• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.25-45
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• 2007

In this article, I discuss an International Collaborative Writing Course on the Internet (ICWCI) that focused on the learning effectiveness Korean EFL students (KEFLSs) perceived to be necessary to exchange with international EFL students (IEFLSs). The course development was based on an internet-based instructional module, applying widely accepted EFL theories for modern foreign language instruction: collaborative learning, process writing, project-based learning, and integrated approaches. Data from online discussion forum, mid-of-semester and end-of-semester surveys, and final oral interviews are conducted and discussed. KEFLSs and IEFLSs were questioned about (a) changes in attitude towards computers assisted language learning (CALL); (b) effect of computer background on motivation; (c) perception of their acquired writing skills; and (d) attitude towards collaborative learning. The result of this study demonstrated that the majority of ICWCI participants said they enjoyed the course, gained fruitful confidence in English communication and computer skills, and felt that they made significant progress in writing skills. In spite of positive benefits created by the ICWCI, it was found that there were some issues that are crucial to run appropriate networked collaborative courses. This study demonstrates that participants' computer skills, basic language proficiency, and local time differences are important factors to be considered when incorporating the ICWCI as these may affect the quality of online instructional courses and students' motivation toward network based collaboration interaction.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.1-24
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• 2012

It has long been shown that Korean EFL students have not practiced extensive reading in school curriculum. Their vocabulary knowledge is limited and a tool for measuring text readability for them has hardly been developed and used. The study aimed to check the current situations on the above issues and develop a reading framework appropriate for extensive reading within the national English curriculum, including the Readability Formula in Korean EFL contexts (KRF). The study consists of four steps. The study does a survey to check the current Korean EFL situations on the issues, suggests a new vocabulary learning size, develops a readability formula as a tool for measuring text difficulty based on the newly suggested vocabulary size, and finally validates the formula with various kinds of English books, including the primary and secondary school English textbooks. It is expected that this study will provide a model for the vocabulary size and the readability index for extensive reading in EFL contexts.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2023

This study investigates the effects of online English writing instruction on university students' writing performance and their anxiety. A total of 34 participants completed the pre- and post- writing tests as well as the surveys regarding perceived anxiety toward English writing. Reflection papers and interviews were employed to triangulate the results of the questionnaires. Quantitative analysis of learners' writing outcomes and surveys revealed that online writing instruction helped improve students' writing skills and reduce writing anxiety. The interviews and reflection papers demonstrated that learners found the writing instruction helpful in reducing somatic anxiety, avoidance behavior, and cognitive anxiety. The current study suggests that adopting non-face-to-face online writing instruction aids EFL students in developing their writing and alleviating writing anxiety.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.71-79
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• 2019

This study aims to investigate the rhythmic patterns in the English speech produced by Chinese learners of English who learn English as a foreign language (EFL learners). Utilizing interval-based rhythm metrics, namely, VarcoC, VarcoV, nPVI-C, nPVI-V, and %V, the study compared the rhythmic differences in English speech between ten native speakers from the United States and forty Chinese EFL learners from mainland China. A sentence elicitation task consisting of thirty picture prompts and corresponding thirty stimuli sentences with at least five vocalic and four consonantal intervals was conducted. Statistical results reveal that both Chinese advanced learners and beginners had significantly lower degree of stress-timed in their English speech, indicating that the acquisition of the L2 speech rhythm was influenced by the learners' L1 rhythmic pattern. In addition, the results also show that the Chinese advanced learners had significantly higher degree of stress-timed in their English speech than beginners and showed no significant difference with native speakers in VarcoC and nPVI-C. These results indicate that the direction of L2 speech rhythm development was from more syllable-timed to more stress-timed.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.167-192
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• 2007

This study investigates the effects of written vocabulary exercises on lexical knowledge. Korean university students learning English as a foreign language were randomly assigned to one of four conditions-Condition 1 (having students match word form with word meaning), Condition 2 (having students fill in the blank provided with a list of words), Condition 3 (having students write sentences with the target words), Condition 4 (having students do three practices with the same vocabulary exercise as the condition 1). Each type of exercises in Condition 1, 2, and 3 was designed to classify a different level of mental processing except Condition 4 with multiple encounters of the target words. Learners' vocabulary knowledge of this study was obtained using a format adopted from the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) immediately and two weeks later. The findings indicated that: (1) Condition 4 having students do three matching vocabulary exercises was as effective as the condition 3 (one writing exercise) on the immediate learning of word; (2) although there was no significant difference of the effect of vocabulary exercises between Condition 3 and 4, Condition 4 asking students to do three matching vocabulary exercises was the most effective way of vocabulary retention after two weeks.

• Asia Pacific Journal of Corpus Research
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.25-42
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• 2023

The number of studies on data-driven learning (DDL) has increased in recent years, and DDL's overall effectiveness as an L2 (second language) teaching methodology has been reported to be high. However, the degree of its effectiveness in grammar instruction, particularly for the goal of correcting errors in L2 writing, is still unclear. To provide guidelines for focused grammar instruction with DDL in the Japanese classroom setting, we aimed to identify the typical grammatical errors made by Japanese learners in the Cambridge Learner Corpus First Certificate in English (CLC FCE) dataset. The results revealed that three error types (nouns, articles, and prepositions) should be addressed in DDL grammar instruction for Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. In light of the findings, pedagogical implications and suggestions for future DDL research and practice are discussed.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.67-89
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• 2005

Writing is a difficult skill for many people, both for children and adult alike and generally most people find it difficult to write down their thoughts effectively. Numerous studies have revealed that teachers find it frustrating to teach writing and many failed to help ESL students develop their writing ability. The theoretical emphasis on process oriented writing instruction has, in general brought about positive changes in the way writing is taught and has become widely accepted in the teaching of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL). Although the interpretation and implementation of the process approach varies considerably from instructor to instructor, nevertheless, the emphasis on process writing has brought about significant and beneficial changes in teachers' orientations to writing. Despite the theoretical recognition of writing as a recursive process, many ESL/EFL classrooms continue to teach writing as a linear sequence of planning, pre-writing, writing, revising and editing and has not enhanced ESL/EFL students writing ability to the desired level. There appears to be a missing link in helping students to crystallize their thoughts before writing. Studies have shown that incorporating visual thinking tools into the process approach of ESL writing can enhance students' ability to write. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study on the effects of using visual thinking tools in enhancing ESL students writing.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.79-91
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• 2011

The purpose of this paper was to take an in-depth look at early American English around the $17^{th}$ and $18^{th}$ century when immigrants from different European countries started to move into the New World. The paper attempted to describe early American English in relation to the process of immigration and settlement from a historical perspective. With a focus on major features of early American English such as uniformity, archaism and richness of lexicon, the paper tried to answer the questions such as how settlement influenced the formation and distribution of regional dialects across the continent, why immigrants tended to show a preference for a uniform way of speaking rather than choosing a variety of regional dialects for communication, and what role foreign languages played in the development of early American English. The overall findings based on the answers to these questions showed how American English went through a variety of processes and changes at the early stages of its development to become a national language later. The paper concluded with some remarks about the implications of the findings for EFL learning and the direction of future research on early American English.

• Korean Journal of Comparative Education
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.1-18
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• 2013

Self-theories regarding general intelligence and English ability were measured from two countries (Korea and Pakistan) and their relationships with self-reported overall academic achievement and English language achievement were examined. No significant mean differences between the two countries were found regarding college students' self-theories. There were significant mean differences in overall academic achievement and English achievement between the two countries. Both the overall academic achievement and English achievement were significantly correlated with various self-theories while taking both samples together. Achievement measures were predicted by self-theories of general intelligence and English language ability. The current study highlighted the relationship between self-theories about general intelligence and English language ability and their relationship with self-reported achievement in two cultural contexts. This research also introduced new instruments to measure self-theories that can be used in studying self-theories in different domains.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.181-197
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to measure how English immersion classes affect students. This study seeks to answer two questions. First, will the young learners gain an international sense? Second, will the students learn English naturally without having to be sent abroad to an English speaking country? Several kinds of immersion programs have been designed and implemented in Korea. However, many students have felt great stress and mental pressure in the immersion programs. Students find the programs stressful because English must be used at all times. In this paper, two groups of elementary school students are compared: one being the control group and the other being the experimental group, an immersion class. The results show that the mental health problems, sensitivities, and rates of depression in the immersion group are greater than those of the students in the control group. Therefore, the immersion students' overall mental health is substandard. The negative effects of lethargy and depression are made worse when they are placed in English only environments. The results indicate more attention should be focused on respecting and understanding the students' overall mental health when teaching them English.