English Learners' Awareness of Loanwords and Their Variances with English

This paper begins by reviewing why and how foreign words are borrowed into a language and then discusses homework assignments and class discussions that were designed to increase Japanese junior college students' awareness of the loanwords they use in their first language and to help them think about how these words might affect their communication in their second language, English. In spite of some research indicating Japanese tertiary students are unaware that loanwords are borrowed and have different usages and meanings that English, the current study demonstrates students' awareness of these issues for a select group of loanwords. The study also suggests that many students believe using loanwords during English communication may lead to misunderstandings.