A Study of the Request-Responses Found in the Quick Response Listening on Japanese-Language Proficiency Test

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate request utterances and their responses in the quick response listening part of Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N2. For the analysis, 53 utterances in N2 and 46 of those in N3 which met the pragmatic conditions were extracted from 43 JLPT workbooks in order to examine the differences between the two levels. The results of the data observation revealed that in the N2 workbooks, a request in the form of asking permission by using “-temorattemoiika” was found. In addition, negative expressions, sentence-final expressions such as “wakeniwaikanai” and introductory remarks such as “osashitsukaenakereba” were used as well. As for the response, the numbers of negative acceptances and responses where listeners inquired about the request rather than provided prompt replies were remarkable. It can be said that these request-response patterns are often observed in daily life, and therefore they correspond with the linguistic competence required for N2, which states that one is able to comprehend orally presented materials such as coherent conversations. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that Japanese instructors might be able to design teaching methods for N2 preparation so that learners would develop skills for tests and as a result, communicate more efficiently in the future.