Influence of English Essay Writing Instructions on Japanese Junior High School Students’ Japanese Essay Writing

Abstract

The Courses of Studies in Japan assume that the cooperation between Japanese classes and foreign language (English) classes is effective because L1 (first language) learning and L2 (second language) learning can have positive effects on each other. However, evidence that supports this argument seems insufficient because while L1 influence on learners’ L2 has been examined by many studies, the number of existing studies on L2 influence on learners’ L1 is still limited. Thus, the present study examined whether L2 instructions about writing strategies would affect learners’ L1 writing. The participants were 214 junior high school students including first, second, and third year students in Japan. Their Japanese and English essays as well as their answers for a survey were analyzed. Consequently, it was indicated that the English writing instructions did not affect participants’ Japanese writing considerably. In addition, most of them did not remember what they had learned in the English writing classes when they were writing a Japanese essay. These results imply that learning about L2 may not automatically affect learners’ L1 use.