Pretending to Understand Among Japanese Language Learners: An Investigation of Occurrence Contexts and Associated Emotions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61320/jolcc.v3i2.410-429Abstract
The fact that second language learners commonly employ “pretending to understand” as a communication strategy should be evident to anyone with experience living in a foreign language environment or involved in foreign language education. This study investigates the experiences of pretending to understand among international undergraduate students enrolled at Japanese universities. Using text mining methodology with KH Coder software, this research clarifies in what situations pretending to understand is likely to occur and what emotions are experienced when engaging in this behavior. The survey was conducted from late 2020 to spring 2023 with 142 international undergraduate students averaging N3-N2 Japanese language proficiency level. In contrast to attaining a sense of being part of the group or feeling of achievement, as suggested in prior research, a majority of international students are shown to experience guilty feelings and negative emotions when pretending to understand. Analysis revealed that 43.4% of nouns, 81.3% of adjectival nouns, and up to 86.3% of adjectives used in responses expressed negative emotions. Given that prior research indicates negative emotions may impede learning, this study proposes that Japanese language educators develop further understanding of the phenomenon of pretending to understand, which can lead to loss of confidence and self-reproach among learners.
References
Dewaele, J.-M. (2007). The effect of multilingualism, sociobiographical, and situational factors on communicative anxiety and foreign language anxiety of mature language learners. International Journal of Bilingualism, 11(4), 391–409. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069070110040301
Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. L. (1997). Communication strategies in a second language: Definitions and taxonomies. Language Learning, 47(1), 173–210.
Foster, P. (1998). A classroom perspective on the negotiation of meaning. Applied Linguistics, 19(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/19.1.1
Gardner, R. C., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2012). The socio-educational model of second language learning. In Psychology for language learning (pp. 135–152). Palgrave Macmillan.
Hatch, E. (1992). Discourse and language education. Cambridge University Press.
Horowitz, E. K., Horowitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x
Kayi-Aydar, H. (2022). Negative emotions in language learning and teaching. In The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and individual differences (pp. 1078–1091). Routledge.
Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.
Kristjánsson, K. (2003). On the very idea of “negative emotions.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 33(4), 351–364. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1468-5914.2003.00226.x
Long, M. (1996). The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413–468). Academic Press.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1989). Anxiety and second-language learning: Toward a theoretical clarification. Language Learning, 39(2), 251–275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1989.tb00423.x
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive-broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2012.2.2.4
Nishitani, M., & Matsuda, T. (2003). Foreign language anxiety among Vietnamese learners of Japanese. Bulletin of the International Student Center, Hitotsubashi University, 6, 77–90. (in Japanese)
Oxford, R. (1999). Anxiety and the language learner: New insights. In J. Arnold (Ed.), Affect in language learning (pp. 58–67). Cambridge University Press.
Ozaki, A. (1992). Correction strategies in contact situations: Concerning utterance exchanges of “clarification requests.” Nihongo Kyoiku (Journal of Japanese Language Teaching), 81, 19–30. (in Japanese)
Ozaki, A. (2001). “Clarification requests” and avoidance strategies among Brazilian residents in Japan in contact situations. Journal of Sociolinguistic Sciences, 4(1), 81–90. (in Japanese) Retrieved from https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/jajls
Pica, T. (1994). Research on negotiation: What does it reveal about second-language learning conditions, processes, outcomes? Language Learning, 44(3), 493–527. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01115.x
Suzuki, S. (2017). The impact of emotions on language learning: A neglected issue. Bulletin of Shonan Institute of Technology, 51(1), 105–114. (in Japanese)
Teramura, H. (1987). Predictive ability and grammatical knowledge in listening comprehension. Nihongogaku (Japanese Linguistics), 6(3), 56–68. (in Japanese)
Terui, S. (2012). Second language learners’ coping strategy in conversations with native speakers. Journal of International Students, 2(2), 168–183. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v2i2.484
Thomson-Kinoshita, C. (1994). Beginning Japanese textbooks and “clarification request” strategies. Japanese Language Education Around the Globe, 4, 31–43. (in Japanese)
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kirstie Sobue
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License and Copyright Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:
- Their co-authors authorize them to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.
Copyright
Authors who publish in the Journal of Linguistics, Culture, and Communication agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and greater citation of published work.
Licensing for Data Publication
Journal of Linguistics, Culture, and Communication use a variety of waivers and licenses that are specifically designed for and appropriate for the treatment of data:
- Open Data Commons Attribution License, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/ (default)
- Creative Commons CC-Zero Waiver, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
- Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and Licence, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/pddl/1-0/
Other data publishing licenses may be allowed as exceptions (subject to approval by the editor on a case-by-case basis) and should be justified with a written statement from the author, which will be published with the article.
.jpg)
