2015, Vol.16, No.4

Modern English Education 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.55

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

Writer visibility denotes the degree of a writer’s presence in a text. A number of studies have reported that high writer visibility is one of the most noticeable features in L2 writing. Based on the findings of prior studies, this study aimed to test the relation between the degree of writer visibility and L2 writing quality through a close examination on writer visibility in different levels of L2 English writing. For a corpus-based investigation on the linguistic features of writer visibility, this study constructed three corpora of different levels of L2 writing and examined the significant differences in writer visibility across the three corpora. The results showed that basic level writers tend to use writer visibility features more frequently than advanced writers. In particular, the use of evaluative modifiers and first person (both singular and plural) pronouns showed significant differences among the three corpora, indicating a meaningful relation between the use of writer visibility features and the writing quality. Despite some limitations, this study contributes to deepen our understanding on writer visibility, serving as a foundation for future research to explore various features and dimensions of writer visibility and to provide pedagogical implications in L2 writing instruction.

Krashen’s (1981, 1982) acquisition-learning hypothesis (ALH) is a well known concept that has been taught in applied linguistics for over 30 years. It has also been adapted into many other fields of study such as education (Gee, 1989), composition (Tricomi, 1986) and neuroscience (Kuhl, 2004). While it may be said that the basic concept of the ALH represents a foundational aspect of communicative approaches to teaching English and the emergence of socio-cultural theory (Lantolf, 2006), it is nevertheless hotly contested by other applied linguists for the inability of the ALH to make an empirical distinction between the seemingly amorphous line between acquisition and learning. This paper examines the theoretical implications of the ALH within applied linguistics as well as extrapolating on the theoretical implications of Gee’s (1989) use of the ALH for his theories of literacy. In doing so, the analysis in this paper not only traces theoretical moves from the ALH to theories of literacy, situated learning, intertextuality, and representation, all of which are gaining expanded attention in applied linguistic literature and practice. In addition, the analysis shows that the dichotomy of the ALH is representative of an epistemological divide across the social sciences, including applied linguistics.

The present study examined the effect of using Quick Response (QR) code, which makes it easier to access a website or resources immediately, with the smartphone as a means of assessing students’ vocabulary knowledge. Ninety-six Korean EFL university students who were taking a core intermediate level TOEIC course participated in this study. During the semester, 51 took the QR code-delivered vocabulary quiz, while the other 45 were being given the paper-delivered one. The two groups’ vocabulary quiz scores were compared, and the QR code-based groups’ responses to the survey were analyzed. The survey results indicated that the students were in favor of using the QR code as it helped them become more motivated, practice more to learn new words and to use them appropriately within sentences, and consequently improve their vocabulary and writing ability. And these positive perceptions of using the QR code for a limited time seemed to have led them to better perform on the vocabulary quiz than those in the paper-based group. It is suggested that the QR code should be used for only a brief time under strict control of teachers in order to maximize language learning.