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Part of
Processability and Language Acquisition in the Asia-Pacific Region
Edited by Satomi Kawaguchi, Bruno Di Biase and Yumiko Yamaguchi
[Processability Approaches to Language Acquisition Research & Teaching 9] 2023
► pp. 27–62

Chapter 2
Studies of Japanese as a second language and their contribution to Processability Theory

| Western Sydney University

In the field of second language acquisition (SLA), Japanese has an important role to play. The typological characteristics of Japanese stand in clear contrast to Germanic and other European language families. These characteristics have contributed significantly to SLA, establishing cross-linguistic plausibility of developmental sequences in SLA theories, including Processability Theory (PT). This chapter surveys major studies in Japanese SLA over the last two decades, particularly those conducted within the PT framework, to account for the steps forward in understanding morphological and syntactic development of Japanese as a second language in adults, children, and bilingual first language acquisition. Furthermore, the aspects which lag and require further research effort are also discussed.

Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Early studies in JSL: Approaches & methods
  • 3.Morphological and syntactic PT stages in Japanese L2
    • 3.1Morphological stages
    • 3.2Syntactic stages
      • The Prominence Hypothesis
      • The Lexical Mapping Hypothesis
  • 4.Empirical studies in JSL
    • 4.1Earlier studies
    • 4.2Longitudinal studies
    • 4.3Studies on bilingual first language acquisition
    • 4.4Testing the generalisability of Japanese L2 stages in PT
    • 4.5Causative structures
    • 4.6Studies using learner corpora: Tense and aspect
    • 4.7Experimental studies
  • 5.PT applications to language assessment and language learning/teaching
    • 5.1Application of PT to language assessment
    • 5.2Evaluation of learner performance in chat-log using PT
    • 5.3Designing a language learning mobile app LexiFunII based on PT
  • 6.Conclusion: Issues, challenges and opportunities
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 2 February 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/palart.9.02kaw
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