Korean EFL Research Articles

A Conditional Inference Tree Analysis of Can and May in Korean EFL Learners’ Writings

A Conditional Inference Tree Analysis of Can and May in Korean EFL Learners’ Writings

Korean EFL Students’ Metacognitive Knowledge and Perceived Use of Listening and Speaking Strategies

Korean EFL Students’ Metacognitive Knowledge and Perceived Use of Listening and Speaking Strategies

Korean EFL Learners’ Strategy Use During Writing With Dictionary Aid

Korean EFL Learners’ Strategy Use During Writing With Dictionary Aid

Pedagogical Reflections on Teaching Because-clause in Korean EFL Writing

Pedagogical Reflections on Teaching Because-clause in Korean EFL Writing

What Japanese and Korean EFL Learners Have in Common: the Acquisition of BECAUSE-Clauses

What Japanese and Korean EFL Learners Have in Common: the Acquisition of BECAUSE-Clauses

Korean EFL Learners’ Strategy Use During Writing With Dictionary Aid

Korean EFL Learners’ Strategy Use During Writing With Dictionary Aid

The Improvement of Interlanguage Pragmatics of Young Korean EFL Learners

The Improvement of Interlanguage Pragmatics of Young Korean EFL Learners

Does Reading Fluency Predict Reading Comprehension of Korean Middle School EFL Learners?

In recent years, the research interest in the effect of reading fluency on reading comprehension has been on the rise. However, empirical research evidence regarding the significance of word reading fluency and oral reading fluency on EFL learners’ reading ability is scarce. This study examines the relation of word reading fluency, pseudo word reading fluency and oral reading fluency to Korean middle school EFL students’ reading comprehension and whether those relationships differentiate between two types of comprehension abilities, namely literal and inferential comprehension. Forty-six 16-year-old middle school English learners participated in this study. Their performance of word reading fluency, pseudo word reading fluency, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension abilities were measured. Surprisingly, the findings revealed that pseudo word reading fluency and oral reading fluency had a significant relationship with general reading abilities. Moreover, word reading fluency and pseudo word reading fluency were significant predictors of literal comprehension abilities, while pseudo word reading fluency was the only important predictor of inferential comprehension abilities. Therefore, the results suggest that instructors should focus on word-level and text-level oral reading to improve reading comprehension abilities of Korean EFL learners.

Effects of telephone English conversations on the complexity, accuracy, fluency of a Korean EFL learner’s utterances

Effects of telephone English conversations on the complexity, accuracy, fluency of a Korean EFL learner’s utterances

The Effect of Inferencing Tasks on Low-Proficiency Korean EFL Learners’ Learning Vocabulary From Movies

The Effect of Inferencing Tasks on Low-Proficiency Korean EFL Learners’ Learning Vocabulary From Movies

The interface between perception and production in L2 English vowels

The study explores the interface between perception and production in L2 English vowels focusing on the precedence relationship and the correlation between perception and production. To that end, 34 Korean EFL learners identified 12 English vowels presented in the bVt word structure and their productions of the same English vowels were identified by native English speakers. The results revealed that overall the precedence relationship of perception over production was attested but not across all the target vowels. The results also showed that similar error patterns were observed in perception and production for the same vowels. However, no correlation was found between perception and production, suggesting that L2 speech perception and production may not develop concurrently. The findings of the study are discussed in light of L2 learning, especially in light of the development of L2 perception and production skills. (Korea University · Kyonggi University)

What Aspects of Writing Students Find Themselves Engrossed in: A Case of Korean EFL College Student Writers

What Aspects of Writing Students Find Themselves Engrossed in: A Case of Korean EFL College Student Writers

상위담화표지가 한국인 영어학습자의 독해에 미치는 영향

상위담화표지가 한국인 영어학습자의 독해에 미치는 영향

The Effects of Storytelling-based Instruction on English Speaking Ability in the Korean EFL University Classroom

The Effects of Storytelling-based Instruction on English Speaking Ability in the Korean EFL University Classroom

Prediction Abilities vs. Content Schema in Explaining Korean EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Prediction Abilities vs. Content Schema in Explaining Korean EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension

Reflections on the Application of Critical Pedagogy to English Speaking Classes in the Korean EFL Context

The purpose of this study is to explore the reflections of the students and the researcher/teacher on the application of critical pedagogy to English speaking classes. To achieve this goal, a mixed method approach was carried out. For the quantitative analysis, two surveys (before and after the application of critical pedagogy, N=32) were conducted to examine the understanding and attitudes of the students towards critical pedagogy. Students showed more positive attitudes towards critical pedagogy and a higher understanding after its application. For the qualitative analysis, interviews (N=15) were used; they revealed positive attitudes towards the application of critical pedagogy to English classes but also showed some resistance due to their low English proficiency and its unfamiliarity. Critical perspectives, like choosing topics and suggesting solutions critically, were reflected in the students’ oral presentations.

Cohesive Features in Argumentative Writing by Korean EFL Learners at the Elementary Education Level

This study aims to investigate differences and similarities in the use of cohesive devices by young and adult Korean EFL learners in their argumentative writings. Results show that young Korean EFL learners’ texts displayed some age-specific features in their overt use of causative conjunctions, which might be partly explained by their causal reasoning skills along with their tendency to provide a short description of their ideas in their argumentation. Several of the cases of overuse and misuse of conjunctions and references, which often interfere with cohesive text in young Korean EFL learners’ texts, might derive from the lack of L2 writing experience and linguistic knowledge. Interestingly, L1 influence can be seen through their overuse of the pronoun determiner ‘this’ indicating ‘definiteness’ since they use demonstratives instead of indefinite articles. These findings yield important teaching implications for developing written discourse competence at the Korean elementary education level.

The Effects of Online Planning on CAF in L2 Spoken and Written Performance

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of no planning and online planning on complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF) in L2 spoken and written tasks. The study was designed into 2x2 with two independent variables: planning conditions (no planning and online planning) and task modality (speaking and writing). First, 80 Korean EFL undergraduates performed two tasks in a laboratory setting: a proficiencyassigning narrative spoken task and a randomly assigned main task. The main task had four different conditions: no planning in speaking, online planning in speaking, no planning in writing, and online planning in writing. The participants’ spoken and written performances were measured and analyzed for syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The findings demonstrated that the no planning (NP) group improved accuracy and fluency significantly more than the online planning (OP) group in the spoken task and that the NP group improved their fluency more than the OP group in the written task. Additionally, in both planning conditions, the written task increased accuracy more than the spoken task, whereas the spoken task increased fluency more than the written task. It is hoped that these findings will facilitate understanding of the supportive role of planning in task manipulation in terms of L2 learners’ limited attentional resources and its relationship with linguistic performance.

Gender and Strategy Frame Shift in Collaborative Group Discussions for Korean EFL Learners

Gender and Strategy Frame Shift in Collaborative Group Discussions for Korean EFL Learners

The effects of ideal and ought-to L2 selves on Korean EFL learners’ writing strategy use and writing quality

Despite awareness of the important role of motivation in second/foreign language (L2) learning, a thorough investigation into the motivational influence on the L2 writing processes and products has been neglected. In an attempt to fill this research gap, the present study explored the effects of different types of L2 self-related motivation (ideal and ought-to L2 selves) drawn from the theory of the L2 motivational self system (Dornyei, 2005) on writing strategy use and writing quality. Sixty-eight Korean undergraduates with a low level of overall English proficiency responded to questionnaires designed to measure their ideal and ought-to L2 selves and writing strategy use. They also completed a descriptive composition task aimed at assessing their writing quality. Regression analyses revealed that the ideal L2 self had a significant positive effect on both planning strategy use and writing outcomes, whereas the ought-to L2 self was merely correlated with revising strategy use. This study provides some empirical support for the potential of an idealized future L2 self-image to become a major determinant of writing processes and products. The results are discussed with reference to a promotion/prevention focus and a sensitivity of the ideal and ought-to L2 selves to positive/negative learning outcomes.