• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Language and Information Conference
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• 2002.02a
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• pp.249-258
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• 2002

We propose an algorithm for the automatic acquisition of a bilingual lexicon in the legal domain. We make use of a parallel corpus of bilingual court judgments, aligned to the sentence level, and analyse the bilingual context profiles to extract corresponding legal terms in both languages. Our method is different from those in past studies as it does not require any prior knowledge source, and naturally extends to multi-word terms in either language. A pilot test was done with a sample of ten legal terms, each with ten or more occurrences in the data. Encouraging results of about 75% average accuracy were obtained. This figure does not only reflect the effectiveness of the method for bilingual lexicon acquisition, but also its potential for bilingual alignment at the word or expression level.

• Journal of Korean language education
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.337-366
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• 2017

This study examines the acquisition of the multiple semantic functions of the Korean adverbial particle -ey by L1 American English learners of Korean as a second language at U.S. institutions. Participants at beginning, intermediate, and advanced proficiency levels (N = 45) were tested on the ability to interpret and produce five of the meanings of -ey, which they had been taught in formal classroom settings in the first semester of their Korean language learning. The results show different developmental trajectories for the particle's different semantic functions. The findings of a statistical analysis indicate that the beginning and intermediate proficiency learners had largely acquired the time, goal, and stative location meanings, but not the contact and unit meanings; the advanced learners demonstrated acquisition of all except for the unit meaning. The study suggests that in addition to factors such as semantic complexity and cross-linguistic influence, several other factors including L2 frequency, the availability of linguistic input, and instructional method also contribute to the acquisition of -ey.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.55-69
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• 1994

The purpose of this study was to investigate methodological and theoretical problems in measuring the acquisition of national identity of in-country and over-seas Korean adolescents. The subjects consisted of 574 incountry and overseas (Chinese, Russia and Japan) Korean adolescents (total 509), 15 to 25 years of age. Data were collected with the use of a questionaire, the Scale of National Identity. The results were that (1) the concept of national identity was organized on two dimensions (cognitive vs. sociocultural). The former consisted of 6 cognitive characteristics (uniqueness, sameness, continuity, acceptability, respectability and royalty). The sociocultural dimension consisted of the cognition of 7 sociocultural characteristics (history, norm, fraternity, symbol, consanguinity, Korean language and nationality). Except for consanguinity, there was a close relationship within each and between the 6 cognitive characteristics. Also there was a close relationship within each and between the 7 sociocultural characteristics of national identity. (2) Some demographic variables, such as age of respondents, place of birth and level of understanding of Korean language contributed to acquisition of national identity. (3) Among several demographic variables, nationality was the most explainable.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.5
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• pp.219-247
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• 1999

The purpose of this paper is to examine how Korean learners of English reset the "prodrop" parameter of Korean into "non-prodrop" parameter of English in the process of English acquisition. An experiment was conducted to 45 Korean learners of English on the prodrop phenomenon, namely on the null referential or null nonreferential subject, and subject-verb agreement by way of grammatical judgment. The results of the experiment are as follows: First, L2 learners follow the parameter of L1, and then reset the parameter of L2 regardless of the parameter of L1 as their L2 abilities advance. Thus, this study provides further support for the hypothesis that universal grammar is available via L1. Second, the referential subject is, at first, easier to acquire than nonreferential subject, and the triggering fact for the switch from [+prodrop] to [-prodrop] was the use of nonreferential subjects. Third, 3rd person agreement has no connection with the acquisition of the prodrop parameter as a result of subject-verb agreement. Therefore, these results indicate that verb agreement is not a trigger for the recognition of the obligatory subject.

• Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.497-508
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• 2001

This study tested whether non-native speakers approximated native-like locus equation slopes. Russian learners of English acquired native-like values of the locus equation slope for the English bilabial, and English learners of Russian made slight modifications to the locus equation slope of the Russian bilabial. The acquisition of the locus equations occurred gradually with experience. While English speakers, with limited experience with Russian, failed to approximate Russian-typical value of the locus equations slope, Russian speakers, with more extensive experience with English, succeeded in approximating the locus equation for English bilabial. The observation of locus equation transfer effect supports for the locus equation hypothesis as the unit of acquisition over CV-by-CV learning.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.153-166
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to examine Korean young children's acquisition of honorific expressions. The participants of the present study were 297 young children (ages 3-5 years) from Kyunggi province. The results of the study showed that young children acquire honorific markers in the order of hearer-honorific expressions, subject-honorific expressions, and then object-honorific expressions. Five-year old children acquired at least 75% of the hearer-honorific expressions. The result can be explained by the fact that most of them were used in greetings. Even though more than 90% of five-year old children acquired the subject-honorific marker si, the acquisition rates of subjecthonorific nouns and subject-honorific verbs were less than 10%. Finally, the acquisition rates of objecthonorific expressions were less than 20%, with the exception of the object-honorific noun ce. The results of the study suggest that educational programs should be developed in order to facilitate the acquisition of honorific markers in young children.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.3-18
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• 2009

Do loanword properties emerge in the acquisition of a foreign language and if so, how? Classic studies in adult language learning assumed loanword properties that range from near-ceiling to near-chance level of appearance depending on speech proficiency. The present research argues that such variations reflect different phonological types, rather than speech proficiency. To investigate the difference between learner speech and loanword phonology, the current research analyzes the speech data from five different proficiency levels of 92 Korean speakers who read 19 pairs of English words and sentences that contained loanwords. The experimental method is primarily an acoustical one, by which the phonological cause in the loanwords (e.g., the insertion of [$\Box$] at the end of the word stamp) would be attested to appear in learner speech, in comparison with native speech from 11 English speakers and 11 Korean speakers. The data investigated for the research are of segment deletion, insertion, substitution, and alternation in both learner speech and the native speech. The results indicate that learner speech does not present the loanword properties in many cases, but depends on the types of phonological causes. The relatively easy acquisition of target pronunciation is evidenced in the cases of segment deletion, insertion, substitution, and alternation, except when the loanword property involves the successful command of the target phonology such as the de-aspiration of [p] in apple. Such a case of difficult learning draws a sharp distinction from the cases of easy learning in the development of learner speech, particularly beyond the intermediate level of proficiency. Overall, learner speech departs from loanword phonology and develops toward the native speech value, depending on phonological contrasts in the native and foreign languages.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.1-22
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• 2007

The study examined the effects of explicit derivational morphology instruction (henceforth DMI) on the incidental vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension of 132 Korean 1st-year high school students who responded to a battery of tests (two vocabulary tests and a reading comprehension test). Multiple statistical tools were used to analyze the data: Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Simple Regression Analysis, Tests of Simple Main Effects, and effect size computation using Cohen's d. The results indicated that (a) DMI enhanced students' ability to infer word meanings in context, (b) DMI promoted high proficiency students' reading comprehension, whereas it impeded intermediate proficiency students' reading comprehension, (c) vocabulary knowledge has a strong positive predictive value for reading comprehension, and (d) the gaps of vocabulary knowledge across proficiency levels were still substantial, despite the observation that DMI promoted students' vocabulary acquisition. These results have a bearing on English as Foreign Language (EFL) reading pedagogy.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.141-159
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• 2011

This study examined the effects of collocation-based instruction on L2 vocabulary acquisition and learners' interests in it. Fifty one students were randomly assigned to the experimental group (collocation-based instruction group) and to the control group. The participants' English vocabulary capacity was checked through pre and post tests, and two surveys were used to probe the learners' vocabulary learning behaviors and their interests in English vocabulary learning respectively. To better understand the participants' opinions and feelings on the collocation-based learning, follow-up interviews were also carried out. The results showed that second language (L2) learners' vocabulary capacity was significantly improved through collocation-based instruction. However, the participants' degree of interest in vocabulary learning did not reach our expectation partly because of external factors such as the Test for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) and lack of familiarity of collocations. Such results indicate that the high school students' rooted perception of putting importance on test-based language learning could not be easily changed since it is closely related to their immediate needs. Based on the results, this study suggested how to implement collocations into L2 classrooms effectively.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.87-105
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• 2006

Style is considered a pivotal construct in sociolinguistic variation studies. While previous studies have examined style in traditional forms of language such as speech, very little research has examined new and emerging styles such as computer-mediated discourse. Thus, the present study attempts to investigate style in the online communication mode of chat. In so doing, the study compares text-based online chat with speech and writing. Online chat has been previously described as a hybrid form of language that is close to speech. Here, the exact nature of online chat is elucidated by focusing on contraction use. Differential acquisition of stylistic variation is also examined according to English learning background. The empirical component consists of data from Korean speakers of English. Data is taken from a written summary, an oral interview, and a text-based online chat session. A multivariate analysis was conducted. Results indicate that online chat is indeed a hybrid form that is difficult to delineate from speech and writing. Text-based online chat shows a somewhat similar rate of contraction to speech, which confirms its hybridity.. Lastly, some implications of the study are given in terms of the learning and acquisition of style in general and in online contextual modes.