Naoko Taguchi

	Rank:		Assistant Professor of Japanese and Second Language Acquisition
	Ph.D.		Northern Arizona University
	Department Member Since: 2005

Personal Statement
My primary research interests include the examination of pragmatic competence among second language (L2) learners. Pragmatics, an area within linguistics, is concerned with how people use language in a social context. People have a variety of ways of communicating their ideas. Among many expressions, they choose particular ones based on who they are talking to and under what situations. The contextual factors, along with the knowledge of communication conventions, also help people to comprehend messages that are often indirectly conveyed. Thus, learning L2 involves more than learning a system of grammar. L2 pragmatics also provides important learning materials in order to become a fully competent speaker in the target language culture.

The majority of my past research examined some aspects of pragmatics in language use. I examined L2 learners’ pragmatic competence in terms of accuracy and processing speed, and documented developmental patterns of both. In the area of educational innovation, I examined the teaching practice of communicative competence and pragmatics in English classes in Japanese high schools. In the area of discourse analysis, I analyzed corpora of conversations to describe selected pragmatic features of spoken discourse. My future research interest is to investigate development of speed and accuracy in pragmatic performance over an extended period of time, as well as to examine cognitive and contextual factors that may affect the development.

Recent Publications

• Taguchi, N. (in press). The role of learning environment in the development of pragmatic comprehension: A comparison of gains between EFL and ESL learners. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 

• Taguchi, N. (in press). Cognition, language contact, and development of pragmatic comprehension in a study-abroad context. Language Learning.

• Taguchi, N. (in press). Chunk leaning and the development of spoken discourse in Japanese as a second language. Language Teaching Research.

• Taguchi, N. (in press). Longitudinal study of higher-order inferential ability in L2 English. H. Bynes & L. Ortega (Eds.), The longitudinal study of advanced L2 capacities. Lawrence Erlbaum. 

• Taguchi, N., & Iwasaki, Y. (in press). Goals, beliefs, and outcomes of an elementary Japanese program: Implementation of chunk learning in the development of interpersonal communication ability. Journal of American Association of University Supervisors and Coordinators.

• Taguchi, N. (2007a). Development of speed and accuracy in pragmatic comprehension in English as a foreign language. TESOL Quarterly, 42, 313-338.

• Taguchi, N. (2007b). Task difficulty in oral speech act production. Applied Linguistics, 28, 113-135.

• Taguchi, N. (2006). Analysis of appropriateness in a speech act of request in L2 English. Pragmatics, 16, 513-535.

• Taguchi, N., & Naganuma, N. (2006). Transition from learning English to learning in English: Students’ perceived adaptation difficulties to an English-medium university in Japan. Asian EFL Journal, 8(4), 52-73.

• Taguchi, N. (2005a). Comprehension of implied meaning in English as a second language. Modern Language Journal, 89, 543-562.

• Taguchi, N. (2005b). The Communicative Approach in Japanese Secondary Schools: Teachers' Perceptions and Practice. The Language Teacher, 29 (3), 3-9. 

• McGroarty, M., & Taguchi, N. (2005c). Evaluating communicativeness of EFL textbooks for Japanese secondary schools. In J. Frodesen & C. Holten (Eds.), The power of context in language teaching and learning (pp. 211-224). Boston, MA: Thomson/Heinle & Heinle.

• Taguchi, N. (2003). A comparative analysis of discourse markers in English conversational registers. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 13 (2). 41-69.

• Taguchi, N. (2002a). Implementing Oral Communication classes in upper secondary schools: A case study. The Language Teacher, 26 (11), 13-20.

• Taguchi, N. (2002b). An application of Relevance Theory to the analysis of L2 interpretation processes: The comprehension of indirect replies. International Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 151-176.

For More Information
Naoko Taguchi
Department of Modern Languages
Carnegie Mellon University
Baker Hall 160
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Office: Baker Hall 370
Phone: (412) 268-7991
Fax: (412) 268-1328