In the Japanese language, it is said that the auxiliary verb soo da ‘it looks like’ connects to three types of elements: verbs, i-adjectives and na-adjectives. However, a close look at the actual use of soo da makes it clear that it may also connect to another type of element, which is seemingly a ‘noun phrase’, as seen in the following example:

ano hito wa ii hito soo da

that person TOP good person it-looks-like

‘That person seems to be a nice person.’

Although this type of expression is commonly used among native speakers of Japanese, it does not seem possible to explain under the present framework, if we regard ii hito ‘nice person’ simply as a noun phrase. Through syntactic and semantic analyses, in the present paper we attempt to explain this phenomenon by making the following arguments:

1. Nouns and noun phrases with a gradable concept involve some properties of na-adjectives.

2. Soo da ‘it looks like’ tends to follow a noun phrase that involves a gradable concept, an idiomatic element and a meaning related to the evaluation of a person.

In this paper, we first introduce a new framework for classification of the use of Verb-te iku based on the Basic Verb Handbook (http://verbhandbook.ninjal.ac.jp), and then we introduce a comparative survey between the Science and Engineering Spoken Japanese Corpus and Japanese language textbooks using the above framework. Based on the results of the survey, we propose that the introduction of Verb-te iku be made in the classroom to learners in science and engineering, depending on their level and field of study, according to the following classification: 1) Iterative (series of independent events) use; 2) Metalanguage use in presentations; 3) Expressions combining Verb-te iku and other elementary sentence patterns; 4) The expressions that should be introduced as a single word.

In this paper, we investigated the promoting and inhibiting factors related to the participation and continued participation by adult Japanese language learners in Taiwan, as well as the learning continuation process. Targeted at learners in private adult Japanese language education institutions, the analysis was performed by the Trajectory Equifinality Approach (TEA). As a result of the analysis, it was revealed that adult learners first participated in the classroom due to requests from their company or to increase their competitiveness, and studied with the aim of acquiring competence in Japanese necessary for their work. Once this goal was accomplished, they continued studying, not only to improve their Japanese but also to build relationships with other learners in different areas and for the fun of learning. In conclusion, one characteristic of adult learners in Taiwan is that the value derived from learning Japanese in the classroom can change through the learning process from one of investment to one that includes consumption in the shared experience with other learners.