2011, Vol.12, No.3

Modern English Education 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.55

pISSN : 1598-0782 / eISSN : 2586-6141
https://journal.kci.go.kr/meeso

This study investigates the communication strategies (CSs) used by Korean college students in their spoken interactions with native speakers (NSs) of English and with their peers to explore differences in CS use between the two groups. The 20 NSs and 40 Korean students (KSs) who participated in this study were divided into 20 groups, with each group consisting of one NS and two KSs, making 2 KS-NS and 2 KS-KS pairs. For data collection, questionnaires, speaking tasks, and tape recordings were used. 74 recorded conversations were transcribed and analyzed. For statistical analysis, a frequency analysis and a T-test were conducted. Results showed a limited use of CSs in general with students using direct strategies the most and interactional strategies the least. It was also revealed that students used CSs frequently due to their lack of linguistic knowledge in the target language. In addition, students used a greater number and a wider variety of CSs in communications with the NSs, utilizing all the direct, indirect, and noticeably interactional strategies and the CSs caused from all 4 types of problems (linguistic-knowledge deficit, time limit, own-/other-performance). Pedagogical suggestions were made from these findings.

The importance of learner-learner interaction in second language (L2) acquisition has been increasingly recognized in applied linguistics. In particular, several recent studies indicate that learner-learner interaction may be an important aspect of learning (e.g. Gass & Torres, 2005; Youjin Kim, 2008; Mackey, 2009; McDonough, 2005). However, little research has documented how differing levels of L2 proficiency in a pair might affect learner-learner interaction. To contribute to this paucity, the present study explored the effects of grouping learners in terms of L2 proficiency levels in EFL writing classes. As a first step, the study examined which linguistic problems Korean EFL learners focused on when interacting with interlocutors from similar or different proficiency levels; and how the linguistic issues were resolved. Eight Korean EFL learners were paired with either homogenous or heterogeneous interlocutors in terms of L2 proficiency levels. Their pair talk in carrying out joint composition tasks was analyzed in terms of: (a) the frequency and resolution of language-related episodes (LREs); and (b) the patterns of interaction with their interlocutors. Results showed that the grouping of learners according to relative L2 proficiency levels did not affect the frequency or resolution of LREs. However, this study suggested that proficiency similarity or difference between two learners in a pair had some impact on the patterns of learner interaction: pairs in homogeneous grouping seemed to be more collaborative than the counterparts.

In recent times, integrated reading/writing tasks including summarization have rigorously been incorporated into high-stakes proficiency tests, i.e., iBT TOEFL,TOEIC, TEPS. The present study investigated whether or not summary tasks reflect writing ability rather than reading comprehension of Korean EFL learners with an aim to validate summary tasks as a measure of writing ability and to seek diverse composition tasks more appropriate for EFL learners with low proficiency. A multiplechoice reading comprehension task and an essay task were adopted to assess their reading and writing competence respectively since they are the most common type of assessment. The scores of the three tasks: summary, reading comprehension, and essay were obtained by 50 college students and analyzed through Pearson correlation. The results demonstrated the scores of the summary task are significantly correlated with those of the essay task, while they are little correlated with those of the reading comprehension. Another finding is the degree of relationship between the summary scores and the essay scores is greater within the less proficient group than within the more proficient group. It is concluded that a summary task is valid as a measure of writing competence, particularly for test-takers with low proficiency.