Challenges and Pedagogical Implications in Teaching the Japanese Spatial Expression “no ue” to English-speaking Learners: A Corpus-based Study Using I-JAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18196/jjlel.v9i2.27600Keywords:
Japanese language education, spatial expressions, no ue, English-speaking learners, second language acquisitionAbstract
This study addresses the insufficient attention paid to the Japanese spatial expression “no ue” in research on English-speaking learners, even though spatial particles and locative nouns have been widely studied in second language acquisition. It investigates the use and misuse of “no ue” with the goal of identifying pedagogical challenges and proposing instructional improvements. Using the International Corpus of Japanese as a Second Language (I-JAS) developed by the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, 49 examples of learner production—including both spoken and written data—containing “no ue” were extracted via the “Chunagon” search system. Among these, 21 instances were identified as erroneous, all of which were categorized into six error types; 19 representative cases are illustrated and discussed in detail based on lexical, syntactic, and semantic features. The results revealed frequent errors related to unnatural placement expressions, structural confusion, and semantic mismatches with the English preposition “on”. These errors stemmed from a combination of factors, including spatial concept misinterpretation, vocabulary misuse, syntactic misunderstanding, and first-language interference. By systematically analyzing these tendencies, this study not only contributes to existing research but also highlights its novelty by directly linking error patterns with pedagogical implications, such as improving the teaching of spatial nouns and particles, emphasizing contextual meaning, and incorporating contrastive approaches with English.
References
Konishi, M. (2017). Nihongo gakushusha to bogo washa no sanshutsu goi no so-i: I-JAS no kotonaru tasuku o mochiita hikaku [Differences in vocabulary produced by Japanese learners and native speakers: A comparison using different I-JAS tasks]. Kokuritsu Kokugo Kenkyujo Ronshu, 13, 79–106.
Liu, R. (2018). The use of noun-verb collocations by Chinese advanced learners of Japanese: The differences with Japanese native speakers and the influence of Chinese. Nihongo Kyoiku, 169, 31–45. https://doi.org/10.20721/nihongokyoiku.169.0_31
Misawa, K. (2021). A study on French-speaking Japanese language learners’ tendency to choose Japanese spatial expressions, “ni” and “de”. Nihongo Kyoiku Hoho Kenkyu Kaishi, 28(1), 14–15. https://doi.org/10.19022/jlem.28.1_14
Mochizuki, K., & Shin, A. (2016). Unboundedness in Japanese lexicon: Comparative analysis of compound verbs in Chinese and spatial lexicon in English. Nihongo Gakushusha no Bogo Chiikisei o Fumaeta Nihongo Kyoiku Kenkyu, 2, 43–66. https://doi.org/10.15026/88247
Mochizuki, K., Shin, A., & Oyanagi, N. (2020). Acquisition of tense and aspect in cross-referential learners' corpora of English, Chinese and Japanese. Nihongo Nihongaku Kenkyu, 10, 137–152. https://doi.org/10.15026/94619
Morimoto, K. (2016). Errors and problems in the use of vocabulary in compositions by intermediate leaners of Japanese. Nihongo Gakushusha no Bogo Chiikisei o Fumaeta Nihongo Kyoiku Kenkyu, 2, 99–106. https://doi.org/10.15026/88244
Naito, H. (2016). Nihongo gakushusha ni okeru jujuhyogen no goyo kenkyu: Eigoken gakushusha o chushin ni [Misuse of receptive expressions by Japanese learners: Focusing on English speakers]. Nihon Bungaku Noto, 51, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.15026/94619
Nakanishi, J. (2021). A descriptive study of prepositional errors in Japanese learner corpus of English: Focusing on basic prepositions “at”, “in”, and “on”. Chubu Chiku Eigo Kyoiku Gakkai Kiyo, 50, 113–120.
Oyama, H., Komachi, M., & Matsumoto, Y. (2016). Hierarchical annotation and automatic error-type classification of Japanese language learners’ writing. Shizen Gengo Shori, 23(2), 195–225. https://doi.org/10.5715/jnlp.23.195
Sakoda, K. (2018). How to build and to use the learners' oral/written data, in the case of I-JAS: An investigation of language transfer in I-JAS data, focusing on expressions of request. Learner Corpus Studies in Asia and the World, 3, 75–85. https://doi.org/10.24546/81010119
Sakoda, K. (2020). I-JAS tanjo no keii. The background of compilation of I-JAS. In K. Sakoda, S. Ishikawa, & J. Lee (Eds.), Nihongo gakushusha kopasu I-JAS nyumon: Kenkyu kyoiku ni do tsukauka [Introduction to the I-JAS: Application for research and teaching] (pp. 2–13). Kuroshio Shuppan.
Sakoda, K., & Hosoi, Y. (2018). International Corpus of Japanese as a Second Language (I-JAS): Nihongo gakushusha no gengo kenkyu to shido no tame ni [I-JAS: For research and instruction on Japanese learners' language]. Eigo Kopasu Kenkyu, 25, 133–150.
Sakoda, K., Konishi, M., Sasaki, A., Suga, W., & Hosoi, Y. (2016). International Corpus of Japanese as a Second Language. Kokugoken Purojekuto Rebyu, 6(3), 93–110.
Suzuki, K. (2022). A note on the possibility of overused “no” in Japanese: The acceptance of “de” in Chinese. Bungakubu Kiyo, 36(1), 117–128. https://doi.org/10.15034/00008096
Suzuki, K. (2024). Tendency of overuse of “no” in Japanese: An analysis by learners’ first language and part-of-speech using I-JAS. Jinbunken Kiyo, 108, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.24789/0002001895
Zhang, L. (2019). Analysis of misuse of “yǒu” and “zài” in syntax representing existence by Japanese learners and suggestions for teaching methods. Tohoku Daigaku Kodo Kyoyo Kyoiku Gakusei Shien Kiko Kiyo, 5, 71–78.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jiaan Xu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories, social media account, or on their website) after the article getting published in the journal, as it can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).License
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
