• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• no.3
• /
• pp.231-248
• /
• 1997

With the trend of globalization more people are absorbing in the English learning programs. Not a few attend even the English-Korean translation training course to be semi-professional translators, but we English teachers have already experienced that it is not so easy to translate any language into another, and that it is far more difficult to translate poetry. Much time has been devoted to investigating the problems of translating poetry than any other mode. Poetry translation theory is concerned with the problem of faithfulness to the original poetry. To be a good translator we must fully understand the sound and sense of the original work. But when in translating English poetry into Korean we feel keenly our limits of understanding the sound and style of English poetry, and of expressing them into Korean. Even our sense-oriented translation is far from satisfactory. We often make quite a few mistranslation. Another immediate problem is that of alternation between word-for-word translation and free translation method, but first of all, we should have a perfect knowledge and understanding in English, and a good command of our mother tongue. We should also have a sound interpretation ability because poetry translation is based on the interpretation of the original, and on the shaping of that interpretation. Some doubts have been raised over the feasibility of poetry translation. They say it is not possible to combine in another language the emotion, the form, the style, the musical devices of English poetry. Yet the art of translation has been practiced everywhere in the world. Through this art we can share our experience and culture with foreigners and theirs with us.

• International Journal of Contents
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.89-96
• /
• 2019

This study examines the impact of online collaborative English language learning to enhance learner motivation and classroom engagement in university English instruction. The role of learner motivation and classroom engagement has gained much attention under the premises of current constructivist framework of English as a foreign language education. To promote learner motivation and classroom interaction in English instruction, participants in this study engaged in integrative English learning activities through online group collaboration and peer-tutoring. They exchanged productive peer response and shared their learning experiences throughout the integrative English learning activities. Digital technology played an integral role in motivating the learning process of the participants. Data for this study were gathered through an online questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed based on the ARCS motivational model of instructional design to identify the motivational aspects of integrative English learning activities. This study reveals that participants of this study regarded online collaborative English learning activities as the positive and motivating learning experience. The online collaborative English reading instruction had positive effect on improving EFL university students' learning performance. Participants of this study also identified affective and metacognitive benefits of online collaborative EFL learning activities for learner motivation and classroom engagement. This study reveals that the social networking platform in online group collaboration played a crucial role for the participants in understanding the integration of online group collaboration as the positive and effective language learning strategy. This study may have implications in suggesting the effective instructional design for promoting learner motivation and classroom interaction in EFL education.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.199-222
• /
• 2009

As great attention is given to a high quality of English education in Korea, more and more in-service and pre-service English teachers are looking for an opportunity to study in an English speaking country to become better qualified teachers. However, after receiving a degree in an English speaking country, many teachers fail to apply what they have learned to their own teaching due to their tensions of identity, beliefs, knowledge, and professionalism within the changes of sociocultural settings. By using sociocultural theory as a theoretical framework, this paper explores how formal training and Ph.D. studies in the U.S. have influenced a Korean teacher educator in applying theory to practice in relation to her identity, beliefs, knowledge, and professionalism during 30 years of her teaching experience. Rather than facing tensions, the teacher educator has been willing to change her roles, broaden and deepen her beliefs in teaching and knowledge about theory of teaching and learning, and continue her professional development. Limitations and implications of the study are provided.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.24
• /
• pp.120-131
• /
• 2011

South Africa is a multiracial country where different cultures and languages coexist. Culture can be conveyed through language. Language conditioning is also social conditioning, and through words we make sense of our own and others' experience. In this paper I investigate the meaning of two culturally significant words: (English) peace and (African) ubuntu. Data findings will show how L2 speakers of English, when asked to define peace, promptly operate a process of transfer of the meaning from their mother-tongue Xhosa equivalent - uxolo - to its English equivalent. Ubuntu, an African word which encompasses traditional African values, has no counterpart in English. I will also argue how, in the ongoing process of globalisation, English is playing a predominant role in promoting cultural homogenization.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.485-494
• /
• 2020

This study analyses the needs of workers at foreigners-only casinos in Korea on English for Specific Purposes (ESP). It also examines the most ideal English instructor for them and the motivations for their learning English. A total of ninety-nine casino workers in Seoul and Busan participated in the survey. Of the four language skills, English speaking is the most necessary area for them to learn and listening is the second. The most difficult part of communicating in English for them to learn is also speaking, followed by listening. This indicates that the area that they need to study and the area in which they have difficulty communicating in English have the same ranking. The participants in the marketing department had the longest working hours in English, and they were significantly different from those in other departments. Regardless of their departments, the participants responded that speaking is the most necessary area to learn English. They mentioned that their biggest motivation for learning English is self-realization, followed by smooth work. The most ideal English instructor was a Korean instructor with casino working experience, followed by a bilingual Korean instructor. This showed their preference for Korean English teachers with casino working experience. This study might be meaningful since it provides information on a new field, casino workers, by analyzing their needs on ESP. It is suggested that this may contribute to setting the direction of English curriculum for casino workers in the future.

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

• 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.271-292
• /
• 2007

The purpose of this study is to investigate what English teachers think about what and how to teach culture, as a way of helping students build relevant background knowledge and enhance their motivation in learning English. A total of 300 teachers completed a self-report questionnaire in four areas: (i) their understanding and liking of English-spoken countries, (ii) their use of materials and tools for teaching culture, (iii) their consciousness of teaching culture, and (iv) their needs for culture learning in the teacher-training program. The results show that (i) they think American culture is dominant in EFL but they are much interested in British culture; (ii) they rely on internet most for their cultural experience while they think students get much of the cultural information from textbooks; (iii) they are very much conscious of the importance of teaching culture for improving students' English proficiency; (iv) they want to learn in the teacher training program more about cultural practice, which can be subsumed under the so called 'small c'. The findings suggest that (i) textbooks need to include contents to promote students' cultural awareness and foster intercultural competence, (ii) teachers should use authentic materials with appropriate adaptation, and (iii) a teacher training program should cover a wide range of contents and skills for teaching culture.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.265-290
• /
• 2009

The present data-driven study attempted to explicate nonnative English teacher trainees' foreign language teaching anxiety in microteaching settings from their perspectives. It is assumed that nonnative English teachers or teacher trainees may experience anxiety not only as foreign language learners but also as foreign language teachers. In order to inquire into their anxiety, the researcher had 172 teacher trainees perform extended microteaching tasks and reflect on their teaching and anxiety through group discussion. Based on the analysis of their discussion, three aspects related to nonnative English teacher trainees' anxiety were identified. First, teacher trainees identified three main types of anxiety-provoking situations: communicative-competence-threatening situations, unexpected situations, and instruction-hindering situations. Second, they identified three sources of anxiety: limited ability to use English, lack of English teaching skills, and fear of criticism. Third, they were aware that they used diverse strategies to lower anxiety before and while teaching for different purposes. From their identification and awareness of anxiety-provoking situations, sources of anxiety, and anxiety-lowering strategies, they could reflect on professional qualifications as a foreign language teacher.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.11-17
• /
• 2022

English vowels play an important role in verbal communication. However, Korean students tend to experience difficulty pronouncing a certain set of vowels despite extensive education in English. The aim of this study is to apply speech recognition software to evaluate Korean students' pronunciation of English vowels in minimal pair words and then to examine acoustic characteristics of the pairs in order to check their pronunciation problems. Thirty female Korean college students participated in the recording. Speech recognition rates were obtained to examine which English vowels were correctly pronounced. To compare and verify the recognition results, such acoustic analyses as the first and second formant trajectories and durations were also collected using Praat. The results showed an overall recognition rate of 54.7%. Some students incorrectly switched the tense and lax counterparts and produced the same vowel sounds for qualitatively different English vowels. From the acoustic analyses of the vowel formant trajectories, some of these vowel pairs were almost overlapped or exhibited slight acoustic differences at the majority of the measurement points. On the other hand, statistical analyses on the first formant trajectories of the three vowel pairs revealed significant differences throughout the measurement points, a finding that requires further investigation. Durational comparisons revealed a consistent pattern among the vowel pairs. The author concludes that speech recognition and analysis software can be useful to diagnose pronunciation problems of English-language learners.