Masako Shimada
Positions
Sessional Instructor
University of Calgary
Contact information
Background
Biography
I graduated from the University of Calgary with a double major degree in Linguistics and Spanish, with distinction, followed by an MA in Linguistics. After completing my studies, I explored exciting careers as a translator, an interpreter, and a buyer that constantly sent me to various countries. Meanwhile, I also taught languages whenever possible. I found teaching rewarding, and I wanted to become a better teacher, which led me to pursue a PhD in Applied Linguistics.
Japanese is my first language and English is my second. My passion for Flamenco and Latin dance led me to learn my third language, Spanish. I enjoy travelling and meeting the locals while tasting their delicious foods! On a sunny day, I like to go on a hike in the mountain or for a nice long walk in a park. Otherwise, I am doing rebounding exercise in my living room!
Projects
The study explored the role of Japanese prosodic features in building successful communication, in particular, the impact of errors involving segmental length contrasts and pitch accent. The results showed that a combination of both prosodic features affected the listeners' comprehensibility most severely. Although the statistical analysis did not indicate that pitch accent impacted the listeners' understanding as severely as segmental length contrasts, the majority of the listeners expressed in their feedback that pitch accent hindered their judgement of the words they were listening to. The study therefore provided insights into the importance of prosody in teaching L2 Japanese pronunciation which often focuses on improving the pronunciation of segmentals, rather than suprasegmentals.
The study investigates and compares the effectiveness of pronunciation training methods that target prosody in second language (L2) Japanese.
English speakers enrolled in the Japanese program will be recruited to participate in a 9-week training program including speaking and listening tests immediately before and after training, and three weeks after training. Between the pretest and posttest, participants will be randomly assigned to one of two training methods (i.e., bodily movement or computer-assisted) and start with pre-recorded lectures to deepen knowledge of the target Japanese prosody. During training, they will also practice listening and speaking in person and online for approx. 30 minutes twice a week.
After the L2 perception and production data are collected and evaluated by Japanese listeners, statistical analyses will be conducted to determine whether their performance has improved after training and whether one method might be more effective than the other. The results will shed light on the importance of the role of prosody in L2 Japanese pronunciation and how L2 prosody can be improved through targeted pronunciation training.
Are you the profile owner?
Login to edit.