Contributions of the study of Japanese as a second language to our general understanding of second language acquisition and the definition of second language acquisition research
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online January, 2003
Contributions of the study of Japanese as a second language to our general understanding of second language acquisition and the definition of second language acquisition research
Japanese has figured frequently in second language acquisition (SLA) research, but
more often than not it appears as the first language (L1) rather than the target. In
this article, first I discuss the problems addressed and the insights obtained in
these studies. I then consider two issues. One is what the field of SLA research
should include. I suggest that it should include two categories, namely Core SLA
Research, where second language (L2) linguistic knowledge is investigated, and Broad
SLA research, where researchers study factors that influence the development of L2
knowledge. The other issue is what we can expect in Core SLA research concerning the
L2 acquisition of Japanese. This article illustrates how studies of the L2
acquisition of Japanese can contribute to our understanding of SLA.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bley-Vroman, R.1983:
The comparative fallacy in interlanguage studies: the case of systematicity
. Language Learning33,
1-17
.
2.
Bley-Vroman, R.
and
Yoshinaga, N.2000:
The acquisition of multiple wh-questions by highly proficiency non-native
learners of English
. Second Language Research16,
3-26
.
3.
Burt, M.1975:
Error analysis in the adult EFL classroom
. TESOL Quarterly9,
53-63
.
4.
Ellis, R.1994: The study of second language acquisition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press
.
5.
Eubank, L.
and
Gregg, K. R.1999: Critical periods and (second) language acquisition: Divide
et impera. In
Birdsong, D.
, editor, Second language acquisition and the critical period
hypothesis.
Mahwah, NJ: Laurence Erlbaum
, 65-99.
6.
Fukui, N. 1986: A Theory of Category Projection and its Application. PhD
dissertation, MIT.
7.
Fukui, N.2001: Sizen kagaku tositeno gengogaku [Linguistics as a Natural
Science].
Tokyo: Taishukan
.
8.
Gregg, K. R.1996: The logical and developmental problems of second language
acquisition. In
Ritchie, W. C.
and
Bhatia, T. K.
, editors, Handbook of second language acquisition.
San Diego, CA: Academic Press
, 49-81.
9.
Gregg, K. R.2000:
A theory for every occasion: postmodernism and SLA
. Second Language Research16,
383-399
.
10.
Gregg, K. R.2002:
A garden ripe for weeding: a reply to Lantolf
. Second Language Research18,
79-81
.
11.
Gregg, K. R.
in press: SLA theory: construction and assessment. In
Doughty, C.
and
Long, M. H.
, editors, Handbook of second language acquisition.
Oxford: Blackwell
.
12.
Hawkins, R.2001:
The theoretical significance of universal grammar in second language acquisition
. Second Language Research17,
345-367
.
13.
Kanno, K.1996:
The status of a non-parameterized principle in the L2 initial state
. Language Acquisition5,
317-355
.
14.
Kellerman, E.1979:
Transfer and non-transfer: where are we now
? Studies in Second Language Acquisition2,
37-57
.
15.
Kellerman, E.
,
van IJzendoorn, J.
and
Takashima, H.1999: Pretesting a universal: the empty category principle and
learners of (pseudo) Japanese. In
Kanno, K.
, editor, The acquisition of Japanese as a second language.
Amsterdam: Benjamins
, 71-87.
16.
Kobayashi, K.2001: Dai 4 syo -: goyo-no kakureta gen’in [Chapter 4:
Hidden causes for errors]. In
Noda, H.
,
Sakoda, K.
,
Shibuya, K.
and
Kobayashi, N.
, Nihongo gakusyu -sya no bunpo-syu-toku [The acquisition of grammar by
learners of Japanese].
Tokyo: Taishukan
.
17.
Koyanagi, K.1998:
The trend of second language acquisition studies in America: its
implication to teaching of Japanese language
. Nihongo Kyōiku [Teaching of Japanese Language]97,
37-47
.
18.
Koyanagi, K.2001:
Daini gengo syu -toku katei ni okeru ninti no yakuwari [The role of
cognition in the process of second language acquisition]
. Nihongo Kyōiku [Teaching of Japanese Language]109,
10-19
.
19.
Koyanagi, K.2002:
Focus on form to Nihongo syu -toku kenkyu- [Focus on form and studies of
the acquisition of Japanese]
. Daini Gengo tositeno Nihongo no Syu -toku Kenkyu- [Studies of the
Acquisition of Japanese as a Second Language]5-5
.
20.
Kuroda, S.-Y.1988:
Whether we agree or not: a comparative syntax of English and Japanese
. Lingvisticæ InvestigationesXII,
1-47
.
21.
Lantolf, J. P.1996:
SLA theory building: ‘Letting all the flowers bloom!’Language Learning46,
713-749
.
22.
Lantolf, J. P.2002:
Commentary from the flower garden: responding to Gregg, 2000
. Second Language Research18,
72-78
.
23.
Nagatomo, K.1998: Daini gengo tositeno Nihongo no syu -toku kenkyu-[Studies
of Acquisition of Japanese as a Second Language]. In
Hashiguchi, T.
and
Inagaki, K.
, editors, Zido - Sinrigaku no Sinpo: 1998 nen ban [Progress in Child
Psychology: 1998 year edition], Chapter 4 79-110.
24.
Ono, S.
,
Otomo, K.
,
Kobayashi, H.
,
Shirai, H.
,
Shirai, J.
,
Sugiura, M.
,
Hirakawa, M.
,
Hirakawa, Y.
,
Yukawa, S.
and
Wakabayashi, S.
, editors, 2001: JBIB search: bibliography database for
language acquisition research. Available at
http://cow.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/jbib/ (accessed 14 November 2002).
25.
Saito, M.
and
Fukui, N.1998:
Order in phrase structure and movement
. Linguistic Inquiry29,
439-474
.
26.
Schwartz, B.
and
Sprouse, R.1994: Word order and nominative case in nonnative language
acquisition: a longitudinal study of (L1 Turkish) German interlanguage.
In
Hoesktra, T.
and
Schwartz, B. D.
, editors, Language acquisition studies in generative grammar.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins
, 317-368.
27.
Schwartz, B.
and
Sprouse, R.1996:
L2 cognitive states and the full transfer/full access model
. Second Language Research12,
40-72
.
28.
Sharwood Smith, M.1994: Second language learning: theoretical foundations.
London: Harlow
.
29.
Shibuya, K.2001: Syu -toku kenkyu-no kako to mirai [past and future of
acquisition studies]. In
Noda, H.
,
Sakoda, K.
,
Shibuya, K.
and
Kobayashi, N.
, 2001: Nihongo gakusyu -sya no bunpo-syu-toku [The acquisition of
grammar by learners of Japanese].
Tokyo: Taishukan
, 213-230.
30.
Thomas, M.1995:
Acquisition of the Japanese reflexive zibun and movement of anaphors in
Logical Form
. Second Language Research11,
206-234
.
31.
Vainikka, A.
and
Young-Scholten, M.1994: Direct access to X’-Theory: evidence from Korean
and Turkish adults learning German. In
Hoekstra, T.
and
Schwartz, B. D.
, editors, Language acquisition studies in generative grammar.
Amsterdam: John Benjamins
, 265-316.
32.
Vainikka, A.
and
Young-Scholten, M.1996:
Gradual development of L2 phrase structure
. Second Language Research12,
7-39
.
33.
Wakabayashi, S. 1997: The acquisition of functional categories by learners of
English. PhD Dissertation, University of Cambridge.
34.
White, L.
,
Hirakawa, M.
and
Kawasaki, T.1996:
Effects of instruction on second language acquisition of the Japanese
long-distance reflexive zibun
. Canadian Journal of Linguistics41,
235-254
.
35.
Yoshioka, K.1999:
Studies of the acquisition of Japanese as a second language: the present
conditions and problems
. Nihongo Kyōiku [Teaching of Japanese Language]100,
19-32
.
