• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.435-443
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between learning motivation, learning strategies and Korean proficiency. Therefore, this study conducted a learning motivation and learning strategies survey on 101 learners of Korean language from Korean and Chinese universities who obtained a middle and high-level on the Test of Proficiency in Korean. A frequency analysis and correlation analysis was conducted on these students using the SPSS 28.0 program. As a result of the study, it was found that the motivation for learning Korean in Chinese learners was high in the order of integrated motivation and instrumental motivation. The frequency of using metacognitive strategies was the highest. There was no difference in learning motivation corresponding to Korean language proficiency, but there was a correlation in the use of social strategies for learners in levels 3, 4 and 5. Based on these research results, I proposed a teaching and learning method for Chinese learners. Further research should be conducted by comparing the learning motives and learning strategies of learners in the beginner-level group and learners in the middle and high-level group.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.81-90
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• 2013

This study explored how Korean L2 learners of English utilize multiple acoustic cues (VOT and F0) in perceiving and producing the English alveolar stop with a voicing contrast. Thirty-four 18-year-old high-school students participated in the study. Their English proficiency level was classified as either 'high' (HEP) or 'low' (LEP) according to high-school English level standardization. Thirty different synthesized syllables were presented in audio stimuli by combining a 6-step VOTs and a 5-step F0s. The listeners judged how close the audio stimulus was to /t/ or /d/ in L2 using a visual analogue scale. The L2 /d/ and /t/ productions collected from the 22 learners (12 HEP, 10 LEP) were acoustically analyzed by measuring VOT and F0 at the vowel onset. Results showed that LEP listeners attended to the F0 in the stimuli more sensitively than HEP listeners, suggesting that HEP listeners could inhibit less important acoustic dimensions better than LEP listeners in their L2 perception. The L2 production patterns also exhibited a group-difference between HEP and LEP in that HEP speakers utilized their VOT dimension (primary cue in L2) more effectively than LEP speakers. Taken together, the study showed that the relative cue-weighting strategies in L2 perception and production are closely related to the learner's L2 proficiency level in that more proficient learners had a better control of inhibiting and enhancing the relevant acoustic parameters.

• Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2019

This study explored the relationship between accurate vowel production and proficiency levels in L2 English produced by Korean EFL adult learners. To this end, nine English vowels /i, ɪ, ɛ, æ, ʌ, ɔ, ɑ, ʊ, u/ were selected and adjacent vowels paired up (e.g., /i/-/ɪ/, /u/-/ʊ/, /ɛ/-/æ/, /ʌ/-/ɔ/, /ɔ/-/ɑ/). The spectral features of the pairs were measured instrumentally, namely F1 (indicating tongue height) and F2 (indicating tongue backness). Meanwhile, the durations as well as spectral features of the tense and lax counterparts in /i/-/ɪ/ and /u/-/ʊ/ were measured, as both temporal and spectral features are important in distinguishing them. The findings of this study confirm that higher-rated speakers were better able to distinguish the contrasts in the front vowel pairs /i/-/ɪ/ and /ɛ/-/æ/ than lower-rated learners, but in the central and back vowel pairs /u/-/ʊ/and /ʌ/-/ɔ/ (though not /ɔ/-/ɑ/), Korean EFL learners generally showed difficulty distinguishing adjacent vowels with spectral cues. On the other hand, the durations of the tense and lax vowels showed that the lower-rated speakers were less able to use the temporal feature to differentiate tense vowels from their lax counterparts, unlike previous studies that found that in general Korean learners depend excessively on the temporal cue to distinguish tense and lax vowels.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.171-198
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• 2009

The current study explored a pedagogical possibility of utilizing magic as a source of communicative tasks for young learners in developing their English speaking proficiency. Fifteen primary school students participated in the study, which consisted of a 17-week period of task-based English instruction and data collection. The participants were instructed to accomplish various types of magic task through collaborative group interaction. The data collected for the study pertained to the students' linguistic outputs, interactions in group and attitudes to English learning. They were analyzed for how magic tasks affect the students' English proficiency developments and group interactions. The study results suggested the significant improvement in the students' English speaking proficiencies. They revealed that magic tasks contributed to a) enhancing the motivation to speak in English, b) stimulating the creative and problem-solving processes, and c) providing the sufficient opportunity to repeat and internalize the target expressions. The study results also indicated that the students' satisfaction with their group members and tasks seemed to have positive influences on their interactions in group and English proficiency development. Further discussion and pedagogical implications are provided as well as the study limitations.

• Journal of Korean language education
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.49-78
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• 2017

This study aims to analyze the effect of attitudes of Korean residents in Japan towards learning the Korean language and their motivational intensity on their Korean proficiency. Data for this study came from a survey on language use of Korean residents in Japan which was conducted in 2016, and questionnaire items referred to language attitude, language use and the degree of understanding language; language use; language learning and Korean ethnic identity. The main results are as follows. First, there were significant differences in Korean language proficiency depending on age, education levels and generation. Second, the control for socio-demographic characteristics, the influence of attitudes towards Korean language on Korean proficiency was statistically significant. However, Korean proficiency was not significantly influenced by motivational intensity. Lastly, moderated effects of immigrant generation in the relation between Korean language attitudes and Korean proficiency were significant. Therefore, the effect of Korean language attitudes on Korean proficiency was more influential on second and third generation Korean-Japanese learners than first generation Korean-Japanese learners. Based on these results, this study suggests that in order to promote Korean language education for Korean residents in Japan, it is required to build positive attitudes toward Korean language, and to consider immigrant generation as a major factor.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.50-67
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• 2020

This study investigated whether writing weekly listening logs could influence college English learners' metacognitive awareness and listening proficiency. In addition, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) was applied to examine the learners' knowledge of their listening process. It is process-oriented research conducted by analyzing the MALQ and students' listening logs as to how their metacognitive awareness and listening proficiency have changed during the semester. Eighty-nine students who took an English listening practice course at a university participated in this study. The research findings are as follows. First, it turned out that there was a significant relationship between EFL university students' listening comprehension and some subscales of metacognitive awareness. Second, the students had an opportunity to reflect on learning through regular listening activities, and weekly listening logs, which included important information about listening process and practice. Third, as the students' listening proficiency increased at the end of the semester, it was found that introducing listening logs along with classroom lessons helped the students improve their listening ability. Finally, the high proficiency group students used multiple strategies simultaneously, regardless of the type of listening strategies, while the low proficiency group students used one or two limited listening strategies. However, the low proficiency group students may have had trouble expressing their ideas in English or recognizing the listening strategies they used, not because they did not use a lot of listening strategies. Therefore, teachers should regularly check if students are following their instructions and help them use appropriate strategies for better understanding.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.237-264
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• 2009

The present study explores patterns of teachers' corrective feedback and learners' uptake in Korean EFL undergraduate classroom setting. It also examines consistencies and discrepancies in the perception of corrective feedback by teachers and learners. Teachers' and learners' preferences and perception of corrective feedback are further analyzed to determine whether or not those differ from actual practices in English language learning classrooms. The results of the study are as follows. First of all, teachers' corrective feedback type varied according to the learners' error type and English proficiency level. There was a lack of consistency between the teachers' feedback practices and the learners' error types. Second, for the phonological errors, learners' data witnessed the most frequent uptake on recast. For the other error types, however, the learners' uptake rates were high for the explicit corrective feedback. Third, the teachers' explicit knowledge of corrective feedback was rather low and the preferences differed from teacher to teacher. The teachers' feedback perception and preferences did not consistently reflect their actual practices. Finally, patterns of the learners' expectations of corrective feedback varied according to learners' proficiency level. Teachers' and learners' expectations of corrective feedback were also compared and some mismatches were detected.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.31-68
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• 2006

The present research investigates the acquisition of the English locative alternation by Korean EFL learners, which poses a learnability paradox, taking Pinker's framework of learnability theory as its basis. It addresses two questions (1) how lexical knowledge is represented initially and at different levels of interlanguage development and (2) what kinds of difficulty Korean learners find in the acquisition of English locative verbs and their constructions. Three groups of learners at different proficiency levels with a control group of English native speakers are examined by two instruments: elicited production task and grammaticality judgment task. According to different levels of proficiency, the learners exhibit gradual sensitivity to a change-of-state meaning and obtain complete perception of the meanings of locative verbs (manner-of-motion and change-of-state) and their constructions. Overgeneralization errors are observed in their performance. The errors are due to misinterpretations of particular lexical items in conjunction with the universal linking rules. More fundamental cause of difficulty is accounted for by partial use of learning mechanisms, caused by insufficient L2 input.

• MALSORI
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• no.60
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• pp.1-11
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• 2006

This paper investigated AV benefit of Korean and Japanese EFL learners' perception of the liquid contrast in English. In a perception experiment, the two English consonants /l/ and /r/ were embedded in initial and medial position in nonsense words in the context of the vowels /i, a, u/. Singletons and clusters were included in the speech material. Audio and video recordings were made using a total of 108 items. The items were presented to Korean and Japanese learners of English in three conditions: audio-alone (A), visual-alone (V) and audio-visual presentation (AV). The results showed that there was no evidence of AV benefit for the perception of the /l/-/r/ contrast for either Korean or Japanese learners of English. The results suggest that increasing auditory proficiency in identifying a non-native contrast is linked with an increasing proficiency in using visual cues to the contrast.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.433-442
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• 2023

The purpose of this study is to reveal the Korean learners' usage pattern of '의', the genitive particle, according to semantic classification, so that it can be referred to in determining the contents and methods of related education. The method of this study adopts a quantitative analysis using learners corpus established by National Institute of Korean Language. As a result of the analysis, as proficiency increases, the overall frequency of '의' increases and the number of meaning senses used increases. However, the frequency of errors also increases with it. As for the usage pattern of each sense, the meaning of 'ownership, belonging' is the most frequent, and followed by 'acting entity', 'kinship, social relations', and 'relationship(area)'. In conclusion, the meanings of 'acting subjects' and 'relationships(area) need to be supplemented with explicit education. Other meanings need to be discussed, and decisions should be made in consideration of learning purpose and proficiency.