第６回 日本語が母語の子供たちの英語習得#6 Japanese children’s English language acquisition
Dr. Hakutaの研究によると、米国在住の日本語を母語とする子供の英語習得の特徴についてこう指摘しています。英語の冠詞は日本語に相当するものがなく、誤用が長期間に見られ、冠詞の習得には時間がかかると想定されています。反対に、所有格のSは（Kayo’s book）、名詞＋の＋名詞（佳世の本）と表されることから、習得は難しくなく、学習の早い段階から正しく使用されるとのことです。どちらも日本語という母語に影響されています。私は英語を話す時、文法的な間違いを自分で自覚しながら話すことがあります。冠詞の使い方は、今でも自信がありません。ピッツバーグ大学の英語教育の教授のクラスで聞いたことですが、英語が母国語のアメリカ人にとっては、aとtheの違いは大きく、相手話者が誤用すると戸惑うことがあるとのことです。
According to Dr. Hakuta's research, there are specific characteristics when it comes to English language acquisition for children whose first language is Japanese and who live in the United States. One key point is that English articles (such as "a" and "the") do not have a direct equivalent in Japanese, so mistakes with articles can persist for a long time. It is expected to take time for children to master the use of articles fully.
On the other hand, possessive 'S' (as in "Kayo's book") and constructions like "noun + の + noun" (such as "佳世の本" meaning "Kayo's book") are not difficult for Japanese speakers to learn. As a result, children tend to use them correctly early on in their language learning.
Their native language, Japanese, influences both of these language features. When I speak English, I sometimes recognize my grammatical mistakes. I still lack confidence in using articles correctly. I remember hearing in a class by an English education professor at the University of Pittsburgh that, for native English speakers in the U.S., the difference between "a" and "the" is very important, and they can get confused if someone misuses them.
