Abstract:
Japanese as an additional language (L2) learner knowledge of the most frequent Japanese words is an under-researched area, making matching learners with suitable materials for extensive reading (ER) a difficult task for teachers. Furthermore, there are few graded reading materials developed for the purposes of ER, meaning that an ER programme cannot avoid using first language speaker (L1) materials. However, the relationship between learner vocabulary knowledge, the vocabulary used in L2 ER materials, and the vocabulary used in potentially suitable L1 texts for extensive reading is unclear. A vocabulary test of knowledge of the 5000 most frequent Japanese words was conducted with 31 upper-beginner Japanese learners which revealed high overall vocabulary knowledge, yet many gaps. This data is discussed with regard to the stated and actual vocabulary coverage of L2 Japanese ER materials, and to potentially suitable L1 Japanese texts.