ARELE: Annual Review of English Language Education in Japan
Online ISSN : 2432-0412
Print ISSN : 1344-8560
ISSN-L : 1344-8560
Effects of a Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Teaching Countable and Uncountable English Nouns to Japanese Learners of English
Kanako CHOYoshikiyo KAWASE
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2011 Volume 22 Pages 201-215

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Abstract

This paper investigates the effectiveness of a cognitive linguistic approach to teaching countable and uncountable English nouns to Japanese learners of English in a classroom setting. For this study, a new teaching method and a worksheet were carefully developed for use in classroom teaching at junior and senior high school levels. Our first study investigated whether the cognitive approach led to significant gains in learning and showed that the students successfully learned the differences between countable and uncountable English nouns through a new teaching method based on the theory of Cognitive Linguistics. A second study was conducted to determine whether the new method was applicable from the teacher's point of view. This new approach was introduced to junior and senior high school teachers during a teacher-training course required for the renewal of a teaching license, and all the teachers who participated in the course were confident that they could teach countable and uncountable nouns without difficulties using this new teaching approach. Based on the results of these two studies, this paper argues that the cognitive linguistic approach to teaching countable and uncountable English nouns is more effective than traditional approaches and that the new approach is practical for administering to junior and senior high school students in Japan.

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© 2011 The Japan Society of English Language Education
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