• Journal of Information Processing Systems
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.159-168
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• 2008

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), based on already well-researched Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), has been under vigorous scrutiny since recent developments in robot technology. Robots may be more successful in establishing common ground in project-based education or foreign language learning for children than in traditional media. Backed by its strong IT environment and advances in robot technology, Korea has developed the world's first available e-Learning home robot. This has demonstrated the potential for robots to be used as a new educational media - robot-learning, referred to as 'r-Learning'. Robot technology is expected to become more interactive and user-friendly than computers. Also, robots can exhibit various forms of communication such as gestures, motions and facial expressions. This study compared the effects of non-computer based (NCB) media (using a book with audiotape) and Web-Based Instruction (WBI), with the effects of Home Robot-Assisted Learning (HRL) for children. The robot gestured and spoke in English, and children could touch its monitor if it did not recognize their voice command. Compared to other learning programs, the HRL was superior in promoting and improving children's concentration, interest, and academic achievement. In addition, the children felt that a home robot was friendlier than other types of instructional media. The HRL group had longer concentration spans than the other groups, and the p-value demonstrated a significant difference in concentration among the groups. In regard to the children's interest in learning, the HRL group showed the highest level of interest, the NCB group and the WBI group came next in order. Also, academic achievement was the highest in the HRL group, followed by the WBI group and the NCB group respectively. However, a significant difference was also found in the children's academic achievement among the groups. These results suggest that home robots are more effective as regards children's learning concentration, learning interest and academic achievement than other types of instructional media (such as: books with audiotape and WBI) for English as a foreign language.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.39 no.11
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• pp.175-192
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• 2001

This study investigated the relationships between inter-cultural experience and socio-psychological adjustment to the current life among children who have refilmed from living abroad. The subject of research consisted of 102 boys and 110 girls from fourth grade through sixth grade who returned to their home country after living in a foreign correlation Data were collected from 5 elementary schools in Seoul. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation analysis and regression were used for data analysis. The results of children's social-psychological adjustment were represented by 3 categories: school/friend relationship, stress/strain and language/learning. The following are the summarized results; First, girl students were more likely to adapt to school/friend relationships in Korea and had lower stress/strain than boys. Second, the children having shorter period of residence in foreign county, lower adaptation ability to different culture and extrovert personality showed higher socio-psychological adjustments after returning to Korea. Third, the adjustment to school/friends was influenced by period of residency in the foreign county, the experience of different culture, and extrovert personality. The experience of different culture and extrovert personality effected stress/strain, and the adjustments to language/learning were influenced only by the ewperiecne of different culture. Lastly, the experience of different culture was the most important variable influencing all 3 categories of socio-psychological adjustments.

• International Journal of Computer Science & Network Security
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.312-316
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• 2022

The article provides a theoretical substantiation of the pedagogical interaction of the subjects of the educational process in the context of distance learning; taking into account the identified features of the implementation of pedagogical interaction defined teaching methods in distance learning; a course has been developed that reveals the features of the pedagogical interaction of participants in the educational process in conditions of distance learning. To solve the tasks and check starting points, a set of methods was used: theoretical: analysis of philosophical, psychological and pedagogical literature, dissertation research, curricula, analysis of the conceptual and terminological system; empirical: questioning, conversation, self-diagnosis.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.91-110
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• 2005

Many Korean EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students do not have sufficient opportunity to develop cultural knowledge and information in their classrooms. EFL teachers also tend to ignore the teaching of culture. Even though culture is taught, it simply tends to deliver "fact-only" information from the viewpoint of a "tourist level rather than cultural awareness by comparing native with target cultural references. Teaching target cultural knowledge and information should be delivered within the native cultural frame, and teaching of culture must be an integral part of teaching and learning English. The research methodology was quantitative. Quantitative data was gathered from 83 Korean EFL teachers and 286 EFL students by questionnaire. Findings indicated that three of these independent variables (cultural inequality, English-only instruction, and Unoism) were significantly and inversely related to integration of culture.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.167-192
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• 2007

This study investigates the effects of written vocabulary exercises on lexical knowledge. Korean university students learning English as a foreign language were randomly assigned to one of four conditions-Condition 1 (having students match word form with word meaning), Condition 2 (having students fill in the blank provided with a list of words), Condition 3 (having students write sentences with the target words), Condition 4 (having students do three practices with the same vocabulary exercise as the condition 1). Each type of exercises in Condition 1, 2, and 3 was designed to classify a different level of mental processing except Condition 4 with multiple encounters of the target words. Learners' vocabulary knowledge of this study was obtained using a format adopted from the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) immediately and two weeks later. The findings indicated that: (1) Condition 4 having students do three matching vocabulary exercises was as effective as the condition 3 (one writing exercise) on the immediate learning of word; (2) although there was no significant difference of the effect of vocabulary exercises between Condition 3 and 4, Condition 4 asking students to do three matching vocabulary exercises was the most effective way of vocabulary retention after two weeks.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.103-124
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• 2002

For the current study, five Asian English teachers participated in their case studies to investigate an in-depth understanding of their beliefs about teaching and learning English as a foreign language. Data were collected through structured and unstructured interviews, written documents, observations of teacher-participants' micro teaching, a research methodology journal and a self-reflection journal. This study described the beliefs that Asian English teachers brought to the teacher preparation program and examined to see if these teacher-participants who were involved in case studies perceived change in their beliefs. The study found that formal and informal learning experiences greatly shaped the way teacher-participants' beliefs about the way learning and teaching ought to be. In addition, early experiences of learning and teaching influenced teacher-participants' change in beliefs.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.11
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• pp.1-6
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• 2017

This paper focuses on the development of a system that improves the convenience of foreign language learning and enhaces the learning ability of the target language through the use of IT devices. In addition to the basic grammar, the importance of pronunciation and intonation have somewhat crucial effect in everyday communication. Pronunciation and intonation of English are different according to the basic characteristics of a native language and these differences often cause problems in communication. The proposed system distinguishes acceptability in English communication process and requests the correction in realtime. The proposed system minimizes system intervention by collecting various voice signals of foreign language learners and setting that can be considered as acceptable threshold points. As a result, the learner can increase the learning efficiency with minimal interruption of the utterance caused by unnecessary system intervention.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.103-114
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• 2002

Language plays a central role in everyday communication activities. Therefore, an individual need to be able to use language to communicate with confidence and without fear. One of the major fears that people have is the fear of communication. This fear is most of the time due to a lack of confidence in communicating in a particular language or due to poor proficiency in the language. In some cases it can also be due to attitudinal problems. In the context of teaching and learning English as a second or foreign language, students can have a great fear of using English with confidence. This fear can be an acute one and thus students may avoid using English to communicate. However, non native speakers of English need to be highly competent in the use of the English language for a variety of communicative purposes particularly in meeting the challenges of globalisation and that of the digital age. This article presents some insights on language apprehension found among communication undergraduates who are non native speakers of English.

• Cross-Cultural Studies
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• v.31
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• pp.415-438
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• 2013

This paper explores how to teach Chinese, using multi-media resources such as Chinese dramas and focusing on one of Jin Yong's dramas, The Return of the Condor Heroes. The purpose of this study is to develop teaching methodologies for university students learning Chinese through drama to integrate language skills: enhancing communicative competence and understanding Chinese cultures. First, the overview of previous studies provides several cases of foreign language education using drama. Teaching Chinese through drama can be an integrative education because students can develop their communicative competence as well as understand the cultures of the target language. In other words, the contexts of drama may offer rich sources of the history of China, Han Chinese ethnocentrism, and knowledge of Chinese literature as well as geography. Second, this study applies the principles of Tomlinson (2010) for materials development in language teaching into the case of Chinese drama. It concentrates on Jin Yong's The Return of the Condor Heroes that the author has used in the Chinese language courses for three years. It examines the characteristics of the drama for developing effective ways of teaching and learning Chinese language and culture. Furthermore, it discusses the impact of using drama on changes in students' pervasive perceptions about unnecessity of Chinese classical literature. Third, this paper presents some sample lessons which may help teachers to develop understanding of how to organize lessons through drama. Finally, it illustrates university students' opinions about using drama to learn Chinese.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.321-332
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• 2021

This study developed an English conversation learning program using virtual reality(VR) and mobile devices. Participants learned and practiced English conversational patterns in immersive virtual reality and mobile conditions. In the program, participants learned and practiced nine conversational patterns with virtual characters in four steps. Language anxiety and conversational fluency were measured to examine the effects of this program. Language anxiety questionnaire was administered before and after the experiment. The results showed that language anxiety was significantly reduced after learning in both conditions, and the reduction waa significantly greater in the immersive condition. Conversational fluency was assessed based on the changes in the length, appropriateness, and accuracy of the responses before and after participants learned and practiced conversational episodes. The results showed that the length, appropriateness, and accuracy of the responses were improved in both conditions after learning. The response length was significantly longer in the immersive VR conditions. These results suggest that immersive VR can be an effective tool to enhance English conversational abilities.