The effects of pragmatic consciousness-raising activities on the development of pragmatic awareness and use of hearsay evidential markers for learners of Japanese as a foreign language.

摘要

The present study investigates the effectiveness of pragmatic consciousness-raising (PCR) activities in the L2 pragmatic acquisition of hearsay evidential markers by learners of Japanese as a foreign language (JFL). PCR is essentially an inductive approach to facilitating awareness of how language forms are used appropriately in a given context. Regarding consciousness-raising, Schmidt (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001) has proposed his noticing hypothesis that no learning can occur without awareness. Therefore, the study explores the question of whether there can be learning without awareness.;A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest format (immediate and delayed) was adopted. Forty-one JFL learners participated in this study. They were undergraduate and graduate students in the US. The JFL learners were divided into two groups: the PCR treatment group and the control group. The pretests were administered one day prior to the treatment sessions. The tests consist of two metapragmatic knowledge tests and an oral discourse production test. In total, four experimental sessions (30 minutes per session) were given to the PCR group. During the treatment sessions, the JFL learners in the PCR group first compared hearsay reports in L1 English and L1 Japanese, and then compared hearsay reports in L 1 Japanese and L2 Japanese. After the treatment periods were over, the learners in both groups were asked to complete immediate posttests. Lastly, one month after the treatment sessions, both groups took delayed posttests.;The JFL learners in the PCR activities performed both the immediate posttests and the delayed posttests better than the control group. These results indicate that it may be effective for JFL learners to learn the features of hearsay evidential markers in Japanese through discourse analysis and become able to use hearsay expressions in a native Japanese-like manner. With regard to the feedback from the PCR participants, some students provided positive feedback on the analysis exercises using natural discourse data. They commented that it is always good to read more real examples that do not come from a textbook. Through the PCR activities, L2 learners may be made aware of critical differences between L1 and L2 pragmatics.