• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.109-126
• /
• 2007

English article has been considered as one of the most difficult areas to learn among ESL/EFL students. The current paper reviews English learners' article error patterns as well as pedagogy in order to teach English articles and to minimize learning difficulties on English articles. Different pedagogy for English articles on the basis of learners' proficiency levels are suggested as each proficiency level student shows a different error tendency; beginning level language learners used the zero article with the most facility while intermediate level language learners used the definite article the most accurately. However, studies about high advanced level learners' error patterns present that these high accuracy rates among beginning level students might be a result of students' plain guessing. Considering these error patterns, pedagogy for advanced level is also suggested.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.20
• /
• pp.29-66
• /
• 2010

This paper is a qualitative study of the experiences of Korean heritage language learners (KHLLs) with literacy (reading and writing), particularly before they enter the college-level heritage language classroom. Previous research, both qualitative and quantitative, has addressed the overall language background of KHLLs, including oral and aural proficiency and writing and reading ability, as well as demographic information (such as when the student immigrated to the United States) in relation to language test scores. This study addresses KHLL experiences in the following six areas as they relate to student perceptions and attitudes toward their own heritage language literacy: language proficiency, motivation for learning, academic preparedness, cultural connectedness, emotional factors, and social factors. Fourteen undergraduate students at a university in the western United States participated in a convenience sample by responding to a 10-question survey. Trends in responses indicated that KHLLs entered the classroom with high integrational motivation and experienced great satisfaction with perceived progress in literacy, but students also expressed regret for having missed childhood learning experiences that would likely have resulted in higher proficiency. These experiences include informal and formal instruction in the home and formal instruction outside of the home.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
• /
• v.55 no.6
• /
• pp.1193-1220
• /
• 2009

This study examined the impact of sonority profiles, positional differences and L2 proficiency on Korean EFL learners' perception of English biconsonantal clusters, using nonce words. The overall results showed that major predictions of the sonority-based typological markedness on consonant clusters were supported, as obstruent plus sonorant and sonorant plus obstruent sequences were better perceived than obstruent only or sonorant only sequences. Yet, some consonant clusters did not show a preference for sonority profiles. Positional effects were also confirmed, as word-initial biconsonantal clusters were better perceived than wordfinal ones across all the participant groups. Participants' English proficiency turned out to be also important in the perception of consonant clusters, since university students' mean rate of accuracy was highest, followed by that of high school students, which in turn followed by that of middle school students. Further, the effects of other factors like frequency and stimuli on speech perception were also addressed, along with some implications for future research.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.37-54
• /
• 2009

This study investigated vocabulary learning strategies used by EFL middle school learners in Korea and examined the relationship between the middle school learners' vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) use and their vocabulary proficiency level. One hundred and forty-one students in a public middle school participated in the study and the data for this study were collected from a vocabulary learning strategy questionnaire and a vocabulary proficiency test. Based on the result of the vocabulary proficiency test, the participants were divided into three proficiency groups: high-, mid- and low- level proficiency groups. The overall findings of the study revealed that the participants used cognitive strategies most frequently and social strategies least frequently. The most frequently used individual strategies were 'using a bilingual dictionary,' 'studying the sound of a word' and 'practicing words through verbal repetition.' The least frequently used ones were 'interacting with native speakers' and 'studying or practicing the meaning of a word in a group.' The research results also showed that the vocabulary proficiency level has a significant influence on the vocabulary strategy use. The more proficient learners used vocabulary learning strategies more actively. More specifically, the high proficiency level group used metacognitive strategies the most. The middle and low proficiency groups used cognitive strategies the most. It is suggested that language teachers should facilitate the vocabulary learning process by helping learners develop appropriate strategies.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.87-96
• /
• 2004

The number of schools that implement English medium instruction (EMI) to improve students' English proficiency has been increasing. Despite the increasing popularity of EMI, little attention has been paid to evaluating the effectiveness of EMI and its impact on students and instructors. This study explores these issues, focused on the case of the College of Engineering at Y University. A survey questionnaire was administered to 19 engineering professors who offered EMI courses in the Fall of 2003. The survey results show that: 1) the professors perceive that students' low English proficiency is a large obstacle to successful implementation of EMI, and that pre-EMI language courses are needed to prepare students for EMI. 2)Though the professors expressed confidence in their English proficiency, they indicated that they felt quite a lot stressed at teaching EMI courses; hence, support of the school administration is needed to help faculty offering EMI courses. 3)To improve students' English proficiency, native-speaking language instructors are needed to provide feedback on students' written and spoken English.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2010

Assessment provides valuable information for both teachers and students regarding how well each is doing. Assessment also defines what students must know and be able to do to succeed in a teacher's class. The purpose of this study is to analysis the mathematics assessment items based on strands of mathematical proficiency of National Research Council. According to the study results, the rate of right answers was high in adaptive reasoning and conceptual understanding(over 80%). On the other hand, the rate of right answers was lower in strategic competence(62%) than other strands.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.93-114
• /
• 2011

The aim of this study is twofold. First, this study aimed to explore how Korean university students' English learning motivation is related to their English listening proficiency and study time. Second, it attempted to interpret the English learning motivation linking the two different motivation theories: self-determination theory and L2 motivational self system. The constructs of the students' L2 learning motivation were investigated with the data obtained through the questionnaire from 122 sophomore students. A factor analysis was conducted to extract the major factors of motivation. As a result, 6 factors were extracted: Intrinsic Pleasure, Identified Value Regulation, Intrinsic Accomplishment, Introjected Regulation, External Regulation, and Identified Regulation. The Interrelatedness among the assessment results on the L2 listening proficiency (pre and post test), listening study time, and motivation factors was measured by correlation coefficients. The statistical results indicated that pre-test scores were significantly related to Identified Regulation and Identified Value Regulation toward English learning, and post-test results had significant correlation with Intrinsic Accomplishment and Identified Regulation. However, no motivation subtypes showed statistical association with the students' listening study time. The results were attempted to be interpreted both under L2 motivational self system and self-determination framework to better illuminate the motivation theory with more explanatory power.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• no.4
• /
• pp.85-116
• /
• 1998

Since the 1980's language teachers have been urged to take more communicatively oriented practice instead of traditional audio-lingual and grammar-translation instruction. However, there are many reasons why communication-centered teaching approaches haven't been easily adopted in Korea. First of all many English teachers haven't been prepared for communicative language teaching. And class size is very large. Another reason is that students' reading and writing skills are more important than their speaking and listening skills to enter colleges. But the world has been changing rapidly. We have many chances to meet foreigners and to talk to them. So many students want to improve their communicative proficiency. The purpose of this study is how to improve their communicative proficiency by performing games in English classes. There are many advantages of using games and songs in the classroom. First, games are motivating and challenging. Second, students can improve their four skills(speaking, writing, listening and reading skills) by using games and songs. Thirdly, games and songs help students to study English without their conscious efforts and to practice English repeatedly because they are interested in them. Fourthly, games and songs create a meaningful context for language use. Lastly, students can learn English with less tension and anxiety. Therefore, English games and songs are worthy of using in classes. To use English games and song more effectively, more various and useful materials have to be developed for English teachers and have to be introduced pertinently into classes.

• Speech Sciences
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.105-117
• /
• 2004

Recently, many scholars have emphasized the importance of English listening ability for smoother communication. Most audio materials, however, were recorded in a quiet sound-proof booth. Therefore, students who have spent so much time listening to the ideal audio materials are expected to have difficulty communicating with native speakers in the real life. In this study, we examined how well thirty three Korean university students and five native speakers will repeat the recorded English sentences under noise and speed conditions. The subjects' production was scored by listening to each recorded sentence and counting the number of words correctly produced and determined the percent ratios of correctly produced words to the total words in each sentence. Results showed that the student group correctly repeated around 65% of all the words in each sentence while the native speakers demonstrated almost perfect match. It seemed that the students had difficulty perceiving and repeating function words in various conditions. Also, high-proficiency student group outperformed the low-proficiency student group particularly in their repetition of function words. In addition, the student subjects' accuracy of repetition remarkably dropped when the normal sentences were both sped up and mixed with noise. Finally, it was observed that the Korean students' percent correct ratio fell down as the stimulus sentence became longer.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.71-90
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to analyze the improvement of students' interest and general proficiency of English through cultural understanding. To achieve this purpose, two classes of the 2nd grade in the informational high school were divided into the experimental class and the control class. The Grammar-Translation Method was used for the control class and a cultural learning - compare and contrast Korean culture and American culture - was taken for the experimental. After various cultural differences were studied, surveys of students' attitude and reading and listening test were taken. The results from this study were as follows: Firstly, students' interest in English was improved through learning the American culture that was related to the content of each lesson. Secondly, English reading and communicative skills were improved by learning about cultural aspects. Therefore, it can be said that teaching culture stimulates students' interest and motivation for learning English and helps students retain such affective attitudes. And English communicative skills were improved as well.