• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.87-110
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• 2007

Past studies conducted on the students' verbal participation both in and out of class have explored and identified variables affecting the process of learning to speak English. However, little is known about the causes and effects of these variables. A survey form developed from a previous study was administered to 468 university students taking English conversation classes from native speakers of English. To better understand the causes and effects of speaking barriers, path analysis was administered as the main tool of investigation. The results of the study indicate that familiarities toward NS (Native Speaker) teachers, learner faithfulness, che-myon, NS teachers' classroom management skills, and NS teacher's trustworthiness account for 50.72% of speaking grades. These factors are causally related to learner attitudes. However, with regard to speaking grades, all of the above factors except che-myon are also causally related with each other. Therefore, it was concluded that learner attitudes can be improved by minimizing che-myon, however, che-myon itself cannot be a predictor of speaking grades. To validate the findings of the study, related research work is discussed and implications are provided.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.195-208
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• 2005

This paper discusses the independent seminar as one of the appropriate courses, in particular, for the students who study English literature in the doctoral program. Those who take the Ph.D. program in English literature are considered as future scholars or teachers. In taking the coursework, they not only delve into the knowledge of literature, but also begin to establish broader and deeper senses of research ability. The independent seminar class helps them build such senses through the way in which they experience to the development of the syllabus by themselves. Furthermore, in contrast to a regular class, in which a group of students learn in a classroom, the independent seminar gives each student intensive interactions with his/her professor through the out-of-classroom circumstances, since the seminar is based upon one-on-one study between the student and the professor.

• Journal of Digital Contents Society
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.1575-1584
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• 2018

In this paper, we implemented a user - oriented adaptive English typing program using class and function structure provided by Python to get English learning effect while effectively typing English on PC. The user of the implemented English typing program creates a text file of required English example sentences and links them to use it for direct English typing exercise. In addition, based on the English sentence used in the English typing exercise, it is possible to obtain the English learning effect by providing the ability to perform the memorization test. The interface of the program is structured in the form of a game so that it can be accessed interestingly, and the ranking among the users is disclosed to provide a positive function. We expect that the implemented program will improve the user's English typing speed and improve the English learning effect.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.3959-3966
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of self-regulated learning ability on English learning achievement. A survey was conducted to the students majoring different fields of study in order to measure their self-regulated learning ability from March 10, 2010 to June 10, 2010. The result indicates a strong correlation between students' English achievement and self-regulated learning factors such as cognitive, affective, and behavior regulation. The results revealed that instructional, and training interventions should be needed to have significant goal-orientation, to maintain motivation, and to have self confidence from On-line and Off-line blended teaching for the successful English learning.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.1255-1279
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• 2010

Much has already been learned about what goes on in the minds of second language writers as they compose, yet, oddly enough, until recently little in the L2 research literature has addressed writing and mental imagery together. However, images and imaging (visual thinking) play a crucial role in perception (the basis of mental imagery), in turn, affecting language, thinking, and writing. Many theorists of mental imagery also agree that more than just language accounts for how we think and that imagery is at least as crucial as language. All of these demands, to be sure, are compounded for EFL students, which is why I investigate EFL students' writing process, focusing on the use of mental imagery and its relationship to the writing. First I speculate upon some ways that imagery influences EFL students' composing processes and products. Next, I want to explore how and whether the images in a writer's mind can be shaped effectively into a linear piece of written English in one's writing. I studied two university undergraduate EFL students, L and J. They had fairly advanced levels of English proficiency and exhibited high level of writing ability, as measured by TOEFL iBT Test. Each student wrote two comparison and contrast essays: one written under specified time limitations and the other written without the pressure of time. In order to investigate whether the amount of time in itself causes differences within an individual in imagery ability, the students were placed under strict time constraints for Topic 1. But for Topic 2, they were encouraged to take as much time as necessary to complete this essay. Immediately after completing their essays, I conducted face-to-face retrospective interviews with students to prompt them for information about the role of imagery as they write. Both L and J have spent more time on their second (untimed) essays. Without time constraint, they produced longer texts on untimed essay (149 vs. 170; 186 vs 284 words). However, despite a relatively long period of time spent writing an essay, these students neither described their images nor detailed them in their essays. Although their mental imagery generated an explosion of ideas for their writings, most visual thinking must merely be a means toward an end-pictures that writers spent in purchasing the right words or ideas.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.179-208
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• 2001

Using literary materials as resources for English learning rather than an object of literary study can be a genuine tool for the students to learn English in the form of oral and written communication. This case study treated the applications of a whole text to the overall course divided into pre-reading activities, while-reading activities, and post-reading activities and the applications of some partial passages extracted from various texts to teaching objectives with many levels of difficulty. This study found that literary texts could be good materials to teach the target language in EFL setting. The English-speaking students with little linguistic competence as a foreign language may be limited in learning English at first, but soon they can accelerate their linguistic competence by reinforcing the literary competence through the literary texts. To achieve effectively a desired goal through the use of literary texts as resources for language development several concrete techniques should be introduced: teacher-guided question strategies laying a central emphasis on the text itself, a problem-solving ability through student-centered activities, process-based and open-ended activities should be presented in a variety of ways using many appropriate activities according to teaching procedure with a careful selection of the texts.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.95-105
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• 2015

We developed a test of English silent word reading, following work by Mather, Hammill, Allen and Roberts (2004) and Bell, McCallum, Krik, Fuller, and McCane-Bowling (2007), in order to tap Hong Kong Chinese children's reading of English as a foreign language. We created one subtest of individual word reading and another of word reading contextualized within sentences; together, these tests require no more than 10 minutes for administration. In Study 1, we administered the entire test to 552 second grade Hong Kong Chinese children between the ages of 70 and 121 months old, from five different primary schools. The association between the subtests of English silent word reading and contextual reading was positively correlated (.78). In Study 2, 77 Hong Kong Chinese second graders were tested on our newly developed English silent word reading test, together with non-verbal IQ, an English word reading and a Chinese character recognition test (both read aloud). With age and non-verbal IQ statistically controlled, there was a significant correlation between English silent word reading and the more standard English word reading, read aloud, (.78); the association between English silent word reading and Chinese character recognition was also positively correlated (.49). This newly created test is a quick and reliable measure, suitable for both educators and researchers to use to identify poor readers who learn English as a foreign or second language.

• Journal of the Korean BIBLIA Society for library and Information Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.479-496
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• 2012

English is an important tool of information literacy in terms of global information sharing environment. This impacts readers advisory services of public libraries in many ways. In order to identify status of English reading programs in public libraries, this paper investigated 50 public librarries' services for non-English speakers in California, which has long history serving readers advisory services to them. As a result, it is suggested that public libraries have to play a key role to help adult users to be competent in English with English reading programs. Public libraries also need to support families to build English reading environment at home to expand reading activities in libraries. In addition, reading habit in mother tongue is also important for English reading ability, so public libraries consider to build a bridge between them to provide effective English reading programs.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.149-170
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• 2012

The purpose of the present study is to examine the degree to which the writing instruction using animations has effects on the writing performance of $4^{th}$ year elementary school students. This study also examined the effects of the animation-based writing instruction on the interest and confidence of those students. To this aim, the present study utilized a set of writing tests and questionnaires before and after the instruction. The data were collected from 63 elementary school students. The data were then analyzed using a series of statistical analyses. The results suggested that the students who received the writing instruction using animations performed significantly better on the writing test than those who received the textbook-based instruction. The results also suggested that those who received the animation-based instruction showed more positive interest and confidence on English and English learning. Finally, limitations of the present study and suggestions for further studies are discussed at the end of the paper.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2016

The Korean high back vowels /o/ and /u/ have been reported to be in a state of near-merger especially among young female speakers. Along with cross-generational changes, the vowel position within a word has been reported to render different phonetic realization. The current study examines native English speakers' ability to attend to the phonetic cues that distinguish the two merging vowels and the positional effects (word-initial vs. word-final) on the identification accuracy. 28 two-syllable words containing /o/ or /u/ in either initial or final position were produced by native female Korean speakers. The CV part of each target word were excised and presented to six native English speakers. The results showed that although the identification accuracy was the lowest for /o/ in word- final position (41%), it increased up to 80% in word-initial position. The acoustic analyses of the target vowels showed that /o/ and /u/ were differentiated on the height dimension only in word-initial position, suggesting that English speakers may have perceived the distinctive F1 difference retained in the prominent position.