• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.1-27
• /
• 2006

This study investigated how EFL readers critically read texts which are written in English. Although critical reading has been discussed in advanced EFL and ESL contexts there has not been much research on the critical reading of beginning EFL learners. Many educators are recommending that a critical perspective be adopted so that L2 learners can become empowered rather than indoctrinated. In this study, the researcher has examined the critical reading practices of five beginning level EFL readers in Korea and five first language readers of English in the United States as they read a news editorial article. The significant findings were discussed related to critical reading practice of L2 readers. The findings of the study can help the educators in English education in improving the curriculum, the teaching methodology and the learning theory for EFL reading for critical reading.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.91-99
• /
• 2014

Although it is well documented that patients with cochlear implant experience hearing difficulties when processing their first language, very little is known whether or not and to what extent cochlear implant patients recognize segments in a second language. This preliminary study examines how Korean learners of English identify English segments in a normal hearing and cochlear implant simulation conditions. Participants heard English vowels and consonants in the following three conditions: normal hearing condition, 12-channel noise vocoding with 0mm spectral shift, and 12-channel noise vocoding with 3mm spectral shift. Results confirmed that nonnative listeners could also retrieve spectral information from vocoded speech signal, as they recognized vowel features fairly accurately despite the vocoding. In contrast, the intelligibility of manner and place features of consonants was significantly decreased by vocoding. In addition, we found that spectral shift affected listeners' vowel recognition, probably because information regarding F1 is diminished by spectral shifting. Results suggest that patients with cochlear implant and normal hearing second language learners would experience different patterns of listening errors when processing their second language(s).

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.87-108
• /
• 2007

Given that various classroom contextual factors influence the nature of writing instructional practices, it would be worthwhile to explore these factors to generate better environment for learning to write. Among many factors, this study examined teachers' beliefs and knowledge, which would operate as a very influential contextual factor in that changes in principles and methods of teaching writing would be the results of their underlying beliefs and knowledge related to teaching writing. Three professional teachers who teach second- and third-grade English language learners (ELLs) were interviewed, and the analysis of teacher interviews was conducted. The research findings indicated that basically all of the teachers perceived the role of writing in second language learning as very important, sharing the belief that the ultimate goal of teaching writing is to have their students gain fluency in writing and that some of instructional methods such as integration of writing and other language aspects, content-based writing, and providing scaffolding are important. In addition, some beliefs that two ESL teachers shared included the importance of ample and continuous opportunities to write, vocabulary knowledge, and explicit instruction about writing. Other beliefs, including the importance of creating a comfortable writing environment and opportunities for writing for varied purposes and genres were represented.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.223-242
• /
• 2012

The study focused on exploring the ways that young ESL learners can cultivate media literacy by asking critical questions about the messages embedded in popular American TV cartoons. The participants in the study were five Korean children who came from three different families that had been living in a Midwestern college-town in the U. S. for less than two years. Research methods include analysis of interviews, video-taped sessions and photos of children's drawings. The children were asked about their American cartoon viewing habits as well as critical questions after watching two episodes of their favorite cartoons-Pok$\acute{e}$mon and SpongeBob. The analysis revealed that on one hand popular culture played an important role in helping children to adjust to a new culture and in motivating them to learn English. Further, the children believed that watching American cartoons was helping them improve their English skills. On the other hand, it appeared that they were not accustomed to being asked critical questions and thinking critically while watching American cartoons. Participation in the study increased the children's familiarity with critical questions and critical thinking to varying degrees. Pedagogical implications and suggestions for teachers are discussed.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.255-284
• /
• 2007

This study explored the ESL college learners' perceptions on integrating reading and writing in the context of the reading-to-write composition classroom. Using the panel survey (N=60) that repeatedly measured the same set of individuals at three different times during a semester, this study examined whether students' perceptions on reading-writing integrations were reshaped over the course of classroom practices. The survey instrument was developed to assess the perception scores from less integrative continua to more integrative continua on a 5-point Likert scale. A two-factor ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to evaluate mean differences across the perception groups and over the three treatment times. The results do not demonstrate a significant treatment effect, suggesting that L2 learners' integrative perceptions were stable over the course of the semester. The dynamics in the perception changes differed widely across the perception groups. This result provides insights into understanding students' reading-writing practices and thus into instructional practices applicable to the classrooms. The present study argues for 12 learners' perceptions on integrating reading and writing as a key construct to understand their literacy practices involved in the composing process.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.393-399
• /
• 2012

New and creative skills must be developed, and adapted into a lesson, to motivate learners to acquire a second language easily and enjoyment, Multimedia tools which are of interest to learners, such as; smart phones, computers, and notebooks with wireless internet compatability, will provide learners opportunities to study, and do their work practically anywhere and anytime. Recently, podcasts, which are a type of digital media, consisting of a series of audio episodes or video files, subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication, or streamed online to a computer or mobile device, are used to facilitate ESL (English as a Second Language) learning. Development of a variety of teaching methods, using multimedia tools, is needed. There are advantages and disadvantages to using a variety of multimedia tools. The current research aims to study its characteristics and application, in order to maximize their effective use, in English education. The current study suggests a ubiquitous learning environment using multimedia content tools, internet media, video teleconferencing, cyber-learning, and one-to-one videos used in conjunction with, or as a digital textbook for the English lesson. This study also investigates future educational changes, using state-of-the-art equipment for the self-learning experience, and will present a new direction in English education, through a variety of instructional devices and a marginalized class system model.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.17 no.3
• /
• pp.309-326
• /
• 2011

This study examines the relationship between second language use outside of class and oral proficiency development. It first identifies out-of-class activities of international graduate students in the U.S. and the average time spent speaking English in those out-of-class activities. Interviews and student self-measurements of time spent speaking English each day were used to investigate the types and quantities of out-of-class activities. In addition, two sets of student oral proficiency test scores were collected. Correlation analysis is used to find out the relationship of the variables between the most salient out-of-class activities and oral proficiency gains. The findings indicate that second language use outside of class is important for international graduate students to improve their oral proficiency. This is especially true with regularized interaction such as talking at work and the average time spent speaking in English a day outside of class. This study suggests that learners of English in an ESL environment should be encouraged to take part in out-of-class activities in addition to English use in the classroom in order for them to improve their oral proficiency.

• Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.123-147
• /
• 2002

As far as the recent ELT research concerned, it seems to have been no hot ‘theoretical’ issues, but ‘practical’ ones in general: e.g., learners and learning, components of proficiency, correlates of L2 learning, etc. This paper focuses on the theme given above, with a special reference to the sub-title: specifically, 1) World English, world Englishes and world's lingua franca; 2) ENL, ESL and EFL; 3) Grammars, style manuals, dictionaries and media; 4) Pronunciation models: RP, BBC model and General American, Network Standard; 5) Lexical, grammatical variations and discourse grammars; 6) Beliefs and subjective theories in foreign language research; 7) Dilemma among radical, canonical and eclectic views. In conclusion, the author offers a modest proposal: we need to appeal to our own experience, intention, feeling and purpose, that is, our identity to express “our own selves” in our contexts toward the world anywhere, if not sounding authentic enough, but producing it plausibly well. It is time for us (with our ethno-cultural autonomy) to need to be complementary to and parallel with its native speakers' linguistic-cultural authenticity in terms of the broadest mutual understanding.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.47-66
• /
• 2007

Error analysis plays an important role because understanding the types of errors can give a better opportunity for both teachers and learners to recognize the nature of errors and ways of preventing them. This study looks into errors in the medical research abstracts written by 26 Koreans and also examines hedging expressions since hedging can be a necessary tactic in which the validity and objectivity of their claims is conveyed. The hedging expressions of these research abstracts are to be compared with those of Hyland (1996)'s study done on ENL academic writers of cell and molecular biology. The results of the study reveal that wrong word choice was the most commonly occurred errors, followed by prepositions, articles, adding and missing words. Many of these errors, except articles, seemed to derive from the native language interference. There were also run-on sentences, subject & verb agreement, tense, word order and minor errors. As for hedging, ESL medical writers seemed to use very limited hedging expressions and inappropriately strong modals. It is recommended to take variations of hedges using epistemic adverbials and adjectives to present their claims in a more valid and polite way. Limited verb choice was also noted. As for preventing or minimizing similar future errors, collocation practices in ESP focused on commonly used medical related words and expressions can be effective.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.18 no.8
• /
• pp.157-165
• /
• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of general use of English literary works. It will be helpful for both general English learners and college students majoring English Education in ESL or EFL context. English literature is very useful pedagogical tool in the language class due to its unique valuable characteristics including authenticity, cultural and linguistic value, and personal enrichment, which impact on fostering English ability of EFL students. For this reason, it is unavoidable to develop a theory and practice regarding using English literature as an educational resource for college students in Korea. In this study several considerations will be discussed in terms of selection of the literary works to be applied for language learning purpose in the classrooms of universities in Korea. Such attentions will include fours skills of English such as reading, writing, listening and speaking. Finally, some effects and implications of using literary text as a pedagogical tool in the EFL language classrooms will be discussed.