The present study investigated the relationship in countability between English nouns and their Japanese translations, focusing on the judgement of noun countability between English nouns with the same Japanese translations for count and mass contexts, and those with different Japanese translations. Specifically, the study examined (1) whether or to what extent different Japanese translations for distinctive countability could help Japanese learners of English as a foreign/second language (ESL) judge their English counterparts, and (2) whether English noun countability might affect the countability judgement of Japanese nouns which have no distinction between singular and plural forms. Forty-three Japanese ESL learners were asked to judge the countability of 109 English target nouns, using a seven-point scale. Results showed positive correlations in judgement of countability between English nouns and their Japanese translations in both conditions: English nouns with the same Japanese translations for count and mass meanings, and those with different Japanese translations. These findings suggest that there are cross-linguistic relationships in noun-countability judgement between English and Japanese.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences of high school English language learners’ perceptions between the online classes conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic and regular face-to- face classes. Both a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire (for quantitative analysis) and open-ended questionnaire (for qualitative analysis) surveys were administered to 141 high school English learners. The results of the quantitative analysis showed that there were no significant differences in “autonomy needs satisfaction (attitudes toward the L2 teacher)”, but “attitudes toward the course”, “linguistic self-confidence”, “L2-classroom anxiety”, “competence needs fulfillment” and “relatedness needs fulfillment” were evaluated statistically lower in online classes. A qualitative analysis of learners’ perceptions revealed that there were some positive factors in online classes, such as increased awareness of their autonomous learning and ease of communication with the L2 teachers. On the other hand, it also revealed challenges such as inadequate understanding of the learning content and as well as lack of interaction and collaborative learning opportunities among learners.

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