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【研究論文】
神戸英語教育学会紀要
『KELT』第 36 号(2021.1.31)
New Teaching Method in Vocabulary Learning
Based on Prototype Theory - The Case of “Katakana-English”
Maiko Kimura
Mukogawa Women’s University, Japan
Hiroko Arao
Mie University, Japan
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要約
日本には「カタカナ語」という外国語由来の単語や表現が存在する。「パソコン」「人間ド
ック」「シャープペンシル」など英語圏では理解されないものも多数含まれる。これら「カ
タカナ語」は日本人英語学習者の語彙獲得にどのように影響するのだろうか。本研究では、
日本人英語学習者には「苦行」と捉えられがちな語彙学習を、入試など特定の目的のための
暗記ではなく、若い世代の学習者らが、日常楽しみながらあらたに作り出し、使用している
「カタカナ語」が英語語彙習得に正の影響を与える可能性を模索する。
プロトタイプ理論を援用しつつ、一般語の意味ネットワークとの違いに着目した、日本人
英語学習者に対するあらたな語彙学習法を確立するため、日本人英語学習者(大学生)を対
象に、カタカナ語に対する意識/理解度、および中心的意味から周辺への広がりを調査した。
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Introduction
There are several barriers preventing Japanese learners of English from gaining
mastery of the English language. These include the different language order based on
grammatical rules, alphabets and anxiety, to name a few. Among these, vocabulary
learning is sometimes considered to be dependent on the learners’ autonomy, because it
is a matter of memorization. In other words, if it is taken for granted that vocabulary
learning is just a memorization task, it would be considered learners’ responsibilities.
However, is this assumption correct? To answer this question, researchers must assess
Japanese learners of English and search for better ways to help them acquire vocabulary.
In this paper, a new methodology is suggested, which involves the use of “Katakana-
English” that is common among the Japanese people.
Materials & Methods
The Importance of Vocabulary Learning and Difficulties in Quality and Quantity
A general belief and undeniable fact about vocabulary in foreign language
learning is that acquiring more words is better for the learner. Meara (1996) clarifies the
importance of vocabulary by pointing out the superiority of learners with larger
vocabularies in a wide range of language skills over learners with smaller vocabularies.
Hence, many English-language learners tend to spend time and energy acquiring as
many words as possible by reading English books and other materials from the
beginning stage of their learning, such as in junior or senior high school. Carter (1987)
suggests that while advanced learners may benefit from learning vocabulary in context,
beginners probably benefit the most from words that are presented in lists of translation
pairs. Nation (1993) strongly advocates what he calls a “vocabulary flood” for
beginners. This flood would invariably feature learning words from a list. However, the
question to be asked is how learners can deal with this vocabulary flood during the
learning process.
In particular, the problem many English learners face is polysemy, which refers
to words having multiple meanings. The words they have already learned often appear
to have different meanings later on, confusing and tiring learners at the end of the day.
For example, some learners who are familiar with the word “fine” (meaning “good”)
might not recognize the meaning of “first-class” in a different context. Bolinger (1997)
describes this cognitive human feature with the expression “the mind is freer than the
tongue” (p. 19). The deception is similar to when we meet acquaintances and fail to
recognize them in unexpected contexts.
Vocabulary training is sometimes called “menace” training by Japanese learners
of English. They are required to memorize as much vocabulary as possible,
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mainly for entrance examinations when they are students. In order for them to
eliminate such awkward training, a new method of vocabulary learning and
teaching is expected to be explored. (Mizobata, 2006, pp.110-111)
In “Depth of Processing Hypothesis,” learners can recall and practically use new
vocabulary when they cognitively spend much energy in manipulating and thinking
about it (Craik & Tulving, 1975). This hypothesis suggests the importance of the depth
of processing information and implies that the acquisition of vocabulary requires
learners to be engaged in deep processing of information. Therefore, in vocabulary
instruction, the quantity (“flood”) is as important as quality, which influences the
learner’s retention of vocabulary. Ensuring quantity and quality in vocabulary teaching
is critical, because no matter how much vocabulary learners are taught, if they cannot
retain and use it, it is meaningless. At the same time, no matter how much engagement
learners have in learning vocabulary, if the quantity of words is quite limited, it does not
necessarily improve their language proficiency.
Among many vocabulary teaching methods, semantic mapping is an effective
way that strikes a balance between quality and quantity. Semantic mapping involves
thinking about the relationship between learners’ prior knowledge and new vocabularies
encountered. Here, the meanings and the existing relationships between the meanings
are presented as visual images (Novak & Gowin, 1984), enabling the learners to have a
visual image that clearly shows the relationships between words and their meanings.
Learners are also encouraged to use semantic mapping to expand their vocabulary. As
semantic mapping builds on prior knowledge and is an engaging activity for learners, it
is considered an effective strategy in vocabulary learning. As learners learn to
categorize words based on their related meanings, the interrelationships among them
leads to the deep processing of such meanings, ultimately increasing a learner’s
vocabulary. Although, there are several methods to teach vocabulary, which have been
found to be effective for certain learners, Schmitt (1997) points out that the efficacy of
each method greatly depends on the proficiency level and age of the learner.
Prototype Theory and Expanding Vocabulary by Understanding Polysemy
According to Kimura and Arao (2018), when they are faced with instances of
polysemy, Japanese learners of English are likely to take central meanings in
dictionaries as the most familiar meanings. Moreover, they habitually apply the most
familiar meaning of a word to understand a new one and get lost in the meaning;
sometimes, they become confused or tend to misunderstand the word. Therefore, for
effective vocabulary learning, the current study suggests that teaching the related
meanings of a word can help learners construct networks of meaning in their mental
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lexicon. It also emphasizes that providing a visual image of a word based on the related
meanings is important in helping learners understand the deep meaning of that word.
This way of teaching can be especially effective for many beginners who
struggle with polysemy. From the opposite point of view, the most familiar meaning that
learners associate with a word can hinder them from fully understanding that word
when it is used with a different meaning. Nevertheless, referring to the other meanings
of a word can help the learners’ memory by taking advantage of their familiarity with a
specific meaning (the one that that first comes to mind upon encountering a word).
When their familiar meaning is actually not the one that is being referred to, an
instruction can surely raise learners’ awareness and enhance their memories for long-
term retention. The idea behind the suggested method is discussed in the following
sections.
A Method of Teaching Vocabulary Using Learners’ Prior Knowledge and
Familiarity
Among many attempts by researchers, a method suggested by Maki, Hata,
Akira, and Kawase (2019) is worth considering wherein the use of acronym is creatively
applied to teach vocabulary to English learners. In fact, there are many acronyms used
by Japanese learners of English in their daily lives; therefore, the method has a lot of
potential. For example, DVD and ATM are very common acronyms among Japanese
learners. They are so common and familiar that most of them cannot describe these
things without using these acronyms. The point of using acronyms in a vocabulary
teaching method is the efficacy of introducing them along with the detailed vocabulary.
Using both, learners can easily imagine the word, and the image in their mind promotes
the acquisition of new words. Some examples of acronyms and their detailed meanings
are presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Examples of acronyms and their detailed meanings
Acronym Detailed meanings Acronym Detailed meanings
DVD Digital Versatil Disc FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
ATM Automatic Teller Machine GDP Gross Domestic Product
ETC Electronic Toll Collection System
Learners benefit from Write’s method by utilizing a new discovery. The
familiarity and knowledge of acronyms facilitate learners’ curiosity to the original
words and inspire learners by the discovery by asking related questions (e.g., “Is it so? I
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didn’t know that” or “I see. T in ATM is teller in a bank”). The strong point of this
method is that it uses the stock knowledge of Japanese learners of English. As was
mentioned, people in Japan are surrounded by many acronyms even without being
aware that they are originally English. Although some people regard the language
environments where Japanese adopt so many acronyms to be a threat to Japanese
language use; however, in fact, they are inevitable for most of Japanese and so there is
no reason why they cannot use the acronyms for learning English vocabulary. The
method is based on the assumption that learners can use their acquired knowledge to
learn new words.
Exploring a New Method that Uses Katakana-English
Maki, et al (2019) has inspired the authors of the current work to explore a new
method, which features “Katakana-English” a kind of fusion language that Japanese
learners of English are familiar with and know too well. First of all, we must clarify
what Katakana-English is. The Japanese language uses three different letters in its
writing system: Hiragana, Katakana (phonogram), and Chinese characters (ideograms).
Katakana-English mainly consists of combinations of Katakana letters. Katakana is
often used for foreign words that originally come from other countries. The words
written in Katakana are often pronounced in Japanese pronunciation to match the
Japanese phonological system; thus, they may sound completely different from how the
original words are spoken in the foreign origin language. Thus, Katakana words
comprise a large part of Japanese language. In addition, they often change form in such
a way that they are shortened or mixed with other Japanese words. Many English words
are used as Katakana-English in Japan, but English-speaking people who are non-native
speakers of Japanese may not even notice that those words are originally English
because the words are extremely phonologically and semantically deviated from the
original versions.
Katakana-English words are defined and categorized in different ways by
different researchers. For example, Toyota (2003) categorizes Katakana-English words
as (1) those that can be used in English-speaking countries, (2) words mistakenly used
as a notion of English in Japan but are not used in English-speaking countries, and (3)
words derived from other languages aside from English. In this categorization, the
words in Category 1 keep the English meaning, form, and pronunciation; words in
Category 2 are completely Japanized by changing the meaning, form, and pronunciation
but are still be believed to be decent English words; and the words in Category 3 are not
originally English.
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Inoue (2004) also differentiates Katakana-English and Janglish words by using
the following description. On the one hand, Katakana-English words are Japanese
words that have been historically used for a long period of time; hence, it would be
extremely inconvenient for Japanese people to live without using such words. On the
other hand, Janglish words are considered disposable buzzwords that can be used
temporarily. They usually disappear over time and do not become regular Japanese
words used on a daily basis.
Whether or not these are useful or considered incorrect forms of English,
unsurprisingly, the Japanese use so many Katakana-English words in their ordinary
conversations. Clearly, some Katakana-English words are not so deviant from the
original English words in that the former still maintain the semantic and phonological
features of the latter, although the degree may vary. Once Katakana-English words
deviate from the original ones to the degree that they are incomprehensible and no
longer recognized to derive from the original English words, they are often called
“Janglish” (a combination of the words “Japanese” and “English”). Unlike the
arguments by Inoue (1998), some of the so-called Janglish words have unexpectedly
become almost regular Katakana-English words as they are used over time. That is the
reason why some Japanese learners of English unconsciously use such words both in
Japanese and English.
The following are a few of many examples of statements made by Japanese
college students and recorded for the study. These statements are originally made in
Japanese and translated into English and the Katakana-English, which are underlined,
are kept as they are for reference.
1. “I’m a big fan of Seventeen (the name of a group). I earnestly make a phone call at a
free dial to get a ticket whenever they hold concerts in Japan. On the day of the concert,
there are a lot of high-tension (energetic) fans and they become panic (are panicking)!”
(a female college student A).
2. “I visited a dinner-show of a talent (TV personality) at a hotel with my friend. I
dressed up because the show was held at a high-class hotel in Kobe. When I asked a boy
to take my coat, he treated us very kindly. We felt as if we were cereb (celebrities).” (a
female college student B).
As seen in these statements, it is obviously difficult to figure out the meanings of
the underlined Katakana-English words, while they completely make sense and are
understandable to most of the Japanese who use them. On the one hand, due to the
nonsensical nature and incomprehensiveness of these words in English, some Japanese
consider them as shameful and wasteful, pointing out that they are totally wrong usage
of English. Some people, on the other hand, accept the uniqueness and localization of
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the words as parts of Japanese, thus admitting a change of language use over time. In
terms of English education, if there is one thing, it is risky for English learners to use
the Katakana-English words when speaking English without knowing that many of
them do not make sense, especially when the Katakana-English words deviate too much
or become too Japanized to the degree that they reach the level of incomprehensible
Janglish words. Therefore, raising learners’ awareness of Katakana-English by
emphasizing the differences between these words and their correct English counterparts
is important. This attempt provides learners with a strong impression of words and
enhances their memory so that they can retain these words in their mind.
To avoid the confusion due to the variety of definitions and categorizations
proposed by different researchers, this study divided Katakana-English words into six
categories when used in English-speaking contexts: (1) words that are pronounced
differently (“gas,” “virus,” “ticket,” etc.), (2) words that are partially abbreviated
(“appo” for appointment, “depart” for department store, “ensto” for engine stop, “boy”
for bellboy, etc.), (3) words that are partly changed but sometimes accepted in English
(“complex” for inferior complex, “claim” for complaint, etc.), (4) words that can be
misunderstood (“cunning” for cheating, “talent” for TV personality, “cereb” for
celebrity, etc.), (5) words that are purely coined in Japan (“mishin” for sewing
machine, “three size” for BWH measurements, “free dial” for toll-free call, “high-
tension” for energetic, etc.), and (6) words that can be used directly (e.g., “standing
ovation”). Words in Categories 1–5 have Japanese flavor and those in Category 6 can
be used as correct English in English communication.
“Teen slang” used by young Japanese can be considered typical examples of
Category 5 words.
These slangs currently used by Japanese youth may possibly be called Janglish
by some people. These are trendy words used temporarily and eventually become
obsolete and forgotten. However, as mentioned previously, once in a while, some new
expressions are adopted indefinitely and become commonly used by all Japanese people
as regular Katakana-English. For example, “dotacan” (last-minute cancellation) used to
be a trendy slang coined by young people in early 1900s, but today it is a normal and
ordinary word used and understood by everyone regardless of generation. This kind of
phenomenon takes place when the words are quite frequently used and comfortably fit
people’s sense of language use to the point where they are accepted as words for daily
use. The types that are likely to survive as regular words are beyond the scope of this
study and should be explored and discussed in another study.
Clearly, Japanese youth enjoy bringing English elements into their language in
Japanese and they are rather open to new word sounds. Thus, this can be a good
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opportunity for English as a foreign language (EFL) researchers to take advantage of
Japanese young people’s positive attitudes to Katakana-English for effectively teaching
and expanding the learners’ English vocabulary.
Pre-survey on Katakana-English
A survey was conducted in order to determine how university students, who are
also English learners, recognize whether Katakana-English words are correct or
incorrect as English words. The respondents of the survey included 90 Japanese
university students who have been learning English for about ten years. Next, 16
Katakana-English words classified under Category 5 (words that did not make sense in
English) were presented to the respondents in Roman letters. The respondents were
asked to check “Yes” if the words were recognized as Katakana-English coined by
Japanese, but are incomprehensible in English communication (thus considered Janglish
under Category 5). The results of the survey, which indicate the inaccuracy rate of their
recognition, are shown in Table 3.
Table 2. Japanese college students’ recognition of Janglish words
Note: number of respondents is 90
For example, let us take “hearing test” as Katakana-English that has been
outstandingly taken to be a correct English term. Results showed that 70 percent of the
respondents understood that the term referred to a listening comprehension test.
Needless to say, “hearing test” usually refers to “audiometric test” in medical English-
speaking contexts. The idea is, however, far beyond the imagination of Japanese
learners of English. As seen in the results, it is highly possible for Japanese learners who
use Katakana-English to communicate in English and end up miscommunicating in an
English-speaking context.
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In relation to the above, the summary of the negative aspects of Katakana-
English are presented below.
1. Their perception that these are correct English words leads to confusion in meanings
(e.g., “American coffee” is used to mean “weak coffee,” “sharp pencil” is used to
mean “mechanical pencil”).
2. The use of Janglish causes a pronunciation problem in English. For example, many
Japanese mispronounce the “r” sound to sound like “l,” as in “Japanese eat r(l)ice as
a staple food.”
3. The use of Katakana-English is looked down on and severely criticized as Janglish,
something that represents a lack in knowledge of English.
While the negative points are targets of some critics, the use of Katakana-
English can be helpful in preventing a conversation from breaking down when Japanese
learners of English do not know the specific English words they want to express. They
use Katakana-English as one of the compensation strategies among the communication
strategies suggested by (Oxford, 1990), a kind of “switching to the mother tongue,” so
to speak. In a way, it can also be considered “coining words” given that Katakana-
English is a replacement that Japanese English-language learners desperately take a risk
to use in order to make themselves understood when they have a limited vocabulary.
As for teaching English, it is important to shine a light on the positive features of
Katakana-English words: they are more familiar to Japanese learners of English than
normal English words and are commonly used in Japan on a daily basis. When they are
used mistakenly in English communication, they are criticized as something that hinders
the Japanese people’s English-speaking abilities, so Katakana-English words rarely get
attention and are underutilized in teaching English. The next section discusses how the
positive aspects of Katakana-English words can be an effective part of vocabulary
instruction.
Using Katakana-English in Expanding Leaners’ Vocabulary
One of the most well-known and effective techniques to memorize second-
language (L2) vocabulary is the keyword method originally suggested by Atkinson
(1975). The method functions effectively by creating a connection between a word in
the target language and its counterpart in the learner’s first language, which is chosen as
a keyword. The idea is that a keyword familiar to a learner facilitates the connection
with a new word in the target language and helps the learner remember that word. Can
Katakana-English words possibly serve as keywords in vocabulary instruction in
English?
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Katakana-English words are so deeply ingrained in Japanese society that they
are never ignored as junk words or considered as slang expressions. As previously
mentioned, Katakana-English words are sometimes considered to be barriers in
understanding correct English usage. If they are incomprehensible Janglish words, they
are even categorized as disposable items for those who criticize negative aspects in
learning correct English. Setting aside the controversy concerning the features of
Katakana-English and even Janglish, English learners and teachers must maximize the
fact that such words are already ingrained in the Japanese mind as regular words;
therefore, in expanding Japanese learners’ English vocabulary, nothing is more useful
than harnessing their familiarity with Katakana-English words. In particular, when such
words are quite different from correct English, in terms of meaning and form, such as in
Categories 4 and 5 in the previous section, then the impact of a gap between Katakana-
English and correct English words learned through instruction can facilitate the deep
process of learning and enhance the learners’ memories.
In the keyword method, a Japanese word is adopted as a keyword using the
connection of meanings or familiarity to Japanese learners of English. If the keyword is
a Katakana-English word believed to be a correct form English (but actually not), the
impression on learners is expected to be much higher than the use of Japanese words as
a keyword.
Study
The hypothesis for the study is that by paying attention to their wrong
recognition of Katakana-English words with Japanese flavor and focusing on the
difference between such words and their correct English counterparts, Japanese learners
of English can more successfully learn new meanings of Katakana-English words with
Japanese flavor (Categories 1–5) than those words that can be used directly and
correctly (Category 6).
In order to clarify the possibility of using Katakana-English with Japanese
flavor to expand learners’ vocabulary in teaching English to Japanese learners, the
followings are the processes taken in this study.
1. The first survey is conducted to find out the participants’ prototype in Katakana-
English words with strong Japanese flavor. We asked the participants, 15 university
learners of English, to write the meanings of the 10 Katakana-English words with
strong Japanese flavor in a given list (table 3) according to the order with which
they remembered these words. The first meaning is considered to be the prototype of
the word.
2. The participants are given an instruction to raise their awareness of the 10
Katakana-English words and how these have been used incorrectly compared with
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actual English usage by looking them up in a dictionary and finding out the central
meaning of each word. They are then encouraged to realize that their prototypical
meanings are often different from the central meanings in a dictionary.
3. Then, they are given a list of 20 Katakana-English words, including the 10 words
with strong Japanese flavor they focused on in process 2. The other 10 were
Katakana-English words with less Japanese flavor in meaning and form. Their
prototypes are almost the same with correct English, although they are specifically
used in the Japanese context in daily lives. The instruction covers the meanings of
the 20 words. In addition to the meanings, the instruction provides another set of
meanings for the 20 words.
4. The participants were tested as whether they remembered the meanings of the 20
Katakana-English words they learned a week ago in process 3.
The First Survey
The survey was conducted on 15 Japanese university students who had been
learning English for 11 years. First, 10 Katakana-English words (“bill,” “diet,” “issue,”
“stress,” “term,” “coin,” “mansion,” “event,” “claim,” and “unique”) were given to
them. They were then asked to write three meanings of each word, which came up to
their mind from the first to the third most familiar (in order). When the participants
cannot come up with the three meanings, they were allowed to write just two. This
process identifies the prototype of each word, which is recognized as the central
meaning in the mental lexicon of each learner. Table 4 summarizes the results of the
survey and shows the three meanings of each word that the participants remembered
along with the number of the participants in parentheses.
Table 3. Ten Katakana-English words with strong Japanese flavor
1st 2nd 3rd
bill a printed statement
of money (7)
a draft of a
proposed law (3)
building (1)
diet lose weight (15) food (5) a legislative
assembly (1)
issue matter (8) a regular series of
publication (3)
stress (mental) stress (15) emphasis (11)
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term fixed period of
time (school, etc.)
(8)
word (1) Condition (1)
coin (money) coin (15)
mansion apartment (15)*
event annual event (15) competition (11)
claim complaint (15) insist (2)
unique strange (15)
Note: The values in parentheses show the number of respondents who listed these
meanings.
* In British English ‘mansion’ means ‘flat’ so that this is not exactly wrong.
Awareness of Katakana-English Words with Strong Japanese Flavor
We explained to the participants that many of the Katakana-English words
sometimes have different meanings from the original English words or are used in
different ways, while some Katakana-English words have the same meanings but are
pronounced with Japanese accents in a slightly different way from accurate English
pronunciation. Paying attention to their first choice of meanings in the 10 words, they
were encouraged to look up the first meanings of each word in a dictionary. For
example, the meaning of “diet” was prototypically understood as “lose weight” by 15
participants, but the central meaning in a dictionary was “staple food.” This enables the
participants to realize that their prototypes in words are different from the actual central
meanings in English. The participants were also provided a key information: Katakana-
English words were so familiar to them that it was important to know which ones were
strongly Japanese-flavored Katakana-English words and which ones had less Japanese
flavor.
Learning the New Meanings of 20 Katakana-English Words
The participants went through 20 words (the 10 Katakana-English with strong
Japanese flavor and 10 other carefully chosen Katakana-English words with less
Japanese flavor) in a list. In addition to the 10 Katakana-English words in the previous
step, another set of 10 Katakana-English words fell in Category 6, which were words
that made sense in English as they did in Japanese. This means that the prototypes of
Japanese people are not different from the central meanings in a dictionary: the kind of
Katakana-English is judged to be words with less Japanese flavor in this study. For
example, “lemon” is a fruit in Japanese prototypical meaning as it is in the central
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meaning in the dictionary. The same can be said of the other nine Katakana-English
words in this case.
The 20 words were each explained to the participants by giving them new
meanings they were not familiar with. For example, the prototype of “diet” was “to lose
weight” for Japanese learners, but it was found that the central meaning was “food” in a
dictionary. In addition to this instruction, the participants were taught that the word had
another meaning (“legislative assembly”), which most participants did not know. In the
case of “lemon” as a word with less Japanese flavor, the Japanese prototypical meaning
is nothing but “a yellow sour fruit” as it is in the central meaning in a dictionary. Thus,
in addition to this meaning, the instruction taught them that it can also refer to an
“unsatisfactory thing or person.” In this way, the participants received instruction on the
20 words by learning their other meanings, which the participants did not know or were
not familiar with. Hence, the process facilitated the expansion of the meanings
surrounding each word. Table 5 shows the meanings of Katakana-English words with
strong Japanese flavor, which were newly taught to and retained by the participants.
Meanwhile, Table 6 shows the newly taught meanings of Katakana-English words with
less Japanese flavor. Likewise, the participants were asked to remember these meanings.
Table 4. Newly taught meanings of Katakana-English words with strong
Japanese flavor
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Table 5. Newly taught meanings of Katakana-English words with less Japanese
flavor
Word Meaning Word Meaning
1. lemon unsatisfactory
person or thing
6. date dark brown oval
fruit
2. cheese too sentimental 7. trip cause to stumble
and fall
3. will bequest 8. run manage
4. reserve modest 9. sentence declare the
punishment
5. ball party (dance) 10. mint a place where
money is coined
Results of the Test on 20 Word Meanings
One week later, the participants were a given a list of 20 Katakana-English
words (10 words with strong Japanese flavor and 10 with less Japanese flavor) to test
whether they correctly remembered the new meanings they learned in previous
instruction. The average sores for Katakana-English words with strong and less
Japanese flavor were 8.86 and 8.06, respectively. T-test reveals that the average score
for Katakana-English words with strong Japanese flavor was significantly higher than
that for words with less Japanese flavor (t=1.84, p-value <0.1). Results also showed that
Japanese university learners of English could effectively expand and retain the
meanings in words with strong Japanese flavor rather than those with less Japanese
flavor. This means that when Japanese university learners of English have prototypical
meanings in Katakana-English that differed from the central meaning in a dictionary,
they can learn another meaning well. However, when their prototypical meanings match
the central meaning in a dictionary, their learning of a new meaning was not as effective
as the case wherein their prototypical meanings differed from the central meaning.
Implications and Discussion
As shown in the study, it is relatively helpful to teach additional new meanings
of Katakana-English words that are familiar to Japanese learners of English. Harada
(2019) suggests that the level of familiarity with Katakana-English makes a difference
in learning English. Katakana-English can be used to increase the size of learners’
active vocabularies if the instructors help them to do so. The idea reasonably fits the
argument that teaching a new meaning of familiar words than unknown/unfamiliar
words to learners imposes less cognitive burden on English-language learners (Schimitt,
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1997). This notion is also supported by the results of a past study, which clarified the
strong positive connection between word memory and prior knowledge in learning
(Brandt et al., 2005).
In terms of memory, however, the opposite effects have been shown in some
studies, that is, something unfamiliar can be better memorized by a learner without any
prior knowledge it. For example, Davis et al. (2012) presented participants different
images (i.e., pictures that showed prototypical and non-prototypical features of a
beetle), and found that the participants could better remember the non-prototypical
pictures that did not match their prior knowledge of a beetle than the ones that fit their
prototypes. The asymmetry incongruence between prior knowledge and new knowledge
has an incongruence effect, which can be vivid in one’s memory (Neuschatz et al.,
2002).
The incongruent effect explains the learners’ better memory of meanings in
Katakana-English words with strong Japanese flavor. Japanese learners of English are
generally familiar with Katakana-English words, so this familiarity can help them learn
new meanings of the words. If the words have quite different prototypical meanings
from the learners’ own prototypes, the incongruent effect can be expected to facilitate
and enhance the memory even further. Even if their familiar knowledge of Katakana-
English words is not quite accurate, the gap between what they have known and what
they have recently learned can have a strong and vivid impact on learners’ discovery
and memory. The effects of Katakana-English can be explained in terms of not only
“familiarity” but also “incongruence” in the learning process. Such an incongruence
also causes emotional effects, such as a feeling of surprise or unpredictability.
Therefore, the reason why the infamous Katakana-English can be useful in vocabulary
expansion is possibly explained from many aspects of cognitive and psychological
processes in learning.
In a past study of Kimura and Arao (2018), the key to focus on is the importance
of relational meanings associated with the prototypical meaning of a word. However,
this study finds that the unpredictability of meanings can also enhance the memory and
lead to vocabulary expansion in the case wherein the words (e.g., Katakana-English
words) are familiar to learners. More often than not, learners make an attempt to find
the underlying connections between their prototypical meanings and newly learned
meanings. When they find the connection, learners are convinced and become
intellectually interested in the word. Even if they find no connection, the
unpredictability seems to be a cognitive stimulus that is well-retained in the mind.
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Conclusion
This study suggests the possibility of using Katakana-English words in teaching
vocabulary. Prototype theory supports the idea behind the suggested method in a way
that a prototypical meaning serves as a central meaning in one’s mental lexicon. The
learners’ familiarity and prior knowledge are key factors that can heighten the effects of
this new method. Additionally, the incongruence effect is expected to enhance the
retention in vocabulary extension, thus making the proposed method more effective.
The potential effect of this method should be explored further as there remain
some matters to study and discuss in detail. First, future works should select a wider
range of Katakana-English words to study and give to the participants. Second, the
number of participants in the current study was not large enough to completely validate
the effect of the method. Third, the vocabulary sizes of the participants were not
examined in detail so the level of vocabulary can be well controlled and adjusted to the
most effective learning for each participant. Although this paper has some issues
mentioned above, the suggestions provided in this study give new insights to vocabulary
instruction in teaching English for Japanese learners.
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This works was supported by KAKENHI Grant Number JP18K00828
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