Research on L3 Japanese Acquisition by Prof. Kazumi Yamada Published in Journal of Japanese Linguistics

A research paper by Kazumi Yamada (Professor, Faculty of Engineering) was published in Journal of Japanese Linguistics on April 13, 2026. The study is the result of an international collaborative project conducted with Prof. Roumyana Slabakova, a leading researcher actively advancing third language acquisition research internationally, supported by a KAKENHI grant.

Focusing on L3 acquisition beyond European languages, the study examines how L1 Chinese learners interpret null subjects in Japanese. Overall, learners showed patterns similar to native Japanese speakers regardless of proficiency. However, a closer analysis revealed that learners with higher proficiency in English (their second language) were more likely to exhibit native-like interpretations.

These findings suggest that multiple languages interact in complex ways during additional language acquisition. The study highlights international collaborative research and contributes to ongoing developments in this field.