Influencing Factors of the Auditory Comprehension of Emotions by Japanese Language Learners

Abstract

In order to assess Japanese language learners’ auditory comprehension of emotions expressed through Japanese speech and identify the factors influencing auditory comprehension, learners were asked to evaluate 85 statements selected from a speech corpus as positive or negative. Age, gender, and Japanese language level were found to have little impact. However, many Japanese language learners had a low percentage of correct answers for either positive or negative statements, demonstrating individual differences in the auditory comprehension of emotions.