Theory, Research and Pedagogy in Learning and Teaching Japanese Grammar

"Alessandro Benati and Sayoko Yamashita have assembled a useful collection of survey pieces and new empirical studies on the acquisition and teaching of Japanese grammar. The collection will be valuable for graduate students and classroom teachers, illustrating what has been accomplished in this relatively young field and suggesting avenues for future research." (Michael H. Long, Professor, University of Maryland, USA) "Benati and Yamashita have created an important and timely resource for researchers, teachers, and learners of Japanese as a second language. This well-crafted volume presents coverage of a number of important grammatical forms in Japanese (e.g., morphological case marking systems, the imperfective -teiru, the stance expression of to-omou, and the desu/masu and plain forms). Situating these forms in the mainstream SLA theories and instructional models, the book stimulates us to think more about the critical connection among theory, research and pedagogy in the context of Japanese." (Naoko Taguchi, Associate Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, USA) "Containing an insightful overview of important issues in the design and implementation of effective pedagogical grammar instruction, along with a range of theoretically motivated empirical studies, this book will be essential reading for SLA researchers, and for teachers of Japanese as a second language. A very valuable contribution!" (Peter Robinson, Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University, Tokyo, Japan)

This edited book focuses on the role of different types of pedagogical solutions in the acquisition of the Japanese grammatical system by reviewing, assessing and measuring current theory and research.This edited book focuses on the role of different types of pedagogical solutions in the acquisition of the Japanese grammatical system by reviewing, assessing and measuring current theory and research. Findings from this research have implications for the way Japanese grammar is learned and taught in a classroom context. The editors and contributors address a number of questions around the role of Japanese grammar learning and teaching such as: what is the role of instruction in Japanese second language acquisition? What are the main findings of empirical research into the acquisition of Japanese grammar? Is any one particular pedagogical intervention or solution to the teaching of Japanese grammar more effective than another? What pedagogical options do we have for the teaching of Japanese grammar? This book offers a unique insight into its practical implications for Japanese language learning and teaching for applied linguists, researchers, language teaching professionals and curriculum developers alike.