Web writing has gradually been incorporated into second language classrooms, such as CACD (Computer Assisted Communication Devices), e-mail, Web authoring, and chat sites. Lately, as blogs and Social Networking Services (SNS) have become popular among many people for sharing information, jotting down their own thoughts and opinions, and getting messages across to each other, these devices also have been integrated into second language classrooms by many researchers and teachers as effective tools to encourage students to improve their English proficiency. Few classrooms have yet been examined, however, about whether learners' English skills actually developed in the classroom using such devices. This research examined the effects of Social Networking Service and blogging on students' writing fluency. Though writing fluency is multi-facet concept, it can be measured in terms of vocabulary, considering the fact that vocabulary accounts for large amount of variance in learners' writing performance. In this study, the writing fluency was measured by free active vocabulary gauged by lexical quantity and quality. Lexical quantity and quality were calculated by amount of tokens and types students wrote, and Lexical Frequency Profile (LFP), respectively. Twenty first-year university students in Japan registered in SNS and wrote blogs relatively freely for around several months in one semester. Results showed the slight growth of vocabulary quality over several months in one semester. Based on the results, relationships between lexical quantity and quality are discussed and effectiveness of free writing instruction and blog writing teaching in second language classroom are argued.

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[in Japanese]

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This study sets out to examine the role of inhibition in second language use within a second language community. While previous studies of the affective factors in second language acquisition (SLA) have, by and large, used a quantitative methodology, I conducted a qualitative analysis to study second language (L2) learners' perceptions. Of possible qualitative methods described in the literature, this study adopted Strauss and Corbin's version of grounded theory analysis. For approximately 2 months beginning in October 2007, I carried out a first data collection through classroom observations, and through semi-structured and open-ended interviews both inside and outside the classroom. During the analysis of data, I found that the concept "Risk-avoiding in L2 use" was related to the conditions that limit the use of L2, while at the same time it became increasingly clear that interpersonal and socio-cultural factors considerably influence the learners' perceptions in the use of L2. Consequently, the theoretical samplings of the collected data have been selected to illustrate the learners' plentiful experiences as these are molded by interaction with others who live in the L2 community. During data analysis, second language inhibition emerged as the central category of the grounded theory model, as this is defined as a mental operation arising from a defensive mechanism that protects the language ego, and therefore generates unwillingness to use L2. Moreover, the findings so far indicate that the underlying concept that molds second language inhibition is thickness of ego boundaries erected by learners for both interpersonal and socio-cultural protection. The attitude of mind that leads to the avoidance of risk in the use of L2 is thus the direct result of second language inhibition.

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[in Japanese]

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During the last few decades, a significant shift has taken place in the field of education, in which the central role of the teacher has been replaced by learners (Brown, 2003). In response to this change, much attention has been focused on learner factors, such as language learning strategy (LLS). In the preliminary stage of LLS research, interest has been placed on the identification and the classification of general strategies used by good learners. LLS use is affected by learning context (Chamot, 2004; Rubin, 1975). In recent years, the internet has become an important language learning context, and LLS use in online context is considered to be a new prospective research field (see Chapelle, 1998; Hata, 2003). The present study focuses on identifying the LLS used by good learners in Computer Assisted Classroom Discussion (CACD), as well as clarifying the characteristics of these strategies. Stimulated recall interviews were conducted to collect strategies used in pre-task, in-task, and post-task of CACD. Six English learners were selected from 69 sophomores at a university in Hokkaido according to the fluency and the complexity of their output. They were asked to complete the semi-structured questionnaire and the stimulated recall interviews. In order to get a better understanding of the LLS use in CACD, a qualitative method named the grounded theory approach was adopted in the data analysis. This paper will mainly focus on the data analysis that has been conducted for strategies used in pre-task and in-task stages. The results indicate that in the CACD context, the appropriateness of strategy use is more important to language learning than the frequency of its use.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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