• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.127-142
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• 2004

This paper examines the relationship between children's English proficiency in grade three and English learning environment and experiences before entering elementary school. In English learning environment and experiences, three influences consisting of children, home environment, and environmental influences of English learning are used to find out which influences contributed to children's English proficiency in grade three of elementary school. The result of this study shows that children with high interest in English have higher proficiency in all language skills reading, writing, listening, and speaking than that of children with low interests. For parents' influences, parents' high interests toward their children's English leaning and high monthly income result in children's high English proficiency. For English environmental influences, children who start at the early age and continue studying English have higher English proficiency.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.97-120
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• 2005

Production and perception of second language sounds are typically influenced by second language learners' native language sounds. In this study we investigate how the Korean language influences Korean speakers' production of English alphabets. In the experiment conducted to prepare for this study 16 native speakers of Korean pronounced English alphabets. Then three native speakers of English evaluated the Korean subjects' pronunciation of them. The results show that the Korean subjects' native language (i.e., Korean) influences their production of the English alphabets. When Korean has sounds corresponding to English alphabets, the English subjects rate the Korean subjects' production of them good. For instance, Korean has voiceless stop phonemes, hence their production of English alphabets was rated good by the English subjects. The Korean subjects' production of English alphabets containing the sounds that do not exist in Korean was rated poor by the English subjects. For instance, Korean does not have voiced fricative phonemes, hence their production of English alphabets was rated poor.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.17-36
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• 2007

This study examined educational and career backgrounds of 180 early childhood English teachers and curricula of training courses for early childhood English teachers in continuing education centers across 6 areas in Korea. Data analyses showed that (1) curricula for early childhood English teachers consists of basic practical conversation, English teaching skills, understanding early childhood education and general English knowledge. (2) Most teachers are women between 30 to 40 years of age, university graduates with majors in English literature, English education and/or early childhood education with confidence in speaking in and listening to English. (3) They were satisfied with their retraining courses. (4) English pronunciation skill was not always related to English conversation skill, but clarity of pronunciation influenced teaching confidence.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.27-46
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• 2007

Teachers can maximize students' L2 learning by knowing preferred learning styles. This paper presents the results of a survey that asked 309 English learners to identify their perceptual learning style preferences. It further compared students' favored learning styles in terms of their gender and major field of study and explored a possible link between learning styles and English achievement. Collected data using Reid's (1995) questionnaire were analyzed by descriptive statistics, MANOVA, ANOVA, correlations, multiple regressions including squared partial correlations, and Cronbach's alpha. The results indicated that Korean students favored English learning in group regardless of gender, while their preferred mode of learning was significantly different in regard to their major field of study. Certain learning styles might be profitable for English achievement. Multiple regression analyses revealed that individual mode of learning was the best predictor of students' English achievement. It furthermore showed significant relationships between visual and individual styles of learning and English performance. The findings of the study reflected students' English learning context in which English native-speaking teachers frequently used communicative pair and small group activities for speaking practices that were consonant with students' learning styles.

• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.36
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• pp.173-194
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• 2007

The purpose of this article is primarily to give prominence to the importance of International Business English education. Although English is one of the most crucial parts in international business transaction it has not been treated as one of academical sciences. As English is a main language when the international business transaction is done International Business English should be studied by scholars who majored in international business area. It is true that there has been no study at all regarding International Business English(in this article, it does not mean General International Business English) so far. Anyone who does and learn the international business should have some opportunities to have a contact towards international business correspondence and other documents before they do in reality. However, in Korea, most English education has been focused on general English and English certificate tests at universities. At universities' level, it is certainly a scholars' task to study International Business English education in order to provide decent education to the students. For doing so, this article examine, focusing only on reading part, how International Business English should be taught and especially, how reading skills should be activated and integrated with other language skills. This objective will be fulfilled by asking, what reading means in International Business English, as well as what role reading plays in International Business English education.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.339-363
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• 2010

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the English classes in secondary schools in Korea are in terms of communicative nature. After literature study, COLT parts A and B were used to analyze three kinds of English classes: a common class type taught by a school teacher who had won 1st prize at TEE contest, a team teaching class taught by NNS and NS, and a model class taught by a pre-service English teacher. Their communicative English classes were videotaped and transcribed for analysis by COLT. The results of the study revealed that students participated in the classes mostly as a unit and, therefore, did not get many meaningful chances to speak English. Second, creative language-use opportunities were barely found during classes. Third, the group work seemed to be prepared before the class, not to be done during the class. Therefore it is likely to be learned from memorization rather than meaningful communication. These results suggest English classes in schools be more communicatively oriented for successful English learning. Further study should be conducted in order to make English classes more communicative to help students communicate their genuine messages in English and to help teachers teach English efficiently.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.56-63
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• 2021

The aim of this study is to understand how English textbooks in Korea and Japan reflect English education policies for improving the English language learners' cultural ability. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, the method of analyzing English textbooks was used because English textbooks are an important tool that most specifically reflects the English policy of a country. This study analyzed a total of six English textbooks, three middle school English textbooks currently used in Korea and three in Japan. We analyzed nouns/pronouns related to culture presented in the reading section included in each unit, and compared cultural diversity and cultural identity included in English textbooks in Korea and Japan. As a result, it was found that both countries experienced cultural diversity through English education and introduced their cultural pride to Western culture to realize the goal of strengthening global capabilities. This textbook analysis results show that English textbooks of Korea and Japan depend on American/British cultures and norms. The cultural contents of English textbooks in Korea and Japan tend to focus on geography, food and drink, festivals and activities, family and education systems, etc. And English textbooks in Korea and Japan include the cultural sections in each lesson, but they don't suggest how to relate these cultural sections into the learners' real experiences. These results can be utilized as the motives from which both countries develop English education policy and textbooks in the future.

• Speech Sciences
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.157-173
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• 2003

The purpose of this experimental study is to investigate and compare the. vowel lengths of English diphthongs and low vowels among native-English-speaking Americans with Korean college students from the Chungnam and Gyungnam provinces. Eight words and sixteen sentences were uttered five times by twenty five subjects from three groups; 1) Chungnam dialect speakers, 2) Gyungnam dialect speakers and 3) five native-English-speaking Americans. Acoustic features (duration) were measured from sound spectrograms made by the PC Quire. Results showed that the vowel lengths of English diphthongs and low vowels between native English speakers and Korean collegians of Chungnam and Gyungnam provinces were different. Comparing the average length of English diphthongs of Korean collegians with those of American natives, we can see that native English speakers tend to pronounce the English diphthongs shorter than Korean collegians do. However, native English speakers tend to pronounce the English low vowels longer than Korean collegians do. In this study we also tried to find out the differences of English diphthongs and low vowel lengths in relation to their utterance positions among American natives and Chungnam and Gyungnam dialect speakers. By the results of this experiment, we observed a lengthening effect in the three groups. However, in the pronunciation of American natives, a lengthening effect of English vowels was more clearly observed, especially in the pronunciation of English diphthongs.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.131-158
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• 2006

The purpose of the present study is to explore an effective way of teaching English vocabulary which is geared toward improving students' English communicative competence. This study focuses on English verbs, which may be followed by patterns according to subcategorization. Learning verbs must include learning about patterns as well as meaning in order to improve the ability to use verbs receptively and productively, or communicative competence. On the basis of the language progression proposed by Willis (2003), a teaching strategy which helps learners learn English verb patterns effectively and systematically was proposed. The effect of the teaching strategy was investigated. The subjects of the experimental group who learned English verb patterns intentionally through the teaching strategy proposed by this study significantly improved themselves in the ability to use them receptively and productively. This result shows that the teaching strategy including improvisation, recognition, rehearsal, system building, exploration and consolidation is helpful to improving communicative competence.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.159-183
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to investigate Korean primary school English teachers' beliefs on self-directed teaching and learning for facilitating student's self-directed learning. A survey was conducted, using 315 primary school teachers as participants. According to different school areas, sex, English teaching careers, and types of English teaching like classroom teachers or English specialist teachers, beliefs on teachers' self-directed teaching were studied based on class planning, class process, utilization of human resources, development and utilization of teaching materials and class evaluation. The results of this study are as follows: first, differences were not shown except class planning according to teachers from different school areas. Second, sex and beliefs of teachers' self-directed teaching had nothing in common. Third, differences were shown in class planning and class process, according to English teaching careers. Finally, according to types of English teaching, differences were shown in class process and development and utilization of teaching materials. The study suggests that it is necessary to conduct other studies for observing primary English classrooms focusing on teacher's self-directed decision-making.