• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.291-314
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• 2012

This paper attempts to investigate to what extent English proficiency can boost international trade in services. To achieve this purpose, this paper estimates the determinants of services trade including language variables with the aggregated and disaggregated data for nine different subsectors of OECD countries. The empirical tests are based on a theory-based gravity model derived from Anderson and von Wincoop. The findings show that English proficiency has a significant influence on services trade, while other languages such as French and German have only weak and mixed effects. In particular, communication, financial, commercial, insurance, and business services are revealed to be the most impacted by the level of English proficiency. The results imply that governments can use their English policies to promote international trade in services.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• no.5
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• pp.1-25
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• 1999

The objective of the present study was to model the relationships between language learning strategy use and language proficiency among the Asian (Korean, Japanese, and Taiwanese) students studying English in the United States. The instruments were a language learning strategy Questionnaire and the Institutional Testing Program Test of English as a Foreign Language (ITP TOEFL). Structural equation modeling was utilized to model the relationships between language learning strategies and language proficiency. The present study found only weak relationships between language learning strategies and language proficiency. Only 13% and 15% of variance of the listening and grammar/reading factor were explained by the language learning strategies. The metacognitive strategies appeared not to have direct relationships to the language skill factors, as was found in other studies (Purpura, 1996, 1997). The effects of the social and affective strategies were very small. They in combination could account about 1% and 4% of the variance of the listening and grammar/reading factors.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.53-75
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• 2012

The present study examined the role of language proficiency in dyadic discourse in the organization of repairs and the distribution of linguistic features contained in repairs. One native speaker of English and five non-native speakers participated and formed three dyads: one same-proficiency NNS-NNS (non-native speaker), one different-proficiency NNS-NNS, and one NS (native speaker)-NNS dyads. Results showed that overall repair patterns in this type of interaction were more conversational than didactic, and that the degree of difference in proficiency between the participants in the dyad influenced repair patterns and the distribution of linguistic features in relation to repair patterns. Also, discussed in the present paper are some implications of the results and other issues related to language learning.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.183-189
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• 2021

This study examines the effects of Korean college students' English proficiency and the English text types on their paraphrases. Korean college students with three groups of English proficiency (high, mid, and low) read two types of English texts, causal texts, and argumentative texts, and paraphrased them in English. Students' paraphrase text was evaluated in terms of content (idea exposition, idea development, and wrap up), organization (coherence and cohesion) and language use (grammatical accuracy), and analyzed by MANOVA. As a result, it was found that there was a significant difference in their paraphrase performance according to the participants' English proficiency levels rather than the types of English texts. The results of this study have educational implications for English paraphrase education to prevent plagiarism for Korean university students.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2011

Listening has been a neglected research area despite the crucial role it plays. The present investigation was aimed at examining how the provision of topical knowledge and learners' listening proficiency level affect learners' listening performance under four different preparatory activity conditions: topical knowledge, vocabulary list, language structure, and no activity. A total of 134 participants, assigned to the four different activity groups, took part in the study. The results revealed that the learners who were provided with topical knowledge before listening performed significantly better than the other learners, followed by the vocabulary list group and language structure group, which might be attributed to the activation of their content schemata. The learners who did not perform any preparatory activities achieved the lowest scores. When it comes to the impact of listening proficiency, it was revealed that learners' proficiency level had a significant influence on learners' listening performance, and there was a significant interaction between the learners' level of listening proficiency and preparatory activity. Providing relevant knowledge was effective for both higher level and lower level learners, whereas teaching vocabulary before listening was effective for higher level learners but was not for lower level ones. Based on the results, some pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research were discussed.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.177-197
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• 2009

This study investigated the effects of dictation practice, in terms of listening proficiency and the use of listening strategy. The research was implemented for 15 weeks with 89 freshmen and sophomores at a Korean university. The subjects were divided into an experimental group and a control group. All conditions were the same in both groups, except that the experimental group had dictation practice on a regular basis in their listening classes through one semester. For the purpose of the study, two research questions were set; 1) Does dictation practice improve listening proficiency? 2) What are the differences in the use of listening strategies between the two groups? Does dictation practice make the participants use different listening strategies? A sample TOEIC listening test was conducted as a pre-test and post-test. A questionnaire was used to find out the differences in the use of listening strategies between the two groups. The results of this study reveal that there was no statistically difference in improvement between the two groups; however, the experimental group scored much higher on the post-test than the pre-test compared with the control group. In regard to listening strategies, among 6 listening strategies, the use of metacognitive listening strategies had a significant difference between the two groups. On the basis of the results, the study suggested some guidelines for dictation practice in EFL listening classes and called for more studies on its effects.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.948-962
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to inquiry of outcomes and challenges of Meister high school' and specialized vocational high school' teachers and industrial workers on problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency, and what were outcomes and challenges of main factor by Meister high school and specialized vocational high school' teachers and industrial workers. Research subjects and region were teachers of Meister high schools and specialized vocational high schools in Gyeongsangnamdo and industrial workers in Gyeonggido. The sample(N=147) was drawn from Meister high school' teachers(N=90), specialized vocational high school' teachers(N=25) and industrial workers(N=32), and collected data were analyzed with SPSS using average, standard deviation, cross analysis, verification F. The results are as follows: The biggest outcomes of problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency was change of educational direction for promoting core competency on specialized high school & Meister High School's students. The biggest positive ripple effects of the outcomes was also change of educational direction for promoting core competency on specialized high school & Meister High School's students. The biggest challenges of problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency was importance of challenges was expansion of teacher training and lecture on the Test for Enhanced Employ ability & Upgraded Proficiency.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.597-610
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to inquiry of influence of Meister high school and specialized vocational high school' students on career maturity in problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency. Research subjects and region were sophomore students of each one of Meister high schools and specialized vocational high schools in Gwangju region. The sample(N=481) was drawn from 2 high schools and collected data were analyzed with SPSS using t-test, Pearson correlation and Levene's test. Items of problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency were used test items developed in 2012. Career maturity test in Careernet site was used test items developed in 2001 which was made up 3 domains such as attitude, ability and action and 8 sub-regions such as planning, attitude on the vocation, independence, self-understanding, rational decision-making, explore of information, knowledge of hope vocation and career exploration and preparation of action, and constituted 64 items. The results were as follows. Findings of the analysis in specialized vocational high school students demonstrated the positive results of rational decision-making and explore of information in problem solving ability test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency. Comparing career maturity influence on Meister high school with specialized vocational high school students about problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency, Meister high school students' score were more high grade than specialized vocational high school students grade.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.187-210
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• 2006

This study aims to investigate the effects of the implementation of self-directed learning through the homepage between the teacher and the students for English reading classes. The study focuses on the questions of whether the self-directed learning through the homepage, compared to the teacher-centered learning, would enable a significantly positive change in the students' achievements and of what their responses to this new learning method are. 72 students were grouped into an experimental and a control group, and then each group was subdivided into three levels (high, medium, low) of proficiency. Findings demonstrate that the experimental group showed statistically more significant increases in their scores of reading proficiency test than the control group. For the question of students' responses to the learning experience, the three groups within the experimental group responded to a questionnaire survey with regard to the positive attitude of learning, the effectiveness of self-directed learning and its learning materials, and usability of the homepage. In general, the experimental group considered the experience satisfactory, although the degree of positive responses varied according to the proficiency level of the group. This suggests the importance and effectiveness of self-directed learning using the computer and internet as a supplementary learning tool.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.391-411
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of culture teaching and using web sites as a method of culture teaching in college English education. To achieve these purposes, a web-based culture teaching-learning model was developed and applied in English classes. Then, the effects were compared with those of a culture teaching method which were based on the traditional verbal explanation. As the tools for this study, two test sheets were used to measure language proficiency and American cultural knowledge. Focusing on the study results, the conclusions were summed up as follows: First, for enhancing the American cultural knowledge, using the web was found to be more effective than traditional verbal explanations. Second, for English language enhancement through web-based culture teaching, it is necessary to do it for each level of English proficiency or develop web sites which fit well with students' interests or levels.