• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.5
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• pp.1-25
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• 1999

The objective of the present study was to model the relationships between language learning strategy use and language proficiency among the Asian (Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese) students studying English in the United States. The instruments were a language learning strategy Questionnaire and the Institutional Testing Program Test of English as a Foreign Language (ITP TOEFL). Structural equation modeling was utilized to model the relationships between language learning strategies and language proficiency. The present study found only weak relationships between language learning strategies and language proficiency. Only 13% and 15% of variance of the listening and grammar/reading factor were explained by the language learning strategies. The metacognitive strategies appeared not to have direct relationships to the language skill factors, as was found in other studies (Purpura, 1996, 1997). The effects of the social and affective strategies were very small. They in combination could account about 1% and 4% of the variance of the listening and grammar/reading factors.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.185-205
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• 2014

This study investigated IRA's 3 standards related to reading instruction and examined the value which can be meaningful to Korean situation. IRA divided reading educators into 7 types and proposed each detailed professional standard through the 'Standards for reading professionals'. The next standard called 'Standards for the English language art' described their direction and content for English language education including reading instruction. The 'Standards for the assessment of reading and writing' aims at the basis to evaluate students' reading ability. The value found through these standards is as follow: IRA's reading professionals standard can be a useful way to define the type of reading educator in Korea. A reading instruction standard like IRA's language art standard can guide reading instruction of Korean libraries in a more systemic and consistent way. A valid evaluation standard to measure students' reading ability can show the possibilities to define the students who struggle with reading and to provide more suitable instruction for them.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.267-272
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• 2021

This study's purpose is to investigate the effects of reading movie scripts aloud in non-face-to-face general English courses on international students' English ability in the COVID-19 era. A general English class was delivered once a week for 15 weeks to 47 international students at a Seoul-based university. The animated movie Tangled and its script were used as learning materials. Biweekly, students had to watch video lectures using the university's learning management system(LMS) and read scripts aloud through Zoom. In the video lectures, the teacher went over specific vocabulary and interpreted the movie scripts in easy Korean. For the second activity through Zoom, international students read the movie script aloud individually and in groups. The post-test revealed significant improvements in both reading and writing, as compared to the pre-test. Through the study's survey, participants exhibited positive attitudes in affective domains(understanding, satisfaction, interest, and recommendation).

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.341-348
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• 2022

Formulaic sequences are continuous or discontinuous series of words that are seemingly treated like single units. Formulaic sequences play a key role in language development, and formulaic sequences acquisition determines the success or failure of language development. This study proposes a reading aloud activity as a way for international students to learn formulaic sequences. A class focused on reading aloud was conducted with 41 international students taking a general English course at a university in Seoul. For 15 weeks, video lectures and real-time Zoom classes were conducted in parallel. The animated film Frozen was used as course material. In the video lectures, the teacher interpreted the movie script in easy Korean and read aloud formulaic sequences. Students were tasked with reading the sentences with formulaic sequences aloud, recording themselves reading aloud, and submitting their recordings. During real-time class meetings, students performed the activity of reading aloud the formulaic sequences they had studied in the video lectures. There was a significant increase in the interpretation and sentence writing of formulaic sequences in participants' post-evaluation compared to the pre-evaluation. Through the study's survey, students exhibited positive views in the affective domains.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.187-210
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• 2006

This study aims to investigate the effects of the implementation of self-directed learning through the homepage between the teacher and the students for English reading classes. The study focuses on the questions of whether the self-directed learning through the homepage, compared to the teacher-centered learning, would enable a significantly positive change in the students' achievements and of what their responses to this new learning method are. 72 students were grouped into an experimental and a control group, and then each group was subdivided into three levels (high, medium, low) of proficiency. Findings demonstrate that the experimental group showed statistically more significant increases in their scores of reading proficiency test than the control group. For the question of students' responses to the learning experience, the three groups within the experimental group responded to a questionnaire survey with regard to the positive attitude of learning, the effectiveness of self-directed learning and its learning materials, and usability of the homepage. In general, the experimental group considered the experience satisfactory, although the degree of positive responses varied according to the proficiency level of the group. This suggests the importance and effectiveness of self-directed learning using the computer and internet as a supplementary learning tool.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.630-638
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• 2015

This study examines university students' reading strategies based on English proficiency and reading anxiety. A total of 86 university students participated in the study and completed two questionnaires related to reading strategies[9] and reading anxiety[10]. The collected data was quantitatively analyzed using SPSS 21. The results indicated that advanced and intermediate students preferred to use Problem Solving Strategies(PROB), whereas beginning level readers tended to use and Global Reading strategies(GLOB). There was no significant relationship between reading anxiety and reading strategies. However, there were some differences between two groups. High anxiety students preferred to use reading materials and textual clues and try to focus on their reading when they have a difficulty. Low anxiety students tended to adjust reading pace and try to focus on comprehension and reread when they lost their focus. Based on the results of the study, several implications and limitations were discussed.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.21-44
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• 2012

This paper aims to discuss the effects of learning how to write English interrogative sentences. 122 students who participated in the study learned basic structural components of English questions and practiced writing questions by inversing the subject and the verb in a given declarative sentence. The participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 which was given a brief explanation of interrogative structures and practices, and Group 2 which was given the same explanation and practices in addition to an assignment for which they had to make one or two comprehension questions based on reading a passage. For the pre-tests and the post-tests, they took a TOEIC reading test with 40 questions and a structure test with 25 questions. The results of the tests show that both groups improved significantly in the two post-tests, benefiting from this learning method. However, the additional treatment for Group 2 did not seem to be highly effective. In the questionnaire survey, the participants think that the method of learning English questions has helped them better understand English grammar as well as interrogative structures. The participants were also divided into three different levels: high, intermediate, and low. The intermediate level group students benefited most from learning writing questions as the results of the post-test of the 25-questions test and the final exam of the course show.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.5
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• pp.49-62
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• 1999

Education systems throughout the world encourage their students to learn languages other than their native one. In Australia, our Education Boards provide students with the opportunity to learn European and Asian languages. French, German, Chinese and Japanese are the most popular languages studied in elementary and high schools. This choice is a reflection of Australias European heritage and its geographical position near Asia. In most non-English speaking countries, English is the foreign language most readily available to students. In Korea, the English language is actively promoted by the Education Department and, in less official ways, by companies and the public. It is impossible to be anywhere in Korea without seeing the English language alongside or intermingled with Korean. When I ask students why they are learning English, I receive answers that include the word globalization and the importance of English throughout the world. When I press further and ask why they personally are learning English, the students mention passing exams, usually high school tests or TOEIC, and the necessity of passing the latter to obtain a good job. Seldom do I ever hear anything about communication: about the desire to talk with other people in English, to read novels or poetry in English, to understand movies or pop-songs in English, to chat on the Internet in English, to search for information on the Internet in English, or to email pen-pals in English. Yet isnt communication the only valid reason for learning a language? We learn our native language to communicate with those around us. Shouldnt we set the same goal for learning a foreign language? In my opinion communication, whether it is reading and writing or speaking and listening, must be central to language learning. Learning a language to pass examinations is meaningless unless those examinations are a reliable indicator of the ability of the student to communicate. In previous eras, most communication in a foreign language was through reading novels or formal letters. This required a thorough knowledge of grammar and a large vocabulary. Todays communication is much less formal. Telephone conversations, tele-conferences, faxes and emails allow people to communicate regularly and informally. Reading materials are also less formal as popular novels and newspapers are available world-wide. Movies and popular songs have added to the range of informal communication available. Finally travel has ensured that people from different cultures will meet easily and regularly. This informal communication requires less emphasis on grammar and vocabulary and more emphasis on comprehension and confidence to speak. Placing communication central to language learning has important implications for the Education system and for teachers.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.249-282
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• 2009

This study reports on the use of the trait and state cognitive/metacognitive strategy use and the difference of the trait/state strategy use according to students' proficiency level. First of all, for checking up the trait strategy use, 119 first-grade male students in a high school completed the questionnaire on strategies which they thought they used during a reading test. Secondly, to find out their state strategy use, students took a fifteen-item reading comprehension test, followed by filling out questionnaires on cognitive and metacognitive strategies used in the test. This study employed quantitative data analysis. The results suggested that (1) the cognitive and metacognitive strategy use in the trait and state conditions are used the most by the high proficiency group and they are correlated respectively; (2) these strategies are used with statistically significant difference according to students' proficiency level, especially to the lower level students. The highly successful group uses the cognitive and metacognitive strategy in the actual test situation more than the lower proficient group; there is no difference in trait and state strategy use.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.7
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• pp.412-422
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• 2018

The purpose of this research was to compare structural organization of North Korean English textbooks pre and post North Korean 2013 curriculum revision. 5 revised textbooks were selected and compared with old textbooks. First, revised textbooks are dramatically changed into colored printed edition. Second, there appears phrases related to Kim Jong Un for the very first time in the preface. Third, while old textbooks emphasized only reading and writing skills, new textbooks integrate 4 skills. Fourth, new textbooks follow united organization system according to the kinds of school; 7 sub skills of Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing, Grammar, Vocabulary, Pronunciation for general high middle textbooks and 5 sub skills of Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, English in Use for the first high middle textbooks. Also, new textbooks integrate English and other subject contents such as science, geography or computer. Finally, the changed structure organization of new textbooks seems to be similar with the ones of English books in the reference which is presented for the first time in North Korean textbooks.