• Title/Summary/Keyword: L2 proficiency

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Narrative and Grammatical Analyses of Story-retelling in Chinese Speakers of Korean as a Second Language

  • Paik Euna;Sohn Eun-Nam;Kang Soo-Kyoon;Park Sun-Hee;Lee Hyun-hye;Choi Kyoung-Hee
    • MALSORI
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    • no.56
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    • pp.127-134
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    • 2005
  • Although the narrative development and the acquisition of the Korean grammatical morphemes by monolingual Korean-speaking children have been studied extensively, little is known about the narrative characteristics and the processes through which native speakers of other languages (L2 speakers) use the Korean grammatical morphemes. To understand the similarities and differences between L1 and L2 narrative skills and Korean grammatical morpheme use, 13 native Chinese-speaking college students who are learning Korean as a second language were studied. L2 participants used significantly fewer words, subordinate clauses, connective morphological endings, and pronouns per T-unit. Their speech also illustrated significantly more omission and confusion (substitution) errors in the use of auxiliary words and verb endings. Some of the syntactic and morphological factors need to be considered for the intervention of speakers with limited Korean proficiency.

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Acquisition of English speech rhythm by Chinese learners of English at different English proficiency levels

  • Zhang, Jiaqi;Lee, Sook-hyang
    • Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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    • v.11 no.4
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    • pp.71-79
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    • 2019
  • This study aims to investigate the rhythmic patterns in the English speech produced by Chinese learners of English who learn English as a foreign language (EFL learners). Utilizing interval-based rhythm metrics, namely, VarcoC, VarcoV, nPVI-C, nPVI-V, and %V, the study compared the rhythmic differences in English speech between ten native speakers from the United States and forty Chinese EFL learners from mainland China. A sentence elicitation task consisting of thirty picture prompts and corresponding thirty stimuli sentences with at least five vocalic and four consonantal intervals was conducted. Statistical results reveal that both Chinese advanced learners and beginners had significantly lower degree of stress-timed in their English speech, indicating that the acquisition of the L2 speech rhythm was influenced by the learners' L1 rhythmic pattern. In addition, the results also show that the Chinese advanced learners had significantly higher degree of stress-timed in their English speech than beginners and showed no significant difference with native speakers in VarcoC and nPVI-C. These results indicate that the direction of L2 speech rhythm development was from more syllable-timed to more stress-timed.

Post-focus compression is not automatically transferred from Korean to L2 English

  • Liu, Jun;Xu, Yi;Lee, Yong-cheol
    • Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.15-21
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    • 2019
  • Korean and English are both known to show on-focus pitch range expansion and post-focus pitch range compression (PFC). But it is not clear if this prosodic similarity would make it easy for Korean speakers to learn English focus prosody. In the present study, we conducted a production experiment using phone number strings to examine whether Korean learners of English produce a native-like focus prosody. Korean learners of English were classified into three groups (advanced, intermediate and low) according to their English proficiency and were compared to native speakers. Results show that intermediate and low groups of speakers did not increase duration, intensity, and pitch in the focus positions, nor did they compress those cues in the post-focus positions. Advanced speakers noticeably increased the acoustic cues in the focus positions to a similar extent as native speakers. However, their performance in post-focus positions was quite far from that of native speakers in terms of pitch and excursion size. These results thus demonstrate a lack of positive transfer of focus prosody from Korean to English in L2 learning, and learners may have to relearn it from scratch, which is consistent with a previous finding. More importantly, the results provide further support for the view proposed in other works that acoustic properties of PFC were not easily transferred from one language to another.

Individual Networks of Practice of EFL Learners at a Chinese University: Their Impact on English Language Socialization

  • Qi, Lixia;Kim, Jungyin
    • International Journal of Contents
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    • v.17 no.4
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    • pp.62-78
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    • 2021
  • This ethnographic multiple case study, based on Zappa-Hollman and Duff's construct of individual networks of practice (INoPs), explored English as a second language (L2) competence development and socialization process of a group of English-major undergraduates through their social connections and interactions at a public university located in an underdeveloped city in Northwest China. The study lasted for one academic semester and three students were selected as primary participants. Semi-structured interviews, student observations in English-related micro-settings, and associated texts were used to collect data. These data were coded to identify the thematic categories, and then data triangulation and member checking were conducted to select the most representative evidence to provide an in-depth description of students' perspective about mediating their English L2 socialization by their INoPs. Findings showed that factors in the formation of students' INoPs, including intensity, density, and nature, played significant roles in their academic or affective returns from their English learning, both of which had a substantial influence on the students' English L2 socialization. Considering that the macro-setting was a non-English, underdeveloped monolingual society, both educational institutions and individual students need to seek and create more English-mediated interactional opportunities to develop their English proficiency and adapt to local English learning communities.

Reading Fluency and Accuracy for English Language Acquisition in EFL Context. (외국어교육 환경에서 영어습득을 위한 읽기유창성과 정확성에 관한 연구)

  • Shin, Kyu-Cheol
    • Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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    • v.9 no.3
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    • pp.249-256
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    • 2018
  • This study aims to explore efficient foreign language learning paradigm with a focus on reading fluency and accuracy. From a perspective of language acquisition in the foreign language context, the priority in the L2 learning between accuracy and fluency has been a very important issue. Fluency becomes an important issue due to many researchers' interests in the L1 and L2 classroom. Although both accuracy and fluency are crucial, the paradigm shift from fluency to accuracy is necessary in the foreign language teaching. In this context, as an alternative methodology for L2 learners' fluency, the extensive reading approach is provided. A number of studies have suggested that extensive reading program could lead to improvement of L2 learners' reading rate and is an effective approach to improving general language proficiency.

Some (Re)views on ELT Research: With Reference to World Englishes and/or English Lingua Franca

  • Cho, Myongwon
    • Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.123-147
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    • 2002
  • As far as the recent ELT research concerned, it seems to have been no hot ‘theoretical’ issues, but ‘practical’ ones in general: e.g., learners and learning, components of proficiency, correlates of L2 learning, etc. This paper focuses on the theme given above, with a special reference to the sub-title: specifically, 1) World English, world Englishes and world's lingua franca; 2) ENL, ESL and EFL; 3) Grammars, style manuals, dictionaries and media; 4) Pronunciation models: RP, BBC model and General American, Network Standard; 5) Lexical, grammatical variations and discourse grammars; 6) Beliefs and subjective theories in foreign language research; 7) Dilemma among radical, canonical and eclectic views. In conclusion, the author offers a modest proposal: we need to appeal to our own experience, intention, feeling and purpose, that is, our identity to express “our own selves” in our contexts toward the world anywhere, if not sounding authentic enough, but producing it plausibly well. It is time for us (with our ethno-cultural autonomy) to need to be complementary to and parallel with its native speakers' linguistic-cultural authenticity in terms of the broadest mutual understanding.

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Somatic Hybrids by Electro-Protoplast Fusion between N. tabacum and N. glutinosa (담배(N. tabacum)와 N. glutinosa 종간 원형질체 융합식물의 생성)

  • 김준철;최성진
    • KSBB Journal
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    • v.5 no.2
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    • pp.175-182
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    • 1990
  • Protoplasts, isolated from leaf of N. tabacum NR-/SR+ and N. glottnosa were electrofused and divided with a plating efficiency of 30∼35% in AAPI 9M medium. Green callus lines were selected in protoplast-derived colonies on MSNO3 selection medium with 1.2mg/ml streptomycin sulfate on the basis of nitrate reductase proficiency and streptomycin resistance. Four putative hybrid plant lines regenerated from the green callus lines had intermediate morphology between that of parents with respect to floral shape, corolla length and ovate leaf blade. Zymograms of leaf peroxidase and esterase from these putative hybrid plant lines showed isozyme profiles derived from both parents and also, they exhibited additional and lost bands. Cytological analysis of two putative hybrid plant lines gave chromosome counts of 2n=66 in L22 and 2n=54 in L44 which were less than the expected number of N. tabacum(2n=48) and N. glutinosa(2n=24).

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Modality in Korean Learners' Spoken Interlanguage

  • Park, Hyeson
    • English Language & Literature Teaching
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    • v.18 no.1
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    • pp.197-216
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    • 2012
  • This study examines spoken interlanguage of Korean learners of English, focusing on the distribution of modal verbs and devices of epistemic modality. (Semi-) spontaneous speech data were collected from four students participating in a self-organized study group for seven months, which produced a corpus of about 55,000 words. The data analysis reveals the following: 1) The frequency of the modal verbs produced by the learners was lower than that of native speakers; 1.99 vs. 2.32 tokens per 100 words. The range of the modal verbs used by the learners was also very limited, with over-reliance on can (43%). 2) The grammatical categories of the devices marking epistemic modality were in the order of adverbs, lexical verbs, and modal verbs, with a high frequency of a few items in each category. 3) Lexical items conveying certainty and modals of obligation were preferred over markers of weaker commitment, resulting in speech characterized by firmer assertions and a more authoritative tone, a potential cause for pragmatic failure. 4) A weak developmental change was observed in the frequency of modal verbs, but not in their functions over the seven month period of data collection. L1 influence, L2 proficiency, mode of communication, and instruction effects are discussed as possible variables involved in the distribution patterns observed.

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Proficiency Testing for the Gas-chromatographic Analysis of Procymidone, Chlorpyrifos and Metolachlor Residues in Soil (가스크로마토그래피를 이용한 토양 중 프로사이미돈과 클로르피리포스, 메톨라클로르의 잔류분석 숙련도시험)

  • Kim, Chan-Sub;Son, Kyeong-Ae;Gil, Geun-Hwan;Kim, Jin-Bae;Hong, Su-Myeong;Kwon, Hye-Young
    • The Korean Journal of Pesticide Science
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    • v.17 no.2
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    • pp.94-106
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    • 2013
  • The proficiency testing for the residue laboratories of pesticide registration was conducted in order to improve the reliability and the ability for pesticide residue analysis. On October 2011 the testing was carried out using the soil collected and kept as the moistened state for five years, which is expected to very low residue levels of pesticides. The soil was fortified with chlorpyrifos, metolachlor and procymidone in a manner similar to prepare soil sample for indoor soil degradation test, and then sub-samples were prepared for the distribution to participants. Some of them were randomly selected for confirm of homogeneity and to ensure the stability of samples at room temperature. Samples were consisted of two soil treated as different levels, one of which was used to the assesment and another used to confirm. In addition, provide three standard solutions, respectively concentration of 10 mg/L, and untreated soil. Forty seven institutions submitted results. The medians of results were used as the assigned values for pesticide residues. Fitness for purpose standard deviation of proficiency test was calculated by applying 20% RSD as the coefficient of variation allowed in the soil residue test. Z-score was applied for evaluation of individual pesticides, and the average of the absolute value of the Z-score for the overall assessment of pesticides. Laboratories evaluated the absolute value of the Z-score less than 2 to fit the case of chlorpyrifos and procymidone were 44, metolachlor 40.

A Validity Study on the Vocabulary Grade Levels Test for Korean Elementary Students

  • Shin, Yousun
    • English Language & Literature Teaching
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.125-147
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    • 2012
  • The primary goal of the study was to provide some preliminary validity evidence for the Vocabulary Grade Levels Test (Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education, 2009), which is designed to measure the receptive vocabulary knowledge of learners in L2. For the purpose of the current study, 327 participants at the elementary school participated in the study and were asked to take two different vocabulary tests. Namely, a Vocabulary Size Test (Nation, 2001) and a Vocabulary Grade Levels Test. The data were analyzed using correlation in order to discover the relationship between these two types of tests. Following this, the Rasch analysis was conducted to examine the reliability and validity of the measurement in question. The data analysis showed that both grade separation reliability and item separation reliability were high, indicating that the Vocabulary Grade Levels Test well discriminates learners with a wide range of proficiency levels. The findings of the study are discussed, along with further improvements in order to ascertain the validity of this particular vocabulary test.

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