Korean EFL College Students Research Articles

Effects of Stimulus Type on Korean EFL College Students’ Performance on an Integrated Listening-Speaking Assessment Task

Effects of Stimulus Type on Korean EFL College Students’ Performance on an Integrated Listening-Speaking Assessment Task

The Impact of Vocabulary, Inferencing, and Metacognitive Strategies on Second Language Reading Comprehension

This study aims to explore exploring the predictive factors of second language (L2) reading comprehension scores, specifically focusing on L2 vocabulary knowledge, first language (L1) syllogistic inferencing, L1 reading comprehension, and L2 reading metacognitive strategy use. The study involved 90 Korean EFL university students. Their L2 vocabulary knowledge, L1 syllogistic inferencing, L1 reading comprehension, L2 metacognitive reading strategy use scores were collected and analyzed for their influence on L2 reading comprehension scores. A path analysis was conducted for data analysis. The findings revealed that both L2 linguistic knowledge and proficiency in L1 reading comprehension had a positive impact on L2 reading comprehension scores, underscoring the significance of language-specific and crosslinguistic factors, respectively, in the comprehension of L2 reading. The results also indicated an indirect effect of L1 syllogistic inferencing skills on L2 reading comprehension through L1 reading comprehension. This implies that L1 syllogistic inferencing may boost L1 reading comprehension, subsequently benefiting L2 reading comprehension. Furthermore, the study brought to light the potential adverse effects of L2 support reading strategies on L2 reading comprehension. Overall, this study adds to our comprehensive understanding of L2 reading comprehension by shedding light on the intricate interplay of linguistic, cross-linguistic, and metacognitive factors.

Article Use within of NP in NP of NP in Korean EFL University Students’ Writing: A Usage-based Construction Grammar Approach

Article Use within of NP in NP of NP in Korean EFL University Students’ Writing: A Usage-based Construction Grammar Approach

Examining Korean EFL College Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of Using ChatGPT as a Writing Revision Tool

This study investigates the experiences and perceptions of Korean college students regarding the use of ChatGPT as a tool for revising paragraphs in a general English course focused on academic writing skills. A total of 71 student participants completed a survey questionnaire about their perceived benefits and challenges in employing ChatGPT for writing revision and anticipated teacher roles in the process. For data analysis, descriptive statistics and thematic analysis methods were used. The findings reveal a positive reception from the students. They expressed satisfaction with the use of ChatGPT for their paragraph revisions, indicating that its feedback was helpful and trustworthy. The benefits of ChatGPT included the convenience of its instant responses, unrestricted use across time and space, and accurate error correction in areas such as vocabulary, grammar, and paragraph flow. Some challenges were also raised, such as the lack of error descriptions, incomprehensible feedback, misalignment of responses, concerns about diminished authorship, and uncertainty about learning effectiveness. These findings suggest the potential of ChatGPT as a supplementary tool for writing revision, emphasizing the importance of a balanced approach between AI-driven and human feedback. The study also underscores the crucial role of teachers in effectively integrating ChatGPT into writing instruction.

한국인 EFL 대학생의 영어 에세이 장르에 따른 언어적 특성 비교분석

한국인 EFL 대학생의 영어 에세이 장르에 따른 언어적 특성 비교분석

A Study on Advanced Korean EFL College Students’ Peer Reviews and Revisions in Their Writing with Digital Tools

Objectives This study investigates the use of digital tools, the types of peer reviews and revisions, and students’ perception in advanced Korean EFL college students’ essay writing. Methods Twelve advanced EFL freshmen college students participated in this triad peer review and revision process of their essay writing with eight digital tools while conducting surveys and reflective questionnaires. Results The findings show that the participants used the Google Docs and Microsoft Words the most as they make it possible to share and suggest ideas and opinions with ease, followed by Google Drawings and Grammarly. With Google Drawings, participants can take time to think before writing, plan for what they want to say, and they can organize their thoughts. In the case of Grammarly, they can discover out grammatical errors immediately and they can see the sections where they were wrong. In the first writing process, the results reveal that the participants used five types of peer reviews and revisions: content, grammar, mechanics, vocabulary, and organization. Among these types, peer reviews and revisions focused on grammar were the most frequently used, followed by mechanics and content. In the second writing process, the overall number of peer reviews and revisions were reduced and peer reviews and revisions on content were the most frequently used. Conclusions During the peer review and revision with the digital tools, the participants exchanged the constructive peer reviews in a collaborative way and revised the suggestions with digital tools. The results showed that the participants felt more confident in English essay writing with digital tools after the peer review process in their writings.

A Study on the Perception of Self-directed English Learning by Korean University Students Using YouTube

Objectives This study explored the experiences and perceptions of learners who use YouTube outside the classroom for self-directed English learning for Korean EFL university students. Methods We conducted a total of 155 Korean college students with an online survey from the first semester of 2021 to the first semester of 2022, and the questionnaire consisted of open-ended and closed-ended questions based on grounded theory. Results The findings indicated that 92.2% of Korean college students were willing to use YouTube videos for learning English. Participants wanted to improve their listening and speaking skills rather than their reading and writing skills through YouTube, and 64.5% spent less than 10 minutes a day learning English. The reasons why participants are satisfied with English learning through YouTube were found to be in three categories: “space for personal learning,” “social media efficiency,” and “indirect experiences.” On the other hand, they had difficulty in continuing to learn and showed a tendency not to regard it as a systematic learning material. Conclusions YouTube can be beneficial for learners’ self-directed English learning in that it includes various and practical materials anytime, anywhere, and free. To maximize this, learners should recognize that natural exposure to a second language environment through YouTube has a significant effect on improving English skills. In addition, learners must set clear goals and initiatives for a certain period to continue self-directed English learning.

Korean College Students’ Perceptions and Readiness Towards Online English Language Learning Courses

This study explores learners’ perceptions and readiness before and after online English courses, focusing on Korean EFL college students. One-hundred and eighty-four first-year college students were assigned to high-, intermediate-, or low-proficiency groups. A background questionnaire, the Online English Learning Perceptions (OELP) scale, the Online English Learning Readiness (OELR) scale, and a diagnostic assessment of English competence were utilized in this study. The results indicate that the students’ proficiency levels played a large role in determining their perceptions and their readiness towards online courses. High- and intermediate-proficiency learners showed greater outcomes than lower-proficiency learners in terms of adaptability, knowledge acquisition, and ease of loading in the OELP as well as their own self-directed learning, learner control, and motivation for learning, which were measured using the OELR. This study also reveals that all groups displayed significant improvement in terms of English competence after engaging in online courses. Based on the findings, the current study suggests pedagogical implications and possible instructional strategies teachers can use in online language classrooms.

The Effect of Frequency and L2 Proficiency on the Processing of the Multiword Units Extracted from the Corpus of Contemporary American English

The primary purpose of the current study was to explore the psycholinguistic reality of the multiword units extracted from the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) by investigating how the frequency and L2 proficiency influenced the EFL learners’ processing of the multiword units. Forty Korean EFL university students and 18 native speakers of English in Korea participated in the current study. The participants were asked to decide whether the multiword units given were appropriate or not, and their reaction time and error rate were measured. It was found that not only the native speakers of English but also both the advanced and intermediate Korean EFL learners processed the high-frequency multiword units significantly faster than the low-frequency multiword units, and the errors rates on the high-frequency multiword units were significantly lower than those of the low-frequency multiword units even if there existed a significant difference in the reaction time and the error rate between the groups. The findings suggested that some of the high-frequency multiword units extracted from the COCA may exist as independent lexical entities in the mental lexicon of Korean EFL learners.

한국 EFL 대학생들의 초인지 듣기 전략 사용에 관한 연구

This paper examines Korean EFL college students’ use of metacognitive listening strategies, and how it differs depending on their English listening proficiency. The relationship between the participants’ use of metacognitive listening strategies and their listening proficiency is also investigated. The study also identifies the most significant metacognitive listening strategy affecting the students’English listening proficiency. A total of 308 university students participated in the research. The listening scores of the TOEIC were used, and a questionnaire was administered. The results revealed that the problem solving strategies were the most frequently used metacognitive listening strategies, and the use differs depending on their English proficiency. The participants’ use of 12 metacognitive listening strategies out of 21 showed significant difference depending on their English listening proficiency. Also, the use of the strategies was significantly correlated with the participants’ English listening proficiency. The most significant factors affecting their English listening proficiency were found: one item from person knowledge (#3), one item from mental translation (#18), and two problem-solving strategies (#5, 17). Some pedagogical implications are discussed.

The Writing-to-learn Dimension of L2 Writing: Towards Rhetorical Hybridity and Flexibility

This study investigated how two Korean EFL college students, who were taught the five-paragraph essay in their college writing classes, drew upon rhetorical resources in their writing for learning content (WLC). Using a multiple-case study design, the study examined how the students consciously manipulated all of their rhetorical resources to make meaning and used L2 writing to learn content. It also explored how they differed in their enactment of rhetorical practices and deployment of rhetorical resources in WLC. During their engagement with WLC, they developed rhetorical strategies that reflected the structure of their evolving text rather than the structure of the five-paragraph essay. Their rhetorical choices in WLC have provided invaluable insight into the rhetorical challenges they faced while writing. Overall, they produced texts that better portrayed the multiple nuances inherent in a translingual approach. An implication is that more L2 writing teachers and scholars should pay attention to the rhetorical sensibility promoted by the translingual movement

Developing Summary Writing Abilities of Korean EFL University Students Through Teaching Summarizing Skills

The study investigated if teaching summarizing skills could improve the summary skills of Korean EFL university students. This study involved 38 university freshmen in a required English course and were randomly chosen as the control and experimental groups. The experimental group was taught through summarizing rules, while the control group was engaged in other lessons during the intervention period. The students’ summaries were analyzed as to how effectively the participants paraphrased and integrated the main ideas, the major supporting details, and accurate information from source text into their summaries. The results show that a significant instruction effect was observed in the summary writing performance of the experimental group, in identifying main ideas and major details and paraphrasing and integrating ideas, compared to the control group, which showed a significant change between the first and second summaries only on the accuracy measure. The results are also supported by the questionnaire on students’ perceptions of the instruction.

The Effects of a Shadowing Activity Using Movies on Korean EFL College Learners’ Speaking Skills and Their Affective Attitudes

The present study investigated the effects of a shadowing activity using movies on Korean EFL college students’ speaking skills and their affective attitudes. Over a semester, a total of 138 students participated in the study and they were assigned to an experimental group (n = 71) and a control group (n = 67). According to language proficiency, the participants in the experimental group were assigned to advanced, intermediate, and beginner-level groups. Over a semester, all the experimental groups engaged in a shadowing activity once a week while the control group participated in a traditional speaking activity. To collect data, both 1) pre- and post-speaking tests and 2) pre- and post-questionnaires on affective attitudes were conducted. The results showed that the shadowing activity is more effective than the traditional speaking activity in terms of increasing speaking proficiency. In addition, there was a statistically significant improvement in speaking proficiency of both the intermediate and beginner-level groups while there was no statistically significant difference in the advanced level group’s speaking proficiency. Furthermore, the shadowing activity significantly improved the confidence, interest, and motivation level of the experimental group. Based on the findings, it is suggested that this shadowing activity using movies can be an effective tool to develop EFL learners’ speaking skills and improve their affective attitudes.

The Influence of Reading-Writing Connections and English Proficiency Level on Korean EFL College Students’ Reading Process during a Summarization Task

The purpose of this study is to examine the composing and reading processes Korean EFL learners employ during a summary writing task. For the study, L2 proficiency was used as a variable, and think-aloud verbal protocols and students

국내 대학생의 학술적 영어 글쓰기의 수사학적 수행에 대한 사례 연구

The L2 writers’ rhetorical performance is considered to be influenced by L1 rhetorical transfer or L2 writing proficiency. However, no affirmative answer has yet been given regarding what exactly determines L2 writers’ rhetorical performance. Accordingly, the present study aims to investigate what rhetorical structure Korean EFL college students use in their academic argument and what elements construct their rhetorical performance during the writing activity. To this end, a case study was conducted on two advanced learners of English in Korean college. First, the rhetorical structure of the students’ argumentative essays was examined based on Swales move analysis. Then, multiple sources of data collected from the text-based interviews and survey were analyzed qualitatively based on activity theory. It was found that the students’ imagined discourse community was a significant factor that determined their genre awareness of L2 academic argument. Based on their genre awareness, students built an understanding of the rules of and their roles in L2 academic writing, all of which dynamically constructed their own L2 rhetorical performance. These findings suggest pedagogical implications for L2 academic writing in Korean college.

Filling the Gap between Active and Passive Word Knowledge with the Focus on Colligation

Objectives This paper discovered what it takes to convert passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. Methods Forty-six Korean EFL college students participated in this study. Two vocabulary tasks - matching and translation tasks - were administered to assess their passive and active word knowledge. Both tasks included 15 target words, all of which are high-frequency vocabulary. The translation task featured colligation, one aspect of vocabulary knowledge. Based on the results of the two tasks, eight students - four had good active vocabulary and the other four did not - were chosen as interviewees. The interview focused mainly on how students with good active vocabulary have built on such vocabulary. Results Students with good active vocabulary in terms of colligation turned out to be fully aware of the importance of high-frequency words, putting a premium on high-frequency words in their vocabulary study. They were also found to have their own learning strategies for enhancing their active vocabulary: using self-talk, writing a vocabulary journal, paraphrasing, and using online resources. Conclusions EFL students need to be helped to realize that high-frequency words should be prioritized in improving active vocabulary, given that it would be unrealistic for them to be able to accurately use every English word. They should also be encouraged to find learning methods and resources that work for them to turn their passive vocabulary into active one.

Willingness to Read in Class and Outside Class, Reading Anxiety, and Comprehension of Korean EFL College Students

The purpose of this study is twofold: to examine whether and to what extent reading anxiety is associated with Korean EFL college students’ willingness to read (WTR) in and outside class; and to investigate whether and to what extent WTR inside, and outside class are related to reading comprehension in English. Participants included 108 undergraduate students. Simple regression and standard multiple regression using SPSS reveal two major findings: First, Korean college students are more affected with anxiety when they are willing to try read in English outside class than inside; second, students who willingly try to read English outside class are better at reading comprehension than those who are more willing to read inside class. The results of the study suggest that instructors need to be aware of EFL students

Developing a sensitive but generalizable measurement of vocabulary gains from self-selected extensive reading

Self-selected reading promotes extensive reading and therefore facilitates learning. However, it is difficult to design vocabulary tests that can assess vocabulary growth in a reliable and ecologically valid way when individual students read different texts. To cope with the challenge, this study developed two vocabulary tests adapted from a research design by Horst (2005) and investigated the extent to which results from the two tests are similar to, or different from each other regarding learning gains. A generalized vocabulary test (GVT), developed based on multiple graded readers available to 83 Korean EFL university students, was administered as pre- and posttests. Sixty-two students who read extensively also took an individualized vocabulary test (IVT), designed using specific graded readers read by each student, as a second posttest. Results indicated that the GVT and IVT showed very similar patterns in terms of measuring students’ vocabulary gains from extensive reading, suggesting that a GVT can be developed as a reliable and useable assessment of vocabulary improvement without needing to identify specific words read by individual students (cf. Horst, 2005). Therefore, the GVT appears to be a valid and practical measurement of vocabulary growth through extensive reading in L2 contexts.

Mindfulness, Reading Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy of Korean EFL College Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the state of mindfulness exhibited by Korean EFL college students had an effect on the level of anxiety and self-efficacy they experienced during their L2 reading. The following research questions were constructed. First, is there a relationship between mindfulness and anxiety in L2 reading? Second, is there a relationship between mindfulness and self-efficacy in L2 reading? A total of 108 male and female students attending a University in Daejeon, Korea participated in the study at the end of the 2020 spring semester. Data collected from a self-report questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. Regression analyses revealed two findings. First, the participants with higher states of mindfulness tended to read English with less anxiety. Second, the students who exhibited higher states of mindfulness had greater self-efficacy than those with lower states of mindfulness. Hence, EFL college students’ state of mindfulness can affect their reading anxiety and self-efficacy related to L2 reading. Pedagogical implications as well as directions for future research are provided.

Playtesting tabletop roleplaying with first and second year Korean EFL university students

How can EFL students, who rarely get the chance to use their L2 outside of the classroom, prepare for the unpredictable environment that is real-life language use? Dice, of course! Use tabletop roleplaying games to take your students on an adventure. #tabletoproleplaying