There is a pronounced shift in English language teaching policy in Japan with
the recognition not only of the importance of spoken English and interactional
competence in a globalised world, but also the need to emphasise it within English
language pedagogy. Given this imperative to improve the oral communication skills
of Japanese users of English (JUEs), it is vital for teachers of English to understand
the cultural complexities surrounding the language, one of which is the use of vague
language, which has been shown to serve both interpersonal and interactional
functions in communications.
One element of English vague language is the general extender (for example,
or something). The use of general extenders by users of English as a second language
(L2) has been studied extensively. However, there is a lack of research into the use of
general extenders by JUEs, and their functional differences across speaking
proficiency levels and contexts. This study sought to address the knowledge gap,
critically exploring the use of general extenders spoken by JUEs across speaking
proficiency levels and task types.
The study drew on quantitative and qualitative corpus-based tools and
methodologies using the National Institute of Information and Communications
Technology Japanese Learner English Corpus (Izumi, Uchimoto, & Isahara, 2004),
which contains transcriptions of a speaking test. An in-depth analysis of individual
frequently-occurring general extenders was carried out across speaking proficiency
levels and test tasks (description, narrative, interview and role-play) in order to
reveal the frequency, and the textual and functional complexity of general extenders
used by JUEs. In order to ensure the relevance of the application of the findings to
the context of language education, the study also sought language teachers’ beliefs
on the use of general extenders by JUEs.
Three general extenders (or something (like that), and stuff, and and so on)
were explored due to their high frequency within the corpus. The study showed that
the use of these forms differed widely across the JUEs’ speaking proficiency levels
and task types undertaken: or something (like that) is typically used in description
tasks at the higher level and in interview and description tasks at the intermediate
level; and stuff is typical of the interview at the higher level; and so on of the
interview at the lower-intermediate level. The study also revealed that a greater
proportion of the higher level JUEs use general extenders than do those at lower
levels, while those with lower speaking proficiency level who do use general
extenders, do so at an high density. A qualitative exploration of concordance lines
and extracts revealed a number of interpersonal and discourse-oriented functions
across speaking proficiency levels: or something (like that) functions to show
uncertainty about information or linguistic choice and helps the JUEs to hold their
turn; and stuff serves to make the JUEs’ expression emphatic; and so on appears to
show the JUEs’ lack of confidence in their language use, and signals the desire to
give up their turn. The findings suggest that the use of general extenders by JUEs is
multifunctional, and that this multi-functionality is linked to various elements, such
as the level of language proficiency, the nature of the task, the real time processing of
their speech and the power asymmetry where the time and floor are mainly managed
by the examiners.
The study contributes to extending understanding of how JUEs use general
extenders to convey interpersonal and discourse-oriented functions in the context of
language education, in speaking tests and possibly also in classrooms, and provides
new insights into the dynamics of L2 users’ use of general extenders. It brings into
questions the generally-held view that the use of general extenders by L2 users as a
group is homogenous. The findings from this study could assist teachers to
understand JUEs’ intentions in their speech and to aid their speech production. More
importantly, it may raise language educators’ awareness of how the use of general
extenders by JUEs varies across speaking proficiency levels and task types. These
findings should have pedagogical implications in the context of language education,
and assist teachers in improving interactional competence, in line with emerging
English language teaching policy in Japan