• Proceedings of the KSPS conference
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• 2000.07a
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• pp.353-363
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• 2000

The consonant system of English is relatively uniform throughout the English-speaking countries. Accents of English are mainly known to differ in terms of their vowel systems as well as in the phonetic realisations of vowel phonemes. The results of an acoustic study of vowel phonology of Japanese English, Singapore English and Indian English are presented, and an attempt is then made to compare the vowel phonology of these non-native varieties with that of Scottish English and RP. Various native varieties of English are thus shown to differ from each other in major ways, as much, perhaps, as the non-native varieties differ from the native varieties. Nevertheless, native speakers of English appear to be mutually intelligible to a degree that does not extend to non-native varieties. Obviously there are features that various native accents have in common which facilitate their mutual intelligibility, and these features are not shared by non-native accents. It is proposed that the foreign learner adopt certain core features of English in his pronunciation if he is to use English effectively as an international language. The common core that is significant in the communication process will be discussed. In conclusion, some pragmatic implications for the English language education in the new millennium will be articulated.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.4
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• pp.207-228
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• 1998

This study investigated how Korean learners of English acquired the English reflexives. There is emphasis on the effects of the GCP and PAP(Wexler and Manzini, 1987). The purpose is to examine the major hypothesis that L2 learners are still constrained by Universal Grammar (UG), despite the influence of the parameter setting of their native language as well as the non-operation of the Subset Principle. The experimental group consisted of 30 middle school students (age 14-15), 30 high school students (age 16-17), and 30 university students (age 18-19) as well as 20 ESL students (age 16) studying English in the USA. Twenty native speakers of English served as a control group. The subjects responded to a test on reflexives that used a multiple-choice grammaticality judgement task. Findings show that L2 learners transfer their L1 parameter setting and, as a result, make errors in the choice of antecedents for reflexives. Therefore, I argue that the L2 learner is still constrained by UG.

• Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.83-102
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• 2004

The purpose of this paper is to find out some major characteristics of intermediate-advanced Korean learners' English by corpus- linguistically analyzing their essays in comparison with native speakers'. We construct a corpus of CBT TOEFL essays by Korean learners, NNS1 (94076 words in 402 texts), and its sub-corpus, NNS2 (14291 words in 45 texts), and then a corpus of model essays written or meticulously edited by native speakers, NS (14833 words in 35 texts). We compare NNS1 and NNS2 with NS, and with some other corpora, in terms of high-frequency words, and show that Korean learners' writings have more features of informal writing than those of formal writing, which is in accord with the reports in Granger (1998) that EFL writings by European advanced learners are characterized by informality.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.49-74
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• 2011

The present paper aims to explore the role of non-negotiated input and output in language acquisition in the context of free Web chat. In order to examine how input and output contribute to language acquisition, with or without meaning negotiation, the present study examined a Korean EFL learner's chat data collected over 6 months. Chat texts across 43 chat sessions were analyzed, along with her comment notes and interviews. The input and output negotiated for meaning were traced throughout all sessions to find evidence that they were linked to acquisition. Other input and output in the interaction were also traced to ascertain if they contributed to acquisition. The chat text analysis, comment notes, and the interviews revealed that the opportunities of meaning negotiation in a free Web chat context was quite limited and that the learner acquired language even in the absence of meaning negotiation. The findings suggest that input and output via Web chat, whether negotiated or non-negotiated, play their respective roles, contributing to different aspects of acquisition.

• MALSORI
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• no.61
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• pp.49-62
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• 2007

This study focused on the improvement of prosody transplantation technology to be used for effective prosody education. Issues making the technology a less acceptable tool for prosody education were addressed. Instead of merely copying the target pitch onto a learner's utterances, the target pitch was resealed in semitone before the transplantation. In so doing, distortion of a signal was minimized and the transplanted utterance could have the quality of sound not different from the learner's utterances. Instead of manual transplantation, an automatic procedure was proposed to increase the reliability and the consistency of the outcome and enable real time processing. The perceptual performance of the automatic transplantation was evaluated by the perception experiment showing the automatic ransplantation was as good as the manual process.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.57-76
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• 2005

This study provides a rationale for using project-based learning with Korean students of English in Korea; in addition, it describes the process of creating and implementing project-based learning in the classroom and gives examples of how this unique teaching and learning method has been used successfully to teach learners with different levels of English proficiency. The first two chapters of the study examine the nature of project-based learning by comparing it with related fields of study, such as language teaching syllabi and methods, cognitive psychology, constructivists' views and interaction theory. The latter part of the study deals with issues related to applying project-based learning in Korean English classes. It emphasizes the importance not only of motivating active group effort and participation, but also in creating a trusting, cooperative relationship between group members in order to have a successful accomplishment of a project. The study concludes with implications for future studies.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.10-19
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• 2013

Recently, Korean universities have increased the number of English Medium Instruction (EMI) lectures in order to allow students to gain both specialized knowledge and enhanced English ability. Previous researches on effective EMI lectures have focused on exploring the effects of learners' cognitive and affective characteristics on learning outcomes. Whereas the input variables of learning have been investigated as predicting variables of effects in EMI lectures, there has been a few research for investigating process variables to yield learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the structural relationships among variables affecting on learner satisfaction and effects. The participants are 209 engineering students from various majors. Independent variables are defined as English motivation, English competency, and English confidence, a mediated variable is Cognitive engagement, and dependent variables are Learning satisfaction and Educational effect perception. The results show that the relationships are statistically significant: learners' English competency & English confidence ${\rightarrow}$ Cognitive engagement ${\rightarrow}$ Learning satisfaction ${\rightarrow}$ Educational effect perception. Especially, the structural model confirms that the effect of learners' English confidence on Learning satisfaction and Educational effect perception is mediated by the level of learners' Cognitive engagement. Further, the implication for effective EMI lectures is discussed based on the observed research results.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.161-182
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• 2010

The goals of this study were to identify differences in learners' and teachers' perspectives on EFL learners' language anxiety, to identify the differences among teachers coping with learners' language anxiety, and to find how learners cope with their language anxiety. The research was effectuated by means of a survey questionnaire and interviews. The data were collected from 92 teachers and 230 students in four different school settings. There were the $6^{th}$ grade 50 primary school learners, the $2^{nd}$ grade 60 middle school learners, the $11^{th}$ grade 60 high school learners of, and the $2^{nd}$ and $3^{rd}$ grade 60 university learners. There were also 26 primary school teachers, 22 middle school teachers, 21 high school teachers, and 23 university teachers. The findings reveal that there were differences in responses among the respondents. The findings suggest that teachers need to pay attention to their particular learners' anxiety sources: especially in the case of primary school setting, the activity of answering teachers' questions for teachers was the primary source of learner's anxiety, in the case of middle school settings, translating sentences in English into Korean, in the case of high school setting, checking unknown vocabulary, and in the case of university settings, university learners felt anxious when classmates spoke fluently. The implications of the study indicate that these aspects should be handled carefully to motivate certain group of learners.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.141-166
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of using visual stimulation and gesture, namely embodied language learning, on learning achievement and learner's course interest in the EFL classroom. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed purpose, thirty two third-grade elementary school students participated and were assigned into four English learning class conditions (i.e., using animated graphic and gestures condition, using only animated graphic condition, using still pictures and gesture condition, and control condition). The research questions for this study are addressed below: (1) What differences are there in post and delayed learning achievement between imitating gesture group and non-imitating one and between animated graphic group and still picture one? (2) What differences are there in course interest between imitating gesture group and non-imitating one and between animated graphic group and still picture one? The Embodiment-based English learning system for this study was designed by using Microsoft's Kinect sensing devices. The results of this study revealed that students of imitating gesture group memorized and retained better words and sentence structure than those of the other groups. As for learner's course interest measurement, imitating gesture group showed a highly positive response to attention, relevance, and satisfaction for curriculum and using animated graphic influenced satisfaction as well. This finding can be attributed to the embodied cognition, which proposes that the body and the mind are inseparable in the constitution of cognition and thus students using visual simulation and imitating related gesture regard the embodied language learning approach more satisfactory and acceptable than the conventional ones.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.229-254
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• 2018

Universities in Korea have driven universities' new attempts to adopt more learner-centered and active learning in English. Problem-based Learning (PBL) is one of the well-known constructive teaching and learning methodologies in higher education. Our research goal was to design and develop the optimal PBL practices for a college physics course taught in English to promote learning and course satisfaction. For four semesters, we have tried and adjusted PBL components, and looked at the trend of the exam scores and group work achievement in each semester. We found that the number of problems and the duration of problem solving are the critical factors that influence the effect of PBL in a college physics course taught in English by going through iterative implementation. The iterative process of applying, designing, and constructing PBL to physics classes was meaningful not only in that we have found the optimal PBL model for learning a college physics course, but also in that we have been reflecting on the continuous interaction with learners during the course.