• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.155-176
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• 2007

An attempt to investigate the effect of gender differences on Korean students' EFL learning orientation was made. To explain a Korean EFL learning context, three criteria (cultural distance between the target country and the host country, communicative needs of the TL, the status of the TL in the host country) are adopted. Moreover, as a contrastive FL learning context from the Imposed FL learning context, a FL learning context where there is a substantial cultural distance from the TL community, communication needs of the TL do not exist, and the TL enjoys a special educational and socioeconomic status in the host country, a concept of an Integrative FL learning context is newly brought up in this paper. As the result of a questionnaire conducted in four different high schools, female learners can be claimed to be more internalized about academic and socioeconomic benefits the TL entails for their social advancement and overcoming inequality between men and women in society, albeit insignificant numerical data.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.55-75
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• 2006

This paper attempts to discuss the complex nature of social contexts regarding English language education in Korean middle school and to demonstrate the affective factors that should be considered to find appropriate approaches within the context. To do this, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 85 middle school students regarding learners' motivation, and attitudes toward EFL learning. Additionally, teachers in secondary school were asked about the general circumstances of English language education. Findings indicate that in spite of the participants' high instrumental motivation, they rather show a negative attitude toward English learning. This paper intends to raise practitioners' attention to the fact that the effect of learners' affective variables on EFL learning seems distinctive depending on the host country's EFL contexts.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.49-55
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• 2019

In the age of information, newly produced knowledge is mostly written in English. Therefore, there has been a strong demand for English language learning in the EFL context. However, most EFL learners possess a lack of interest and motivation in the text-based reading class. In this educational context, film is one of the most widely used materials in English reading classes considering that modern learners are predominantly familiar with various audiovisual materials. The purpose of this study is to investigate how Korean EFL learners experienced in the film-based reading class. Specifically, this study aims to analyze the EFL students' perceptions about the class and learning strategies that they used during the class. In order to comprehensively interpret the EFL learners' experiences in the classroom, a coding system consisting of five categories was developed: report, emotion, reflection, evaluation, future plans. The results of data analysis showed that the use of movies in English reading classes had positive effects on reading comprehension and inference of word meaning. The most frequently used learning strategies were affective strategies which helped them control their emotion, attitude, motivations and values, whereas memorization strategies were rarely used. In this respect, this study suggests that the use of movies in the EFL reading classroom encourage students' attention and help them obtain and activate schema which is useful in gaining a better understanding of text-based reading materials.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.23-52
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• 2004

This paper investigated students' and teachers' attitudes toward L2 grammar in EFL learning context. In a study in which attitude was viewed as consisting of three different components such as cognitive, affective, and behavioral, questionnaire developed on the basis of such a view of attitude was used as a data collection method. The results of the study indicated that in general, both students and teachers were similar to each other in their attitude toward L2 grammar. Among the findings, most important, two groups were shown to fully understand the important role of grammar in L2 learning. Another finding was that despite the 6th national curriculum for English education, our English class was still dominated by grammar-centered instruction. Also it was shown that the way teachers had been taught L2 grammar had a considerable effect on the way they would instruct it in their future classes. Based on these findings, some suggestions were offered for effective grammar pedagogy in EFL context.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.6
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• pp.219-239
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• 2000

There has been a growing enthusiasm in Korea for the early education of English as a foreign language (EFL). The present study examined the validity of the Critical Period Hypothesis in terms of the Universal Grammar (UG), in three different types of learning contexts - first language (L1), second language (SL), and foreign language (FL) learning contexts. While previous research findings in L1 and SL learning contexts suggest that UG principles and parameters are accessible to language learners only for the early years of lifetime, this article argues that their results - and even the methods - cannot be applied to EFL settings and that independent studies on the EFL context are, required. It also proposes the recent UG notion of functional categories as the most appropriate subject in the discussion of Korean EFL learners' access to UG. Findings on foreign language contexts, including the author's own, strongly indicate that UG is not sensitive to learners' starting ages in FL settings. If young children in FL contexts cannot develop their interlanguage grammar based on UG, the existing teaching methods for young children should be revised.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.365-395
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• 2010

This study explores the effect of extensive reading(ER) implemented in middle and high schools in Korean EFL context. Two middle school English teachers and two high school English teachers participated in implementing ER in their classes. Six middle school classes of 239 students and seven high school classes of 268 students participated in ER program guided by the above four teachers. To implement ER, participating teachers had continuously been guided by the researcher about the theoretic reasoning of ER and practical methods for efficient ER in class. The study lasted for two semesters and the teachers and students were surveyed and interviewed during and after the classes. The result showed pretty positive improvement of students' self-confidence, interest and motivation about English through ER implemented in this study. It is hoped that this study would show the possibility of implementing ER in Korean EFL secondary school context and a model for ER and cooperation between university researchers and in-service English teachers.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.191-208
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• 2011

The quantitative study investigated perceptions of evaluative criteria in L2 writing between two groups - learners (N=212) and instructors (N=52) in Korea. Specifically, the purpose of the study is (1) to examine learners' and instructors' perceptions on evaluative criteria in L2 writing and to provide empirical evidence concerning how they respond to a list of them and (2) to ultimately devise appropriate rating criteria applicable to an EFL context like Korea. Analyses of evaluative criteria were conducted using factor analysis and yielded the following results: learner and instructor groups perceived the evaluative criteria differently and weighted them in a different way. For the learner group, the combined elements of grammar and language in use were identified as Factor 1 and mechanics as Factor 2. The results may infer that learners' response patterns are primarily linked to their instructors' writing practice in class, which may largely focus on grammatical knowledge based on lexical use and mechanical accuracy. Similarly, the instructor group acknowledged grammatical knowledge as Factor 1 and lexical use as Factor 2. The first two factors found in both learner and instructor groups indicate that in an EFL context like Korea, the form-then-content way of teaching and learning is still being considered more effective in L2 writing than any other method. Taking into consideration these perceptive similarities and differences between learners and instructors, the categories of evaluative criteria in writing include content and organization, grammar, mechanics, language in use, and flow of the essay, respectively.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.145-152
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• 2022

The current study investigates the effects of an interactive learning environment on EFL students' vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension skills. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design. The sample consisted of 41 students enrolled in the English program at Umm Al-Qura University studying Reading in EFL course in Summer 2018/2019. The sample was randomly divided into two groups: A control group consisting of 21 students and an experimental group of 20 students. The results revealed statistically significant differences at (α≤ 0.01) between the mean scores of the experimental group and the control group in the posttest of the vocabulary test and the reading comprehension test favoring the experimental group. Finally, the study concluded with a call for more studies on modern technologies in teaching EFL skills in the Saudi context.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.41-59
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• 2009

The present study investigated Korean learners' knowledge on the range of possible interpretations of English locative PPs with manner of motion verbs, and considers whether learners can arrive at a superset L2 grammar on the basis of positive L2 input. Unlike Korean, some English locative PPs occurring with manner of motion verbs (such as in John jumped on the bed) are ambiguous as they can be interpreted as either directional or locational. Thirty Korean learners of English in three distinct groups (Advanced EFL-only group; Intermediate-EFL-only group; and ESL-experienced group) participated in an experimental study, along with a control group of nine native speakers of English. The results of the study showed that I) Korean learners, overall, tended to interpret English locative PPs as only locational, failing to recognize the ambiguity between the directional and locational readings in the target structure; 2) For the learners who experienced only the EFL context, even highly proficient learners, as well as intermediate level learners, failed to acknowledge the ambiguity; 3) The learners who experienced the ESL context for an extended period of time could identify the target reading to some extent, although they still could not reach the native-like competence. From these results, it is argued that robustness of positive evidence, not simply its availability, is critical in the acquisition of the superset L2 targets like the present one.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2009

An emphasis on teaching suprasegmental features of English, specifically English rhythm, is essential in order to improve the 'intelligibility' of the pronunciation of Korean EFL learners among interlocutors who use English as a Lingua Franca(ELF). By redefining the ELF suggested by Jenkins (2000, 2002), this paper argues that Lingua Franca Core (LFC) must include suprasegmental features such as 'stress-based rhythm' and word stress. However, because 'isochrony' is difficult to measure in a foot, the rhythm unit must be expanded to an intonational phrase which has prominence in it and the rhythm of the unit can be measured by calculating the duration of each segment in context The rhythmic pattern of Korean learners of English and that of native speakers or other non-native English speakers can then be calculated and compared by using correlation coefficients of the segmental duration. In terms of sociolinguistic factors, improving the 'comprehensibility' and 'accentedness' of Korean EFL learners' pronunciation is also important in international communication, which calls for more emphasis on suprasegmental features.