• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.63-77
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• 2021

This study aims to explore the differential effects of teacher support on Chinese EFL students' listening ability in a blended learning environment. 87 third-year English-major students in a Chinese university participated in this study and they were randomly divided into an autonomy group (n=22), an emotional group (n=22), a cognitive group (n=22) and a control group (n=21). Each experimental group received relevant teacher support during their 17-week course learning while the control group did not. To confirm the effects of teacher support, pre- and post- listening tests were conducted. The results of the paired t-tests demonstrated that all groups showed statistically significant improvement in their English listening ability. The results of the one-way ANOVA for the post-test revealed that autonomy support and cognitive support were more effective than emotional support in improving students' listening ability. Based on the findings, this study hopes to provide insights for EFL teachers in designing and arranging the activities in a blended course.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.1-7
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• 2018

The current study investigates whether artificially intelligent chatbots influence Korean EFL students' vocabulary learning. For eight weeks, 47 college students in Korea participated in this study. They were divided into two groups: one experimental group and one control group. Participants in the experimental group engaged in chat with a chatbot during the eight-week experimental period. Before and after the experiment, pre- and post-tests were administered to see if their English vocabulary improved. Pre- and post- surveys were also performed to understand how the participants perceived chatbot-assisted vocabulary learning. Results show that the experimental group improved their vocabulary skills as a result of engaging in chat with the chatbot. Also, their perceptions of vocabulary learning positively changed, increasing their motivation, interest, and confidence in English. Given that there have been few empirical studies to investigate the effects of chatbots on vocabulary development, the present study can provide insights on the effectiveness of chatbots.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.749-760
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• 2005

본 연구는 질적 연구방법을 통해 한국 어머니들의 영어조기교육에 관한 신념을 분석하며, EFL 환경과 ESL 환경에 있는 어머니들의 영어조기교육에 관한 신념이 어떻게 다른지 분석함으로써 영어조기교육에 관한 어머니의 신념이 환경에 따라 어떠한 차이를 보이는지 비교하고자 한다. 영어를 제2언어로 사용하는 영어권 나라에 거주하는 한국 어머니와 한국에 거주하는 어머니의 신념을 비교하기 위해 미국과 한국에서 인구학적 배경이 비슷한 16명의 어머니를 선정하여 인터뷰하였다. 이들과의 인터뷰를 통해 각기 다른 환경에 거주하고 있는 두 그룹의 어머니들이 가지고 있는 영어조기교육에 관한 신념을 영어교육에 대한 동기, 교육방법, 제2외국어 습득을 중심으로 비교 분석하였다. 대체로 본 연구에 참여한 어머니들은 거주 지역에 상관없이 영어조기교육에 대해 긍정적 신념을 가지고 있었지만 교육시기에 대해서는 각기 다른 의견을 보였고, 영어교육의 목적은 학업적인 성취보다는 세계화된 시대를 살기위한 기본적이 의사소통 기술의 습득이라는 신념을 보였다. 반면, 한국에 거주하는 어머니들은 미국에 거주하는 어머니들에 비해서 가정에서 직접 자녀에게 영어를 가르치고자 하는 의지가 강했고, 미국에 거주하는 어머니들은 한국 거주 어머니들에 비해 문해 교육에 대한 관심도가 높고 실제적인 지도를 많이 행하고 있었다.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.193-203
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• 2022

The present study aims to investigate how general education EFL instructors who teach in a higher education institution in Korea perceive mixed-ability classes and the teaching strategies that they utilized to teach learners who have varying English proficiency levels and may have different instructional needs. Twenty instructors at a higher education institution in Korea who teach general education EFL courses participated in a questionnaire and three of the twenty instructors participated in follow-up interviews. The findings from the questionnaire and interviews showed that instructors' experiences teaching mixed-ability classes were positive. They offered clear guidelines for participation to help motivate learners and found that higher level students helped lower level students through group work. The instructors also felt that ESP could be a possibility in mixed-ability classes to meet the learners educational needs.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.181-197
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to measure how English immersion classes affect students. This study seeks to answer two questions. First, will the young learners gain an international sense? Second, will the students learn English naturally without having to be sent abroad to an English speaking country? Several kinds of immersion programs have been designed and implemented in Korea. However, many students have felt great stress and mental pressure in the immersion programs. Students find the programs stressful because English must be used at all times. In this paper, two groups of elementary school students are compared: one being the control group and the other being the experimental group, an immersion class. The results show that the mental health problems, sensitivities, and rates of depression in the immersion group are greater than those of the students in the control group. Therefore, the immersion students' overall mental health is substandard. The negative effects of lethargy and depression are made worse when they are placed in English only environments. The results indicate more attention should be focused on respecting and understanding the students' overall mental health when teaching them English.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.6475-6482
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• 2015

The purpose of the study was two folded: to examine whether form-focused instruction (FFI) with corrective feedback (CF) is effective for the acquisition of the target linguistic forms and to find out the extent to which of the students' perceptions as well as their attitudes towards English instruction that they received. Tests and questionnaires were implemented to 122 Korean EFL students from eight classes enrolled in an English communication course. They were randomly assigned to three groups: the input-based group, who received typographical input enhancement materials, so-called the TIE group, the output-based group, who performed dictogloss tasks, so-called the DICT group, and the control group (CG). The data analysis was made on both tests and questionnaires by using SPSS 21.0 for Windows. The study found that different types of FFI with CF contributed to the improvement of students' grammatical knowledge and both the TIE and DICT task group students positively changed their perceptions and understanding as well as their attitudes towards the English instruction given, and students in all groups preferred pair work activities. In addition, most of the TIE and DICT students showed their interest and satisfaction with English class, whereas the CG group students did not. Based on the findings, this study suggested that well-planned and properly-chosen FFI in the form of pair work activities should be applied in classrooms with consideration of students' instructional preference in Korean EFL contextual settings.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.249-256
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• 2018

This study aims to explore efficient foreign language learning paradigm with a focus on reading fluency and accuracy. From a perspective of language acquisition in the foreign language context, the priority in the L2 learning between accuracy and fluency has been a very important issue. Fluency becomes an important issue due to many researchers' interests in the L1 and L2 classroom. Although both accuracy and fluency are crucial, the paradigm shift from fluency to accuracy is necessary in the foreign language teaching. In this context, as an alternative methodology for L2 learners' fluency, the extensive reading approach is provided. A number of studies have suggested that extensive reading program could lead to improvement of L2 learners' reading rate and is an effective approach to improving general language proficiency.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.640-645
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• 2011

The purpose of this article is to investigate ways of making the cloze test more valid as an English proficiency test so that it can provide a better format for the cloze test especially to the non-native teachers in EFL environments. This investigation identifies ways of validity in terms of materials, deletion rates, item characteristics and scoring methods used in cloze tests. An increase in test validity can be accomplished by knowing how the four factors affect the cloze test results and how to manipulate them. Practical suggestions are provided for teachers to design a cloze test. Teachers can develop the reliability and validity of cloze tests by manipulating the four factors. In seeking a more valid and reliable cloze format, this research gives some suggestions based on a literature review. We can conclude that a cloze test can be valid only when teachers are aware of the factors which affect the test result and the ways to handle the factors to make the test appropriate for their test purposes.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.227-251
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• 2007

The development and use of computer mediated communications (CMC) as a tool for teaching and learning English has grown considerably in recent years. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors related to learners' participation, achievement, and satisfaction in EFL classes using web-based bulletin boards. The total number of 77 university students participated in this study. Three domains and eight independent variables investigated in this study were a learner-related domain (attitudes toward CMC, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, attitudes toward writing), an interaction-related domain (student-student interaction, teacher-student interaction), and an environmental domain (physical support and design of the web site). In order to determine interrelation of variables correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were used. The results of this study showed that the factors predicting a learner's participation were instrumental motivation, attitudes toward writing, and teacher-student interaction. The factors explaining a learner's achievement were learner's participation and attitudes toward writing, and the factors predicting a learner's satisfaction were integrative motivation, student-student interaction, teacher-student interaction, physical support and learner's participation.

• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 1997.07a
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• pp.161-165
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• 1997

1997년도에 시작된 초둥학교에서의 영어교육은 조기영어교육의 장점, 그 중에서도 어른에 비해 어린이는 보다 정확한 외국어 발음을 습득할 수 있다는 데에 그 기초를 두고 있다. 그러나 이러한 영어교육의 성과는 적절한 언어습득환경이 주어졌을 때에만 가능한 것으로 현재 초등학교에서 실시되고 있는 영어교육은 여러 가지 문제점과 보완점이 노출되고 있는 바, 이중 보다 효과적으로 정확한 영어발음을 제시하고 교육하는 것이 큰 문제점으로 지적되고 있다. 본 논문에서는 의사소통 능력 중심의 영어교육을 하기 위하여 특별히 한국 초등학교 어린이들이 영어를 발음할 때 나타나는 문제점들을 살펴보고 보다 정확한 영어발음을 낼 수 있도록 교육할 수 있는 방안을 제시해 보고자 한다. 먼저 초등학교 어린이들의 영어발음 특성과 제문제를 살펴보고, 보다 효과적인 발음지도를 위해 구체적인 발음지도 목표와 그 목표에 맞는 발음지도 법을 알아본다. 아울러 효과적인 내·외국인 교사교육의 중요성을 강조하고 이를 위한 방안을 제시하였다.