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A Longitudinal Study Of The Development Of Fluency Of Novice Japanese Learners: Analysis Using Objective Measures, Saori M. Houston

Open Access Theses

Fluency has been studied extensively in ESL and EFL mainly to determine what spoken features are characteristics of fluent speech by comparing students who participated in study abroad programs with those who did not. These studies were mainly done with advanced learners of English as a second or foreign language, and there have not been many studies conducted with novice-level learners of foreign languages. Japanese fluency studies are especially in the minority. It is necessary to investigate the characteristics of fluency in Japanese novice-level learners since Japanese shares very little in common with English.

This study investigated the developmental changes …

Effects Of A Timed Dictation Activity In The Introductory Course In Japanese Focusing On The Accuracy And Fluency Of Writing Katakana, Aya Okada

Open Access Theses

The importance of mastering one of the Japanese syllabaries, Katakana, is acknowledged by both Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) learners and teachers. Katakana is a phonetic syllabary that is used to transcribe loanwords primarily from European languages and onomatopoeia words. These loanwords are nowadays called Katakana words. The number of Katakana words in Japanese language has been increasing, and it is reported that many JFL learners in Japan often encounter difficulty in understanding these words. Though teachers are also aware of the importance of teaching Katakana, it is treated less importantly. For example, after spending some time and effort …