Akiko Tatsumi - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Akiko Tatsumi

Research paper thumbnail of Speed and Accuracy of Appropriateness JUdgments fbr L 2 Requests by Japanese EFL Learners

The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as ... more The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as a fbreign language (EFL) leamers can make apprepriateness judgments for second laiiguage (L2) requests. Previous studies in interlanguage pragmatics are limited in that they did not distinguish between types of pragmatic inappropriateness and also in that they used only oenine measurement through questionnaires. The present study therefbre distinguishes two types ofpragmatic inappropriateness in L2 utterances (under-polite and over-polite) and measures the reaction time ofIearners' appropriateness judgrnents. The participants were 45 Japanese university students; they were asked to judge whether the presented L2 requests were appropriate or not in the situation, as quickly and accuiately as possible. Six appropriate requests, five under-polite requests, and five over-polite requests were judged. Further, the degree of inappropriateness in underand over-polite requests was manipulated...

Research paper thumbnail of L2 Pragmatic Development Through Study Abroad: Change of Speed and Accuracy in Appropriateness Judgment

The present study investigates how study abroad in the United Kingdom affects the development of ... more The present study investigates how study abroad in the United Kingdom affects the development of second language (L2) pragmatic competence. Specifically, this study examined the development of L2 learners’ speed and accuracy in judging the appropriateness of L2 requests. The participants comprised 22 Japanese university-level English as a foreign language learners who experienced a four-month study abroad in a homestay environment. They performed the same pragmatic appropriateness judgment task before (as a pretest in February 2014) and at the end (as a posttest in July 2014) of study abroad. The task consisted of six appropriate and 10 inappropriate scenarios. The participants were asked to judge whether or not an L2 request sentence was appropriate in a given context as rapidly and accurately as possible and their reaction times and accuracy of judgment were measured. Overall, the results showed that appropriateness judgment became faster and more accurate over time. These results...

Research paper thumbnail of Speed and Accuracy of Appropriateness Judgments for L2 Requests by Japanese EFL Learners

The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as ... more The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as a fbreign language (EFL) leamers can make apprepriateness judgments for second laiiguage (L2) requests. Previous studies in interlanguage pragmatics are limited in that they did not distinguish between types of pragmatic inappropriateness and also in that they used only oenine measurement through questionnaires. The present study therefbre distinguishes two types ofpragmatic inappropriateness in L2 utterances (under-polite and over-polite) and measures the reaction time ofIearners' appropriateness judgrnents. The participants were 45 Japanese university students; they were asked to judge whether the presented L2 requests were appropriate or not in the situation, as quickly and accuiately as possible. Six appropriate requests, five under-polite requests, and five over-polite requests were judged. Further, the degree of inappropriateness in under-and over-polite requests was manipulated from sligiitly inappropriate to very inappropriate. As a result, it was found that speed and accuracy of appropriateness judgments depend on the degree of (in)appropriateness of requests. ln particular, extremely over-polite utterances were dithcult fbr L2 learners to process. JapanSociety ofEnglish Language Education measurement of L2 leamers' pragmatic awareness, meaning that no studies have examined processing dimensions such as fiuency or processing speed as part of learners' pragrnatic competence. Therefbre, the present study tries to bridge the gap between these two researeh fields and shed more light on studies in interlanguage pragmatic awareness by examining how quickly and accurately Japanese learners of English can identify different types of pragmatic mappropnateness. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Politeness Theory Many studies in interlanguage pragmatic research hewe employed the politeness theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). This theory presupposes that all people bearface (social digriity or prestige) and maintain good interpersonal relationships with others by avoiding face-threating acts (F[EAs), Face can be understood as "the public selfimage that every rnember wants to claim fbr himself' (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p, 61), According to Brown and Levinson, two kinds or aspects of face exist and pertain te politeness: positive and negative face. Positive face reflects one's desire to be approved ofby others, while negative face is one's desire not to be imposed on by others, in this context, to estimate the weight of an FTA, Brown and Levinson give a fbrmula involving mental distance between a speaker and a hearer, the power (hereafter, ±Power) that the speaker has over the hearer or vice versa, and the rank ofimposition. Approp"ate actions and utterances to show politeness vary by situation depending on the values ofthese three.

Research paper thumbnail of Speed and Accuracy of Appropriateness JUdgments fbr L 2 Requests by Japanese EFL Learners

The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as ... more The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as a fbreign language (EFL) leamers can make apprepriateness judgments for second laiiguage (L2) requests. Previous studies in interlanguage pragmatics are limited in that they did not distinguish between types of pragmatic inappropriateness and also in that they used only oenine measurement through questionnaires. The present study therefbre distinguishes two types ofpragmatic inappropriateness in L2 utterances (under-polite and over-polite) and measures the reaction time ofIearners' appropriateness judgrnents. The participants were 45 Japanese university students; they were asked to judge whether the presented L2 requests were appropriate or not in the situation, as quickly and accuiately as possible. Six appropriate requests, five under-polite requests, and five over-polite requests were judged. Further, the degree of inappropriateness in underand over-polite requests was manipulated...

Research paper thumbnail of L2 Pragmatic Development Through Study Abroad: Change of Speed and Accuracy in Appropriateness Judgment

The present study investigates how study abroad in the United Kingdom affects the development of ... more The present study investigates how study abroad in the United Kingdom affects the development of second language (L2) pragmatic competence. Specifically, this study examined the development of L2 learners’ speed and accuracy in judging the appropriateness of L2 requests. The participants comprised 22 Japanese university-level English as a foreign language learners who experienced a four-month study abroad in a homestay environment. They performed the same pragmatic appropriateness judgment task before (as a pretest in February 2014) and at the end (as a posttest in July 2014) of study abroad. The task consisted of six appropriate and 10 inappropriate scenarios. The participants were asked to judge whether or not an L2 request sentence was appropriate in a given context as rapidly and accurately as possible and their reaction times and accuracy of judgment were measured. Overall, the results showed that appropriateness judgment became faster and more accurate over time. These results...

Research paper thumbnail of Speed and Accuracy of Appropriateness Judgments for L2 Requests by Japanese EFL Learners

The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as ... more The purpose of the present research is to examine how quickly and accurately Japanese English as a fbreign language (EFL) leamers can make apprepriateness judgments for second laiiguage (L2) requests. Previous studies in interlanguage pragmatics are limited in that they did not distinguish between types of pragmatic inappropriateness and also in that they used only oenine measurement through questionnaires. The present study therefbre distinguishes two types ofpragmatic inappropriateness in L2 utterances (under-polite and over-polite) and measures the reaction time ofIearners' appropriateness judgrnents. The participants were 45 Japanese university students; they were asked to judge whether the presented L2 requests were appropriate or not in the situation, as quickly and accuiately as possible. Six appropriate requests, five under-polite requests, and five over-polite requests were judged. Further, the degree of inappropriateness in under-and over-polite requests was manipulated from sligiitly inappropriate to very inappropriate. As a result, it was found that speed and accuracy of appropriateness judgments depend on the degree of (in)appropriateness of requests. ln particular, extremely over-polite utterances were dithcult fbr L2 learners to process. JapanSociety ofEnglish Language Education measurement of L2 leamers' pragmatic awareness, meaning that no studies have examined processing dimensions such as fiuency or processing speed as part of learners' pragrnatic competence. Therefbre, the present study tries to bridge the gap between these two researeh fields and shed more light on studies in interlanguage pragmatic awareness by examining how quickly and accurately Japanese learners of English can identify different types of pragmatic mappropnateness. 2. Literature Review 2.1 Politeness Theory Many studies in interlanguage pragmatic research hewe employed the politeness theory proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). This theory presupposes that all people bearface (social digriity or prestige) and maintain good interpersonal relationships with others by avoiding face-threating acts (F[EAs), Face can be understood as "the public selfimage that every rnember wants to claim fbr himself' (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p, 61), According to Brown and Levinson, two kinds or aspects of face exist and pertain te politeness: positive and negative face. Positive face reflects one's desire to be approved ofby others, while negative face is one's desire not to be imposed on by others, in this context, to estimate the weight of an FTA, Brown and Levinson give a fbrmula involving mental distance between a speaker and a hearer, the power (hereafter, ±Power) that the speaker has over the hearer or vice versa, and the rank ofimposition. Approp"ate actions and utterances to show politeness vary by situation depending on the values ofthese three.