東京外国語大学 博士学位論文 Doctoral thesis (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)

ACKNOWLEI）GEMENTS

     Writing a dissertation is a process血ll oflows and highs，廿ustrations and joys． It

would have been impossible to complete it without the support ofthe fbllowing people．

     First and fbremost， my gratitude extends to my supervisor， Professor Masashi Negishi， not only fbr his intellectual insphation， constant encouragement， and continued supPort hl each stage of this project， but also fbr his faith， expectation， and patience

regarding me throughout． I benefited greatly from his keen insights as a researcher，

particularly in helping me see the importance of this project fbr the field of language

assessment．

     1 would like to thank my other dissertation committee members， Profe ssor Hideyuki Takashima， Dr． Yukio Tono， Dr． Tae Umino， and Dr． Yuko Nakahama fbr the廿insightfU1 comments on an early draft ofthis dissertation． Thanks also to Professor

Takashima fbr his invaluable suggestions on data collection and fbr his encouragement throughout， and to Professor Masanori lchikawa for tak口1g the time to give me advice on data analysis and fbr encouraging me to challenge advanced statistical procedures．

     This project has received a research grant丘om the Japan Language Testing Association（JLTA）and financial support fヒom a Grant−in−Aid fbr Scientific Research． I am deeply gratefUl to Dr． Asako Yoshitomi for offering me the opportunity to conduct research under the latter one and fbr havmg been supPortive over the years．

     Asincere note of thanks goes to those outside TUFS：Pro fessor Miyoko

Kobayashi fbr generously sharing her experience in writing a dissertation and fbr her warm encouragement in the early stages of this project；Dr． Rie Kot乙umi fbr having always been a strong source of infbrmation and fbr her constructive advice on data

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東京外国語大学 博士学位論文 Doctoral thesis (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)

coding；and Dr． Yo In nami fbr showing his interest in this project．

     There are several overseas researchers to whom I would also like to express my gratitude：Dr． Yasuyo Sawaki， who replied to my questions on research design patiently；Dr． Sari Luoma， who graciously gave her insights on research agenda regarding semi−direct tests；and Dr． Ari Huhta and Pro fessor Lyle F． Bac㎞an， who

introduced relevant literature to me． I am also indebted to Professor Bachman fbr allowing me to attend his seminar at UCLA in 2006． The experience during that period gave me great inspiration to conduct research．

     Iwish to acknowledge the generous contribution of the following people with data co llection：Nao yuki Kiryu， Atushide Tanaka， Asako Kaneko， Hito shi Sugawara， Dr．

Yukio Tono， and Takahiro Kowata． Thanks are also due to Naoyuki Kiryu fbr checking the Japanese version of the questio皿aires， to Takahiro Kowata for his help with data

coding， and to Taku Kaneta fbr his prompt responses to my questions on CHILDES． In addition， my heart fe lt thanks go to the members of the Negishi Seminar． I have benefited much from my weekly discussions with them．

     Iam gratefUI to Benesee Corporation fbr giving permission to use the speaking part ofthe GTEC fbr STUDENTS fbr data collection and fbr their cooperation with the scoring ofthe tests， and particularly to Tsutomu Mo血o， who responded to my inquiries on the test promptly． Many thanks also to the students who participated in this project．

     Iwould like to thank my husband， Hiroo Takahashi， for being my most faithfUl

supporter throughout， for always assuring me that life would still be beautifUl even without a dissertation， and fbr his financial support that helped me concentrate in the writing−up stage；and fmally 1 thank my parents for teaching me to be persistent， which gave me the primary motivation to carry this project through to the end．

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東京外国語大学 博士学位論文 Doctoral thesis (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)