出版物 ｜Sophia Linguistica
Harushige Nakakoji
This experimental study examines the effects of the language background of the interlocutor on the language use and choice of native speakers of Japanese in taskbased nonnative-nonnative interactions with their Japanese- or Chinese-speaking peers. The study sought whether the heterogeneous paring of the speaker and the interlocutor in terms of their language background induces more frequent choice of English as a means of communication and results in greater L2 production by the native Japanese speakers. The participants were 16 second grade students at a Japanese private high school who were from a Japanese or Chinese language background. The data analyzed involved tokens, type/token ratios, signals and modified responses in English and Japanese in transcribed IC audio-recordings from the classroom experiment in pair work. The findings of the transcribed data suggest that the language background of the interlocutor has an impact on their language choice, in particular of the lower proficiency participants who uttered much greater numbers of Japanese tokens when paired with a native Japanese speaker than with a native Chinese speaker, though this did not result in greater Japanese production in all Japanese-Chinese pair interactions.
