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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

2014

Dissertations and Theses

First and Second Language Acquisition

Comparative and general -- Agreement

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Effects Of The First Language On Japanese Esl Learners' Answers To Negative Questions, Kosuke Kanda Apr 2014

Effects Of The First Language On Japanese Esl Learners' Answers To Negative Questions, Kosuke Kanda

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigates how Japanese learners of English respond to English negative questions. Previous research has reported that Japanese learners of English make errors in yes/no responses to English negative questions due to the first language (L1) influence (Kang & Lim-chang, 1998; Takashima, 1989). From the perspective of L1 influence, there are two learning pitfalls: different functions of the yes/no response and different interpretations of negative questions. Both of these influences were examined in this study.

This study involved 8 Japanese learners of English, 4 females and 4 males, attending Portland State University (PSU). In order to elicit data that …