How can Japanese university students' incorrect understanding of the scope of meaning of some English verbs be rectified?

Abstract

The English verb climb refers to a motion in which one ascends under one's own physical power, whereas the Japanese verb noboru does not have such a restriction. The present study dealt with Japanese university students' understanding of the scope of meaning of some English verbs commonly misused by Japanese. In Experiment 1, the Test group (n = 44) only took a test, while the Dictionary groups (n = 101) read explanations of usage that were like the explanations in an English-Japanese dictionary. The results revealed that the Test group had an insufficient understanding of some basic verbs (climb, memorize, borrow, teach, and put on), whereas the Dictionary groups had a better understanding of those words. In Experiment 2, the Practice group (n = 39) practiced judging whether some sample sentences were correct ; the Episode group (n = 45) read short stories in which misuses of verbs resulted in odd and unexpected meanings. Both groups in Experiment 2 had 90% correct answers on a posttest, whereas the Dictionary groups in Experiment 1 had 75% correct. Also, the Episode group's motivation for learning English vocabulary improved. In addition, the combination of learning materials and learning strategies showed an aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) with motivation.