English, provided that Start with Simple Stories (SSS) and Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) methods are guaranteed (Takase 2008). SSS requires learners to read books written in easily comprehensible English, and SSR secures learners certain amount of time to read in class under the guidance of instructors. The paper shows the improvement of ER students’ English ability after three-months of ER courses, where SSS and SSR were employed, and how they started to be motivated to read extensively during the courses. The participants of the study are eighty-one Japanese EFL students, who had failed to pass an English course in the previous year mainly due to their low English proficiency. They kept reading relatively easy books extensively for eighty minutes once a week over one academic semester. Statistical analysis of the results of pre- and post-tests demonstrates that their English proficiency significantly improved

〈論文〉リメディアル教育対象の学生に及ぼす多読の効果

[要旨] 昨今、入学形態が多様化し、大学生の英語力低下が問題になっている。入試対策中心の文法偏重授業の影響か、中高英語のインプット不足が原因か、中学・高校で英語嫌いとなり英語学習を怠り、基礎力が身につかないまま大学に入学してくる学生が増えてきた。そのため、大学の授業では学力不足で単位取得ができず再履修生となる学生が増えてきている。これまで、再履修クラスに代表されるリメディアルクラスの授業では、基礎文法・語彙・平易な会話・ビデオ教材等が多く採用されてきた。はたして、それまで主に文法で蹟いて英語嫌いとなった学生が、新たに英文法を学び直す意欲を起こすであろうか。また、上記の様な教材で、どこまで英語力を向上させ、英語運用能力を身に付けることができるか疑問である。この研究では、再履修の学生に多読授業を行った結果、学生がやる気を起こし3ヵ月で100冊を超える大量の本を読み、事後テストで英語力向上が認められたことを報告する。著者専攻(高瀬):応用言語学・英語教育学, 著者専攻（大槻）:言語学・文

New Challenges to Motivate Remedial EFL Students to Read Extensively

Although one of the keys to improving language ability lies in the continuous and prolonged exposure to the target language, providing learners with the opportunities in the EFL environment is not easy. For Japanese learners of English, in fact, the amount of input of English is severely limited. Additionally, it is hard for them to keep motivating themselves to study English as the use of the language is often not requisite in the society. This paper explains that extensive reading (ER) is an effective method for learners with low proficiency and poor motivation to learn English, provided that Start with Simple Stories (SSS) and Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) methods are guaranteed (Takase 2008). SSS requires learners to read books written in easily comprehensible English, and SSR secures learners certain amount of time to read in class under the guidance of instructors. The paper shows the improvement of ER students’ English ability after three-months of ER courses, where SSS and SSR were employed, and how they started to be motivated to read extensively during the courses. The participants of the study are eighty-one Japanese EFL students, who had failed to pass an English course in the previous year mainly due to their low English proficiency. They kept reading relatively easy books extensively for eighty minutes once a week over one academic semester. Statistical analysis of the results of pre- and post-tests demonstrates that their English proficiency significantly improved.peerReviewe