This research investigated the acquisition of long and short vowels and pitch accents through perception, sentence reading, and conversational discourse of the Japanese language by 20 Indonesian speakers. They made few errors in listening to short vowels, however, many errors in long ones, and final positioning was very difficult. Indonesians use pitch change as a source of information in long vowel recognition. While reading they made few errors in pronouncing long and short vowels as they read it consciously. In natural discourse, they committed errors in all middle, initial, final positions. In both reading and natural discourse, they pronounced long vowels without any pitch change.

This paper attempts to clarify the aim and features of the new video materials named "TV Commercials for Japanese Classrooms, 2003 & 2005 "produced by The Japan Foundation for Japanese-language learners overseas. It also aims to evaluate the materials based on the results of the questionnaires as answered by users in 61 countries; as well as some practical reports. The aim of these authentic materials is to introduce not only the Japanese spoken language and the latest trends in Japanese society, but also the cultural backgrounds of the TV commercials. The results of the analysis are as follows: 1) Regarding the frequency of practical use, it seems there is variety among the users in different countries. 2) There is a variety in the educational institutions and Japanese language levels in which the materials are used. Especially, they are frequently used at the beginning levels. 3) The materials are mainly used for the introduction of Japanese culture and society. 4) The materials are also used for fun. 5) There is a tendency to demand the easiness of understanding. It is also observed that the aspect of entertainment toward Japanese TV commercials is also becoming important. These findings may lead to the conclusion that the new materials are overall properly evaluated, but the difficulty of understanding TV commercials is left as a problem that suggests the need of proper selection of TV commercials and the need of teachers'support system.

本研究は、英語を母語とする2名の日本語初級学習者を対象とした、疑問・応答表現の習得に関する縦断研究である。1年1ケ月の調査期間中、疑問表現は、文末に助詞「か」を添えた形だけではなく「～も?^<注1>」「～の?」等、文を完結せずに助詞の直後で切り、音調を上げる形式の疑問文の使用もみられるようになった。Yes-No疑問文に対する応答では、疑問文中のことばを繰返す形が多く、否定の応答詞「いいえ」の使用が少なかった。説明を要求する疑問(Wh疑問文)に対する応答では、その平均文節数の増加がみられた。

本稿は、英語圏出身学習者の日本語習得過程縦断調査第2段階について記録したものである。初歩から日本語学習を始めた2名の学習者について、初級の学習内容(累計87時間分)を整理し、各学習項目の習得状況について分析を行った。その結果、特に助詞の習得に関しては、各段階を通じて系統的と思われる誤用が観察された。本稿においてはこの点を中心に述べる