The passive sentence and its types in Japanese and Arabic languages doesn’t only differ in grammar but also in function and uses, especially in Japanese language. Passive sentences in Japanese are often used, whereas in Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)) active sentences are preferred and passive sentences are not used that much. That is why, Egyptian Japanese language learner whose mother tongue is Arabic (hereinafter referred to as Egyptian learner) often becomes confused or faces problem when using the Japanese passive sentence.
The purpose of this study is to clarify and explain the difficulties that face the Egyptian learners in the acquisition of the Japanese passive sentences.
The study on the acquisition of Japanese passive sentences as a second language is mainly focusing on the difficulties in acquiring passive sentences in Japanese by foreigners, the sequence of acquisition of passive sentences and the influence of textbooks and mother tongues. However, there have not been enough research on clarifying the actual use of passive sentence to point out passive uses, guidance based on the results for the Egyptian learners and the Japanese native speakers. Thus, it is necessary to focus on Egyptian learners, examine the actual usage of the passive, the level of understanding of its functions and consider the teaching method from the direction of Japanese-language education (for non-native speakers).
The purpose of this study is as follows:
(1) Comparing the actual usage of Japanese passive sentences by Egyptian learners and Japanese native speakers based on a questionnaire survey to understand the difference empirically.
(2) Clarifying the misuses noticed when using Japanese passive sentences, analyzing the cause of the inability to understand and use passive sentences according to the results of the survey.
(3) Based on the above-mentioned analysis in (1) & (2), an effective teaching method for passive sentences for Egyptian learners will be found out.
This survey is conducted for 50 Egyptian learners and 30 Japanese native speakers.
In order to clarify the acquisition process of Japanese passive sentences, the research is based on the following three working hypotheses: -
(1) Egyptian learners tend to avoid using the Japanese passive sentences and use active sentences.
(2) The learner's level of acquisition depending on the type and the function of the Japanese passive sentence. The level of acquisition will affect the actual usage of each type of the Japanese passive sentence by Egyptian learners.
(3) The use of passive sentences is affected by the impact of the textbook used for teaching Japanese language and the mother tongue interference. |
