Our previous study clarified that a simple triggering instruction for switching L2 learner’s viewpoint from objective to subjective could work as a kind of cognitive communication strategy to improve their English utterances. In this study, we investigated the similar effects of implicit environmental cue, not the explicit trigger as tested before, on English utterance by Japanese. Ten Japanese university students watched videos of street-walking in NY or Tokyo, and were asked to utter anything they watched or felt in English as much as they could. Videos were projected on a hemisphere screen with 130cm in diameter so that participant got a virtual-realistic experience. Participant’s utterances were recorded, transcribed, and segmented into meaning units, the minimum unit of words that make sense. Then, each unit was classified by the authors as either an objective description of what is shown in the picture or a subjective expression of what participant imagined, what he or she was impressed about, and a feeling of his or her own. We will analyze the data quantitatively and qualitatively to confirm our hypothesis that NY condition gives a stronger environmental cue to facilitate participant’s English utterances than Tokyo condition.

Authors:
Noriko Aotani, Tokai Gakuen University, Japan
Shin'ya Takahashi, Tokai Gakuen University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Noriko Aotani is a Professor at Tokai Gakuen University in Japan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Monday Schedule

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