Phonemic verbal fluency test analysis for japanese learners of English.

Verbal fluency tests commonly used in clinical and neuropsychological assessments were conducted on Japanese second‐language learners of English. The most frequently used scores from these tests provide quantitative information such as the total number of words the subjects generated. This study investigated how the different proficiency levels of the learners generate words not only on the quantitative but also qualitative aspects of phonemic verbal fluency. Regarding the procedures of the phonemic verbal fluency test, the subjects were asked to generate orally as many different words as possible beginning with the letter “S” within a limited time of one minute. The results show that the higher proficiency level group of Japanese learners of English generated the greatest number of words, as well as those consisting of more syllables. Moreover, in terms of the qualitative aspect, there was particular tendency for the characteristics of the generated words to vary between the different proficiency level g...