• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.153-169
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• 2012

This study reviews an English enhancement course implemented for medical and nursing college students of 2011 to improve their standardized English test scores. A total of 117 first-year students underwent the pre-test and the post-TOEIC in November 2011. After the pre-test, lectures on listening enhancement strategies and problem solving tactics on reading comprehension were supplemented with 4 times of enhancement-tests. Their pre- and post-TOEIC results were compared to see if such enhancement strategies were effective to improve their TOEIC scores. It was further to investigate, through survey questionnaires, how the subjects felt about a number of pre-test-type TOEIC exercise with what-to-listen and how-to-infer listening strategies and pattern-drill practices for reading comprehension. It was found that the scores of listening comprehension improved significantly for both major students whereas reading scores showed slight decrease among nursing majors. It is concluded that administering numerous pre-test-type-TOEIC exercise is effective for students to improve their listening scores supplemented with listening strategies Also, students' response showed positive toward the enhancement course.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.177-197
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• 2009

This study investigated the effects of dictation practice, in terms of listening proficiency and the use of listening strategy. The research was implemented for 15 weeks with 89 freshmen and sophomores at a Korean university. The subjects were divided into an experimental group and a control group. All conditions were the same in both groups, except that the experimental group had dictation practice on a regular basis in their listening classes through one semester. For the purpose of the study, two research questions were set; 1) Does dictation practice improve listening proficiency? 2) What are the differences in the use of listening strategies between the two groups? Does dictation practice make the participants use different listening strategies? A sample TOEIC listening test was conducted as a pre-test and post-test. A questionnaire was used to find out the differences in the use of listening strategies between the two groups. The results of this study reveal that there was no statistically difference in improvement between the two groups; however, the experimental group scored much higher on the post-test than the pre-test compared with the control group. In regard to listening strategies, among 6 listening strategies, the use of metacognitive listening strategies had a significant difference between the two groups. On the basis of the results, the study suggested some guidelines for dictation practice in EFL listening classes and called for more studies on its effects.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.15-24
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the use of video resources on improving listening comprehension. 86 students enrolled in a summer session at a Korean university participated in the study. They were assigned to one of three groups based on the results of their TOEIC test scores: 29 students were assigned to the low group, 29 students to the intermediate group, and 28 students to the advanced group. Each group studied the same lessons using authentic video materials. They were taught for 10 sessions over three weeks. The pre- and post-test design helped to determine whether authentic videos were effective in improving listening skills for all proficiency levels. In addition, a questionnaire investigated students' perceptions toward using video resources. Paired sample t-tests, ANOVAs, and an ANCOVA were utilized to identify significant differences. It was concluded that in the intermediate and advanced proficiency groups, the students' listening skills increased significantly after learning with videos. In addition, listening improvements among the intermediate and advanced students were much greater than those of the low proficiency group. As for students' perceptions toward using video resources for improving their English listening skills, they responded positively. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications are suggested, and future studies will be discussed.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.101-124
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• 2011

This paper investigated the relationships among Korean EFL learners' listening anxiety, listening strategy use, and listening proficiency. One hundred and forty four Korean college students who were enrolled in the required practical English classes participated in this study. Questionnaires related to students' listening strategy use and listening anxiety were administered and a TOEIC listening comprehension test was given to measure the students' listening proficiency. The one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The findings of this study are that the students' listening performance is positively correlated with their strategy use and negatively correlated with their anxiety level, and their strategy use is negatively correlated with their anxiety level. The results suggest that successful learning will occur when anxiety is reduced and when the use of strategies is encouraged more often. The pedagogical implications for EFL educators and teachers are described.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-15
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether or not the use of the Korean alphabet increased the accuracy of English sentences Korean university students produced in dictation. The students were divided into three categories, beginning, intermediate, and advanced, based on the listening comprehension scores of a practice TOEIC test. The total population of 120 students were divided into two groups, control and experiment. In the first testing, the experiment group transcribed the English utterances on a practice TOEIC tape into phonological writing in Korean and then later changed the Korean writing into English words and sentences. In the second testing, the control group became the experiment group and used the Korean alphabet in transcribing the English sounds. Statistically significant differences were found in the improvement of accuracy in dictation when the Korean alphabet was used, especially for the beginning and intermediate students. By using the Korean alphabet as the phonological representation of the sounds, the students in the experiment group produced more accurate English words than the control group who went directly from the English utterances to writing in English. Statistically significant results were not produced for the advanced students. The significance of the present study relates to the need to add to the paucity of available data on the use of the Korean alphabet in teaching listening comprehension.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.71-75
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• 2016

The English language listening environment in Korea nowadays is situated in a quiet and artificial state rather than one of natural exposure. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of convergence for pronunciation and listening activities using English advertisements. A survey sample of 40 students was chosen for this study. These 40 students successfully answered the questionnaire and took a 3 hour English course as an elective. Pre and post surveys tests were done for listening ability and learning interests. For the listening tests, TOEIC L.C. test were used and survey questions about interests made by Sunhee Park were revised to be proper used. The results of this study show a positive impact on TOEIC listening ability and that students are able to listen and naturally pronounce more successfully through convergence using English advertisements with higher learning motivation.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.231-251
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• 2010

This study was designed to identify students' perceptions and attitudes towards dictation practice in English listening classes and investigate the relationships among 5 factors with regard to dictation practice: participation, usefulness, interest, motivation, and confidence. For the study, the research was implemented for 15 weeks with 41 Korean university students. The subjects had dictation practice in their English listening classes on a regular basis for one semester. At the end of the semester, a questionnaire was used to find out students' perceptions and attitudes towards dictation practice. For the analysis of the subject's responses, first, a descriptive analysis was administered. After that, a correlation analysis was done to explore what the relations among 5 factors were. Results indicated that most students actively participated in the class, and they regarded dictation as a very useful practice in their listening classes. Also, the dictation practice motivated students not only for English listening but also for overall English studying. However, more than two third students showed low interest and confidence in the class. As for the correlations among 5 factors, there were very strong correlations between usefulness and motivation, usefulness and confidence, interest and motivation, interest and confidence, and confidence and motivation. Based on the results, some implications were presented and some guidelines for effective dictation practice were suggested.