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L2 Reading Difficulties Faced by Malaysian Students in a Korean University

말레이시아 학생들의 L2 읽기 문제: 한국 대학의 사례를 중심으로

  • 김경란 (단국대학교 자유교양대학)
  • Received : 2021.01.12
  • Accepted : 2021.02.20
  • Published : 2021.02.28

Abstract

The current study investigates how Malaysian ESL learners' L2 (English) speaking fluency is reflected in advanced L2 reading and what difficulties they encounter in reading comprehension. Nine Malaysian students attending a Korean university participated in qualitative research using in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The data revealed that L2 was a very familiar language, and their speaking fluency in L2 reduced the anxiety of L2 reading in general. However, it did not play a significant role in reading at an advanced level. Their difficulties in reading were mainly due to a lack of vocabulary knowledge. However, insufficient background knowledge and interest also frustrated their reading tasks. These factors lowered their reading comprehension, causing inaccurate interpretations or discouraging their endeavors to find messages from the given text. Thus, these findings should be carefully addressed in reading classes for Korean L2 learners as well as international students.

본 연구는 말레이시아 대학생들의 인식을 통해 그들의 유창한 L2 구두 능력이 고급 수준의 텍스트를 읽는데 어떻게 반영되는지와 독해 과정에서는 어떠한 어려움을 보이는지를 조사했다. 연구의 참여자는 한국 대학에 재학 중인 9명의 말레이시아 학생들로서 반 구조화 형식의 심층 면접에 참여했다. 수집된 자료는 학생들이 L2를 매우 익숙한 언어로 받아들이고 있고, 그에 따른 학생들의 유창한 구두 능력이 일반적 수준의 L2 읽기에 대한 부담감을 덜어주는 효과가 있다는 점을 보여주었다. 그러나 그들의 구두 능력이 고급 수준의 텍스트를 읽고 이해하는 데는 큰 영향을 주지 못했다. 학생들이 언급한 읽기의 어려움은 주로 어휘 지식의 부족에서 기인했으나, 배경지식과 흥미의 부족 또한 읽기 능력을 방해하는 요소로 작용했다. 이러한 요소들은 텍스트에 대한 부정확한 이해를 유발하고, 텍스트에 담긴 속뜻을 찾으려는 의지를 상실시킴으로써 학생들의 독해능력을 저하시키는 것으로 나타났다. 이 결과물은 국제학생뿐만 아니라 한국 학생들의 읽기 수업에도 적용되어 중요하게 다루어질 필요가 있다.

Keywords

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