• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.127-152
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• 2007

Recently, the number of students to choose to study in Australia has been increasing significantly. The purpose of this study is to examine how Korean primary school children perceive their own English language learning and cultural adaptation in Australia. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 34 Korean children aged 8-13 who were attending primary schools in Brisbane, Queensland. The study results show that they made diverse efforts to learn English language and culture in Australia, such as making English-speaking friends, watching TV/video/DVD, reading English books, and studying with a foreign tutor. Their English listening and writing abilities were thought to be improved most, followed by speaking, reading and cultural understanding after studying in Australia. The subjects were mostly satisfied with their study and life in Australia but they had difficulties with communicating in English, homesickness, foods, weather, insects, and discrimination. In particular, they had problems with understanding classes conducted all in English and participating in the classroom activities due to their low level of English ability and understanding of Australian classroom culture. The findings of this study have pedagogical implications for educators both in Australia and Korea.

• Language and Information
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.93-111
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• 2010

This article is a description of the case variation in Guarani Language, which is a relatively, rarely studied language, and more so about case phenomena. Guarani has two remarkable facts about case. First, it has two overt accusative case markers, which are differentiated by the semantic notion of boundedness as in Jackendoff(1990, 1991). The existence of accusative case markers in Guarani is attested by their behavior in the typical transitive verb sentences, the ability to occur in ECM constructions, and the interpretation of specificity which is parallel to Turkish accusative case marker realization reported in Enc(1991). Second, accusative case forms occur in adjunct positions as well as object positions in Guarani. To capture these peculiar case phenomena, an account based on some recent Minimalist ideas about case checking from Legate(2008), Bowers(2010) is shown to be available.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.207-221
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• 2012

This study examines the importance of learning language and cultural integration in general English class focused on TOEIC reading comprehension. The understanding of cultural learning and learners' cultural awareness has long been a subject of debate. This study was not only to analyze the improvement of students' interest and reading comprehension ability of TOEIC through cultural learning, but also to ensure students who learn American culture overcome cross-cultural miscommunication and improve their English reading comprehension skills. Pre-post surveys and the pre-post TOEIC tests were used to measure language proficiency and American cultural knowledge to two groups: the experimental and control group. The results from the study were as follows: First, students had better TOEIC scores with improved motivation after understanding American culture relevant to the lessons. Second, reading comprehension skills with regards to TOEIC also improved, compared with the students who were not exposed to American culture due to lack of opportunity.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.129-153
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• 2007

When English language teachers are deciding on their priorities for teaching pronunciation, it is imperative to know what kind of differences and errors are most likely to interfere with communication, and what special problems particular first-language speakers will have with English pronunciation. In other words, phoneme discrimination skill is an integral part of speech processing for the EFL learners' learning to converse in English. Training using sound visualization technique can be effective in improving second language learners' perceptions and productions of segmental and suprasegmental speech contrasts. This study assessed the efficacy of a pronunciation training that provided visual feedback for EFL learners acquiring pitch and durational contrasts to produce and perceive English phonemic distinctions. The subjects' ability to produce and to perceive novel English words was tested in two contexts before and after training; words in isolation and words in sentences. In comparison with an untrained control group, trainees showed improved perceptual and productive performance, transferred their knowledge to new contexts, and maintained their improvement three months after training. These findings support the feasibility of learner-centered programs using sound visualization technique for English language pronunciation instruction.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.29
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• pp.479-501
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• 2012

In this paper, I analyzed the russian cultural content of the russian textbook according to curriculum changes. The aim of this study is to analyze the content of the russian textbooks on russian culture. Our education of russian language begins in high school as a second language. And russian education in high school entirely depend on the textbook. In these circumstances, Russian textbooks play a very important role in the Russian language learning. For a practical and efficient language learning, acquisition of cultural knowledge is very important. Because cultural content can be learning motivational factors. But the contents of a textbook is not satisfactory enough to teach russian culture. More efficient textbook must be developed to advance student's linguistic ability.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.95-103
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• 2020

The current study aimed to identify the characteristics of speech rate and pause in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) and their relationships with speech intelligibility. In all, 26 children with CP, 4 with no speech motor involvement and age-appropriate language ability (NSMI-LCT), 6 with no speech motor involvement and impaired language ability (NSMI-LCI), 6 with speech motor involvement and age-appropriate language ability (SMI- LCT), and 10 with speech motor involvement and impaired language ability (SMI-LCI) participated in the study. Speech samples for the speech rate and pause analysis were extracted using a sentence repetition task. Acoustic analysis were made in Praat. First, it was found that regardless of the presence of language impairment, significant group differences between the NSMI and SMI groups were found in speech rate and articulation rate. Second, the SMI groups showed a higher ratio of pause time to sentence production time, more frequent pauses, and longer durations of pauses than the NSMI groups. Lastly, there were significant correlations among speech rate, articulation rate, and intelligibility. These findings suggest that slow speech rate is the main feature in SMI groups, and that both speech rate and articulation rate play important roles in the intelligibility of children with spastic CP.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.89-100
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• 2016

The present study aims at investigating the effects of the Korean language ability, social support and acculturative stress of migrant laborers on hope and life satisfaction. The results of structural equation model showed that the social support and acculturative stress of migrant laborers influences life satisfaction through hope. The Korean ability of these laborers was intermediate level where they performed well in reading while they showed low performance in speaking and listening. The results of the study are as follows. First, hope mediates the effects of Korean ability on life satisfaction and does the effects of social support and acculturative stress on life satisfaction. Second the results that the better they hope the bigger life satisfaction gets implied that hope is the immediate cause of life satisfaction. Third, for their hope, we should provide not only language education but also opportunities for the perception that the role of family and neighbors is important. It is also necessary to facilitate active movements with the local community so that the migrant laborers take part in roles as members of society. Further we need to operate lifelong education programs for helping the migrant labores to adapt their lives in Korea.

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

• Journal of Korean language education
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.85-108
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• 2018

This study pointed out the reality that many novice Korean language teachers who lack rater training are scoring the learners' writing skill. The study performed and analyzed a case where pre-service teachers were educated in order to explore the possibility of promoting rater training in a Korean language teacher training course. The pre-service teachers majoring in Korean language education at the graduate school scored TOPIK compositions and were provided feedback by the FACETS program, which were further discussed at the rater meeting. In three scoring processes, the raters scored with conscious of own rating patterns and showed positive change or over correction due to excessive consciousness. Consequentially, ongoing training can improve rating ability, and considering the fact that professional rater training is hard to progress, the method composed of FACETS analysis and rater training revealed positive effects. On the other hand, the rater training including native Korean and non-native(Chinese) speakers together showed no significant difference by mother tongue but by individual difference. This can be interpreted as a positive implication to the rating reliability of non-native speakers possessing advanced Korean language abilities. However, this must be supplemented through extended research.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.39-53
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• 2007

This study investigated the relationship between young children's comprehension and story making(narrative) by age and gender. Subjects were 109 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds at two child care centers in K Province. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and simple regression analysis. Results showed differences in comprehension between 3-, 4- and 5-year old children and differences in story making ability between 3- and 5-year-old children. Children's comprehension and story making had positive relationships. Specifically, there were significant relationships with children's comprehension and story construct concept, sentence structure level, language(vocabulary and sentence structure). In sum, the results of this study reveal that young children's comprehension ability is partially related to story making ability by age.