한국어교육능력검정시험 ‘외국어로서의 한국어교육론’ 영역 문항 개선 방안 연구

Abstract

The study aims to seek ways to improve the quality of items in the ‘Studies in Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language(STKFL)’ section of the Test of Teaching Korean as a Foreign Language by exploring both item characteristics and the item development process. For this purpose, a mixed research method was used. Specifically, item difficulty and discrimination were calculated based on item response theory. In-depth interview was conducted with a panel of experts in the field of Korean Language Teaching and Learning. Outcomes from the study are as follows. First, a high proportion of items with extremely easy or difficult levels of difficulty were confirmed. A high distribution of items with low discrimination was also ascertained. Second, the major problems identified in the item development process were hasty item writing practices, lack of expertise of item writers, lack of details on item writing and selection guidelines, poor treatment for item writers, and non-standardized management during the writers’ retreat. This study proposes strategies to improve item quality in the STKFL section.