The use of relative clauses by Japanese English learners

This study investigates how knowledge of grammatical structures and motivation to attain advanced English proficiency affect Japanese English learners' use of relative clauses and participial phrases in post-modification position. Fifteen advanced Japanese English learners described pictures in oral and written English, took a grammaticality judgment test, answered a questionnaire about their English-learning backgrounds, and were interviewed. Three Americans described the same pictures orally and in writing. The frequency of the learners' relative clause use was not affected by their understanding of relative-clause structures, and positive attitudes toward English learning did not increase their use of relative clauses in their oral English. Instead, that appears to have been influenced by how the learners had heard native speakers use and react to the use of relative clauses in speech. The Japanese participants' learning experiences may have resulted in their limited use of participial phrases.