Usage of Countable and Uncountable Nouns by Japanese Learners of English : Two Studies Using the ICLE Error-tagged Japanese Sub-corpus

This paper discusses two studies which examine the usage of countable and uncountable nouns in the International Corpus of Learner English (ICLE) error-tagged Japanese sub-corpus. The first study examines major tendencies in the misuse of countable and uncountable nouns as found in the above corpus. Next, the second study examines how learners lexically determine that a noun can be used in both countable and uncountable forms. As a result, errors are classified into 3 types: errors using an uncountable noun as a countable noun, errors using a countable noun as an uncountable noun, and errors occurring when deciding between countable and uncountable nouns depending on the context. Based on the results of the second study, errors related to determining when to use a noun as countable or uncountable depending on context account for over 60% of the errors revealing a major tendency in the misuse of these nouns. It indicates that Japanese learners of English tend to have a fixed notion that specific nouns, especially abstract nouns, are uncountable. Results of the two studies suggest that recognition of countability or uncountability by Japanese EFL learners may be affected by the concept of a noun's concreteness or abstractness.15KJ00005218033departmental bulletin pape