2017, Vol.18, No.4

Modern English Education 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.55

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

This study examines Korean EFL writers’ errors in the use of cohesive devices. The participants were two groups of college students. One group consisted of 34 students, and the other group 23 students. The participants in each group were asked to write an opinion paper on a different issue. Analysis of data focused on the errors made in the use of five features of cohesive devices: use of junction words, transition between sentences/ideas, use of equivalent words/paraphrases, introduction of new information in appropriate places/manners, and use of accurate punctuation marks. According to the result, the participants showed weaknesses in dealing with the cohesive devices in English writing, making most errors in making a smooth transition without a junction word and least errors in using an equivalent word/phrase. Based on the result, the study concludes that Korean EFL writers need a systematic practice in the use of cohesive devices, especially in making a smooth transition between sentences/ideas either with or without the use of a junction word. Some pedagogical suggestions are made to improve the cohesive quality of Korean students’ English writing.

The present study explores whether cloze test scores under two different scoring methods and English test scores on TOEIC can predict written productive vocabulary of Korean EFL learners. One hundred and fourteen students’ written productive vocabulary in summary writing was analyzed using VocabProfile, which provides four frequency-based vocabulary level lists: the most frequent 1,000 words (K1: function words and content words), second most frequent 1,000 words (K2), academic word lists (AWL), and off the list words (OLW). The study found that the exact-word method led to significant differences in K1, function words, K2, AWL, and OLW, and the acceptable-word method resulted in significant differences in K1, function words, K2, and OLW, indicating only one difference in AWL. On the other hand, the English proficiency test yielded significant differences in K1 and function words alone. These study results suggest that the cloze test under the two different scoring methods did not make a remarkable difference in the predictability of Korean EFL learners’ written productive vocabulary. In addition, both cloze test scores and general English test scores showed they could serve as predictors of Korean EFL learners’ written productive vocabulary, but cloze test scores led to more significant differences in vocabulary use in writing.

This study investigated whether the effects of syntactic enhancement on rapid and accurate reading varies depending on second language (L2) students’ working memory capacity. Visual-syntactic text formatting (VSTF) technology was used to create syntactic enhancement, reformatting text in a way to make English sentence structures salient. L2 college students from the U.S. and South Korea participated in this study. The participants were identical in terms of their baseline English proficiency, evidenced by the results of vocabulary and word recognition tests. They were assigned either to low (n = 28) or high working memory groups (n = 30) based on their scores on a working memory test. Both groups read half of the passages in the VSTF condition and the others in the block condition. Syntactic enhancement did not commonly influence the reading speed, but both groups’ performance on information questions. In addition, syntactic enhancement assisted the low working memory group in making inferences. Although syntactic cues are only part of a multifaceted L2 reading process, these findings provide support for syntactic enhancement as a helpful tool to promote L2 reading comprehension without hindering reading speed, especially for those with low working memory capacity.