• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.91-106
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of toddlers' vocabulary ability with reading activities and teachers' verbal and nonverbal behaviors during book reading. The subjects were 52 teachers and 104 toddlers at age 2. Lee and Kim (2004)'s categories of the Teachers' Verbal Behaviors, the categories of the Nonverbal Behavioral Analysis(Kim. 2005), and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (Kim, et al.1995) were used. The data was analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, and Correlations. The results indicated that there were significant correlations in the subcategories of reading activities in classrooms, teachers' picture book reading behaviors, and toddler's vocabulary ability. The toddler's vocabulary ability increased as the 'interacting time both before and after book reading' became longer. The toddler's vocabulary ability increased as 'connecting with previous experience', 'asking questions for confirmation', 'acknowledging,' and 'expanding' of verbal behavior, as well as the nonverbal behavior, such as 'requesting behavior', 'emotional contact,' and 'empathetic behavior.' In conclusion, teachers' reading behaviors and activities were related to toddlers' vocabulary ability.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.57-71
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of the use of reading aloud as a way of teaching English reading in a formal college-level English reading classroom. The study tried to examine the effects of reading aloud on the development of English reading ability in terms of comprehension and speed and the students' perceptions of the use of reading aloud in an English reading classroom. The participants of the study were 36 third year students at a college. The results of the cloze test and reading speed test showed that reading aloud had a positive effect on the improvement of English reading ability. The students received higher scores in the cloze test after the course and read a text faster than before the course. The analysis of the course evaluation questionnaire indicated that the students in the study showed positive attitudes toward the use of reading aloud in an English reading classroom. Most of the students reported that reading aloud was an effective way of improving their English reading comprehension and speed. However, the students were not fully satisfied with the reading materials used in the study. The results of the present study indicated that reading aloud may be incorporated into a formal English reading classroom effectively.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.47-63
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to develop a screening test for children at risk of reading underachievement and to investigate the effectiveness of the early-stage intervention program. In the first part of the study, we recruited 155 elementary first grade students for a screening test. Phonological deletion, digit naming, object naming, and sound-letter correspondence knowledge of a screening test, all assessed at the beginning of the school year, predicted the reading ability at the end of the school year. In the second part of the study, we analyzed the difference in the reading ability between fourteen children who participated in the intervention program and eighteen non-participating children. Reading ability was assessed by evaluating word recognition, oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and pseudo-word recognition. The reading ability of intervention group improved more compared to control group, and the difference between two groups accentuated over time. However, final analysis conducted in November revealed that two groups did not differ significantly in oral reading fluency. This suggests that, unlike word recognition and comprehension, fluency might not dramatically improve in a short period.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.81-102
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• 2006

This study investigated the effects on young children's vocabulary and reading ability of the comprehensive language-teaching program using web-based picture books. The comprehensive language program was put into operation for 9 weeks with a classroom teacher who had in-service training for this program. The language course for the 23 children in the control group consisted only of ordinary language activities using teacher-made picture cards. Test results analyzed by t-test showed that the 25 children in the experimental group gained more than the control group on reading attitude including the concept of reading, accuracy, verbal expression, participation, contents and originality. Also, the ability to read a fairy tale aloud increased in the experimental group.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.75-92
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• 2013

This study investigated the differences and relationships between environmental print reading ability, vocabulary, and print concepts of children at ages 3 and 4. The subjects comprised 90 children, who could not read letters. The Children's Reading Ability of Environmental Print Scale(Son, 2012), Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test(Kim et al., 2009) and Concepts About Print(Kim & Kim, 2004) were used in this study. The collected data were analyzed using t-test and Pearson's correlations. The results of this study were as follows; in terms of Illiterate Korean children, aged 3 to 4 years, their scores on the environmental print reading tasks were positively correlated with vocabulary and print concepts.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.157-176
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• 2007

Based on the consensus that vocabulary plays an essential role in improving reading ability, the present study investigates the effects of two different methods of English vocabulary instruction - the traditional wordlist-based vocabulary instruction (G1) and the collocation-based vocabulary instruction (G2) - on improving English reading ability for high school learners. First, the results of the collocation test revealed that G1 and G2 groups attained similar mean scores on the pretests; however, G2 significantly outperformed G1 on the post-test administered at the end of the learning activity. The results proved that students who learned vocabulary in a collocation-oriented setting had better retention through the lexical-chunking achieved by the collection method. Second, in terms of reading comprehension achieved on nationwide academic trial tests, the result was, after considering more tests, that G2 gained a significantly higher mean score on the third and fourth than G1 did, although the two groups yielded a similar mean score on the first and second test. The implication of these results is that collocation-based vocabulary activities had a more significant influence on reading skills than wordlist-oriented ones.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.17-35
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of an explicit word instruction for EFL beginning readers and their perception on the learning experience. Data were attained from 16 fourth graders who took English class as a development activity. Data include the results of pre- and post-test of high frequency sight word recognition, oral reading ability, students' survey responses, and teacher observation. The descriptive statistics were obtained for the result of the pre- and post-test. The findings from the student survey and teacher observation were also provided and interpreted to better understand the result of project and students' perception on the learning experience. The followings are the results of this study. The word recognition ability of the students was dramatically improved after the project. The students were satisfied with the overall learning experience perceiving it as helpful and fun learning. They expressed that the explicit word instruction helped their word recognition and reading ability. The results also supported that the confidence of students on their reading ability were heightened. Several suggestions are made for teachers and researchers on the word instruction for young EFL learners who are beginning readers.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.251-271
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• 2007

The purpose of this study is to investigate grade differences in the effect of reading methods - "oral reading" "silent reading", "intensive reading", "extensive reading" "thorough reading", "selective reading" - influences on the self-directed learning ability. The data were collected by using 12 classes of 2nd, 4th, 6th-grade, 286 children of an elementary school. The influences according to reading methods on the self-directed learning ability were surveyed through the self-directed learning ability test and through questionnaire. Out of reading methods, "intensive reading" had significant influence on the self-directed learning ability Out of reading methods of 4th and 6th-grade children, "intensive reading" had the most influence on the self-directed learning ability. However. out of reading methods of 2nd-grade children "thorough reading" had most influence on the self-directed learning ability.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.371-383
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• 2004

In this study, 197 4- to 6- year-old Korean children wereindividually tested with Concepts about Print(CAP Clay, 2000), the Picture Vocabulary Test(Kim, Jang, Lim & Bak, 1996), Korean-Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence : Verbal Test (K-WPPSI), and the Basic Academy Skills Assessment : Reading(Kim, 2000). Data were analyzed by Pearson-correlation, analysis of variance, and factor analysis. There were significant differences of CAP mean scores by age. Within the subcategories of CAP, Book Orientation Concepts and Print-convention were acquired earlier than other subcategories, followed by Print-direction, Print-order and Advanced Print Concepts in that order. The scores of CAP were positively correlated with the Picture Vocabulary Test, the K-WPPSI verbal test and the reading test.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.153-184
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• 2010

On the bases of the 5 principles and the 4 criteria for designing and developing of the listening and the reading test of National English Ability Test (NEAT), this study presents Item-Types Decision-Making Model as a blueprint for designing and constructing the two tests. It sets up the criteria for validating item types, designs a modular type of test specifications, constructs an item-types bank, and specifies a complementary type of test specifications of the two tests. To gather all these threads up, it constructs Item-Types Decision-Making Model which consists of such components as the item-type pool, the validity criteria and the procedures of testing item types, the item-types bank, the modular and the complementary type test specification. Thus, it shows how the Model works in developing and constructing the two level-differentiated listening and reading tests (the 2nd and the 3rd rank) of NEAT. Finally, it discusses some implications and applications of the Model to the two level-differentiated tests (the A and the B type) of 2014 CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) systems, National Assessment of Educational Achievement (NAEA), and classroom testing. In conclusion, Item-Types Decision-Making Model functions as a testing template in an item development system and as a matrix in an item-types bank system.