• Journal of Korean language education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.325-344
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to summarize PWIM (Picture Words Inductive Model) which is one of learner-centered vocabulary teaching-learning models, and suggest ways to implement them in Korean language education. The pictures that are used in the Korean language education field help visualize the specific shape, color, and texture of the vocabulary that is the learning target; thus, helping beginner learners to recognize the meaning of the sound. Visual material stimulates the intrinsic schema of the learner and not only becomes a 'bridge' connecting the mother tongue and the Korean language, but also reduces difficulty in learning a foreign language because of the ambiguity between meaning and sound in Korean and all languages. PWIM shows commonality with existing learning methods in that it uses visual materials. However, in the past, the teacher-centered learning method has only imitated the teacher because the teacher showed a piece-wise, out-of-life photograph and taught the word. PWIM is a learner-centered learning method that stimulates learners to find vocabulary on their own by presenting visual information reflecting the context. In this paper, PWIM is more suitable for beginner learners who are learning specific concrete vocabulary such as personal identity (mainly objects), residence and environment, daily life, shopping, health, climate, and traffic. The purpose of this study was to develop a method of using PWIM suitable for Korean language learners and teaching procedures. The researchers rearranged the previous research into three steps: brainstorming and word organization, generalization of semantic and morphological rules of extracted words, and application of words. In the case of PWIM, you can go through all three steps at once. Otherwise, it is possible to divide the three steps of PWIM and teach at different times. It is expected that teachers and learners using the PWIM teaching-learning method, which uses realistic visual materials, will enable making an effective class together.

• The Mathematical Education
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.263-282
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze the implementation of 2015 revised mathematics curriculum. This study focused on issues raised from the implementation. The teaching-learning methods for enhancing mathematical competencies, the amount and difficulty of mathematics in the 1st and 2nd grade, the level of vocabulary and sentence for students in the textbooks, and the support for successful implementation of the curriculum were collected and analyzed through questionnaires and interviews. As a result of the research, most of the teachers tried to improve the teaching and learning method considering mathematical competencies, but had difficulty in connecting contents and competencies. They also recognized that the amount and difficulty in the 1st and 2nd grade math, and the level of vocabulary and sentences presented in math textbooks were generally appropriate. However, they pointed out that the textbooks were over-emphasized in various ways out of basic calculation methods, and that the long sentences, which are not easy to read and understand by students who are not familiar with reading Korean, are included in the . They recognised that there is a large difference in level of reading Korean and understanding math among students. So we suggest that more active support is needed for the students who are learning slowly and the students who are having difficulty in reading Korean.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.293-305
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• 2016

Objective: This study aims to measure cognitive load levels by analyzing the EEG of Koreans and foreigners, when they read a Korean text with care selected by level from the grammar and vocabulary aspects, and compare the cognitive load levels through quantitative values. The study results can be utilized as basic data for more scientific approach, when Korean texts or books are developed, and an evaluation method is built, when the foreigners encounter them for learning or an assignment. Background: Based on 2014, the number of the foreign students studying in Korea was 84,801, and they increase annually. Most of them are from Asian region, and they come to Korea to enter a university or a graduate school in Korea. Because those foreign students aim to learn within Universities in Korea, they receive Korean education from their preparation for study in Korea. To enter a university in Korea, they must acquire grade 4 or higher level in the Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), or they need to complete a certain educational program at each university's affiliated language institution. In such a program, the learners of the Korean language receive Korean education based on texts, except speaking domain, and the comprehension of texts can determine their academic achievements in studying after they enter their desired schools (Jeon, 2004). However, many foreigners, who finish a language course for the short-term, and need to start university study, cannot properly catch up with university classes requiring expertise with the vocabulary and grammar levels learned during the language course. Therefore, reading education, centered on a strategy to understand university textbooks regarded as top level reading texts to the foreigners, is necessary (Kim and Shin, 2015). This study carried out an experiment from a perspective that quantitative data on the readers of the main player of reading education and teaching materials need to be secured to back up the need for reading education for university study learners, and scientifically approach educational design. Namely, this study grasped the difficulty level of reading through the measurement of cognitive loads indicated in the reading activity of each text by dividing the difficulty of a teaching material (book) into eight levels, and the main player of reading into Koreans and foreigners. Method: To identify cognitive loads indicated upon reading Korean texts with care by Koreans and foreigners, this study recruited 16 participants (eight Koreans and eight foreigners). The foreigners were limited to the language course students studying the intermediate level Korean course at university-affiliated language institutions within Seoul Metropolitan Area. To identify cognitive load, as they read a text by level selected from the Korean books (difficulty: eight levels) published by King Sejong Institute (Sejonghakdang.org), the EEG sensor was attached to the frontal love (Fz) and occipital lobe (Oz). After the experiment, this study carried out a questionnaire survey to measure subjective evaluation, and identified the comprehension and difficulty on grammar and words. To find out the effects on schema that may affect text comprehension, this study controlled the Korean texts, and measured EEG and subjective satisfaction. Results: To identify brain's cognitive load, beta band was extracted. As a result, interactions (Fz: p =0.48; Oz: p =0.00) were revealed according to Koreans and foreigners, and difficulty of the text. The cognitive loads of Koreans, the readers whose mother tongue is Korean, were lower in reading Korean texts than those of the foreigners, and the foreigners' cognitive loads became higher gradually according to the difficulty of the texts. From the text four, which is intermediate level in difficulty, remarkable differences started to appear in comparison of the Koreans and foreigners in the beginner's level text. In the subjective evaluation, interactions were revealed according to the Koreans and foreigners and text difficulty (p =0.00), and satisfaction was lower, as the difficulty of the text became higher. Conclusion: When there was background knowledge in reading, namely schema was formed, the comprehension and satisfaction of the texts were higher, although higher levels of vocabulary and grammar were included in the texts than those of the readers. In the case of a text in which the difficulty of grammar was felt high in the subjective evaluation, foreigners' cognitive loads were also high, which shows the result of the loads' going up higher in proportion to the increase of difficulty. This means that the grammar factor functions as a stress factor to the foreigners' reading comprehension. Application: This study quantitatively evaluated the cognitive loads of Koreans and foreigners through EEG, based on readers and the text difficulty, when they read Korean texts. The results of this study can be used for making Korean teaching materials or Korean education content and topic selection for foreigners. If research scope is expanded to reading process using an eye-tracker, the reading education program and evaluation method for foreigners can be developed on the basis of quantitative values.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.181-191
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to suggest a direction for efficient teaching and learning idiomatic expressions in Korean to improve the vocabulary of Korean language learners. In order to make learning more interesting and enhance learning effectiveness for Korean language learners, the drama, , which was popular in Korea, was used as educational material. Since idomatic language is formed and used based on Korean history, culture, and social background, dramas containing Korean culture and sentiments can be said to be suitable materials for the teaching and learning of Korean idiomatic expressions. By analyzing the drama , 277 significant vocabularies were extracted from the drama based on vocabulary actually used. Among these, 124 idiomatic expressions were extracted after excluding overlapping expressions. Idiomatic expressions extracted in this way were classified based on vocabulary used more than 2 times. In addition, in order to select idiomatic expressions suitable for the level of the learners, 46 final expressions for Korean language education were selected considering the difficulty of vocabulary. Lastly, when the materials selected in the drama were used for education, the precautions for teaching and learning, and the direction of education on idiomatic language were classified into elementary, intermediate, and advanced grades and presented.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.1-23
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• 2005

This paper is a qualitative and quantitative study. The main purpose of the paper is to diagnose what makes English communication difficult at the Korean EFL adult level. In order to obtain data, this study employed interviews and a questionnaire. We identified thirty three factors blocking pathways to oral communication. Qualitative analysis repeatedly revealed patterns such as lack of grammar, lack of vocabulary, lack of background knowledge, and peer pressure, but quantitative analysis yielded somewhat different results: lack of colloquial expressions, lack of vocabulary, lack of various topics, problems in the educational system, difficulty in using existing knowledge, and lack of grammar. Findings which were common to both qualitative and quantitative analyses suggest that lack of linguistic knowledge and lack of background knowledge are major barriers learners encounter in communication. On the basis of the results, suggestions are made for overcoming these barriers.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.1-22
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• 2009

This case study aimed to explore proficient EFL readers' perceptions and experiences about reading tasks and how those perceptions and experiences influence their reading processing behaviors, and to examine how the cultural background of a text affects their reading strategies and comprehension. Three college students who were non-English majors participated in this study. Three data sources were employed: questionnaires, interviews, and think-alouds. The results showed that: (1) the participants emphasized comprehension as the goal of reading and considered themselves good EFL readers; (2) their reading purposes were closely associated with personal pursuits; (3) they preferred to read materials that deal with areas of interest but did not try to take a risk in terms of level of difficulty and/or length; (4) they implemented a multistrategic approach to reading in that the majority of their strategy use was in conjunction with their concern about meaning construction; (5) they were able to develop useful understandings of unknown vocabulary; and (6) their clear awareness of the cultural background presupposed in the text helped them invoke prior knowledge and reduce unknown vocabulary hindrances which contributed to comprehension. Pedagogical implications for EFL reading instruction are provided.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.27-33
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• 2015

Background: Since November 2012, some of over-the-counter (OTC) medications have been sold in convenience store without pharmacist' s supervision. We purposed to examine if the product labels of OTCs provide sufficient information that is appropriate for consumers who may have low health literacy. Methods: We compared the difficulty of words that are utilized in pharmaceutical product labels of interest (intervention) with those in the $6^{th}$ grade textbook (control). Pharmaceutical products of interest were comprised of 13 OTCs which have been sold currently in convenience stores. We grouped words into the 4 levels of difficulty based on the Korean Vocabulary Classification for Education, and statistically tested words frequency in each level between OTCs and control. Results: The 13 OTC labels included lay language (easier or equal to language used in primary school) about 10% less; professional language about 10% more (p < 0.001 in all). Labels for analgesics had the longest and most difficult information, followed by common cold preparations, muscle pain relievers as plaster or cataplasma and digestives. Conclusion: The 13 OTC labels might fail to provide appropriate information for safety use by consumers in terms of the difficulty level of words. The improvement of labels of OTC medications and consumer education strategies are called for safety use of OTC medications sold in convenience stores.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.17-25
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• 2007

'Emotional value' has been a buzz word for design and ergonomics in the era of business innovation. However, the complication of 'emotion' in terms of literal and practical meaning has made it a challenging but confusing task for designers to develop a new product with emotional value. 'Sensibility' and 'emotion' are interchangeable terms to describe human feeling ('gamsung' in Korean). The confusion reached at its peak with Korean terms. Even scholars in Korean language, psychologists, ergonomists, and designers are bewildered at the choice of proper expression for human feeling in both Korean and English. The difficulty could explain the problems in 'sensibility ergonomics' in Korea. The purpose of this paper is to provide both fundamental and satisfying information with people in the area of 'sensibility ergonomics'. Therefore, in this paper, a number of articles and books on sensibility, psychology, sensibility ergonomics, and design were reviewed to clarify the meaning of sensibility and relationship among similar words that have been used with unintentional misunderstanding. Also many adjectives on human sensibility were collected and complied for the use of sensibility evaluation.

• Korean Institute of Interior Design Journal
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.129-136
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• 2015

Korea is changing rapidly from a single-raced nation into a multi-national nation caused by the huge number of immigrants mostly from China, and Southeast Asian countries. Therefore, various social problems are expressed ostensibly, one of them is a difficulty suffered by children of the second generation of multi-cultural families who enroll to elementary schools in Korea. This should be solved urgently as it is predicted to be an unavoidable problem in future. Only by understanding and accepting mutual cultural differences will be the solution to various problems caused by multi-cultural society. This study aims to understand the differences of emotion about the spatial images. This study was target to Korean and Malaysian design students to perform vocabulary appraisals on the spatial images in school health rooms which used to perform various functions for education, counseling, treatment, etc. The emotional vocabularies used at the appraisal for emotion are based on IRI image languages, which were extracted by the experts, and frequency was progressed by the SPSS 12.0 application. The collected data will be compared and analyzed to ensure the reliability.

• Journal of KIISE:Software and Applications
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.82-91
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• 2009

Sign language spotting is the task of detecting and recognizing the signs in a signed utterance. The difficulty of sign language spotting is that the occurrences of signs vary in both motion and shape. Moreover, the signs appear within a continuous gesture stream, interspersed with transitional movements between signs in a vocabulary and non-sign patterns(which include out-of-vocabulary signs, epentheses, and other movements that do not correspond to signs). In this paper, a novel method for designing a threshold model in a conditional random field(CRF) model is proposed. The proposed model performs an adaptive threshold for distinguishing between signs in the vocabulary and non-sign patterns. A hand appearance-based sign verification method, a short-sign detector, and a subsign reasoning method are included to further improve sign language spotting accuracy. Experimental results show that the proposed method can detect signs from continuous data with an 88% spotting rate and can recognize signs from isolated data with a 94% recognition rate, versus 74% and 90% respectively for CRFs without a threshold model, short-sign detector, subsign reasoning, and hand appearance-based sign verification.