2019, Vol.20, 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 is based on the recognition that EFL students in the context of a Korean university not only had limited exposure to English but also were reluctant to actively participate in their own learning; thus they needed a useful reading program. Acknowledging the situation, the current study initiated an extensive reading (ER) program incorporating the approach of active learning and applied the ER program to a regular EFL reading class for a semester. The reading class was small with nine students and taught by one of the co-researchers. The exploratory study aimed to examine how students engaged in the ER program and how the participants perceived their new experience of the program. To this end, students’ book reading reports over eight sessions of the ER program and post-task interviews were qualitatively analyzed. The data analysis suggests several findings. First, the analysis implied that students eagerly engaged in their learning processes during the ER program. In return, their confidence and motivation in reading English texts improved. Second, it proposed that during the ER the students were responsible for their own learning and were autonomous learners. The study concludes with suggestions for pedagogical practice and for future research.

International second language (L2) students should learn word and phrasal combinations of disciplinary conventions in academic settings as a basic principle to enhance writing skills (Cortes, 2004; Hyland, 2008a, 2008b). The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using lexical bundles (the combination of words) in corpus-aided instructed second language acquisition (ISLA). This study employed a quasi-experimental research design to examine the effects of using lexical bundles in the L2 writing classes. Fifty L2 undergraduate students at a Midwestern university participated in this study. The results of the quasi-experimental research design with pre- and post-tests revealed that both intentional and incidental instructional modes were effective in improving their lexico-grammatical writing gains although the intentional learning intervention has a longer effect. This study is of significance due to the pedagogical value, the usefulness of lexical bundles in language teaching and the contribution to developing the transdisciplinary framework (The Douglas Fir Group, 2016) within the field of L2 composition and corpus linguistics in ISLA.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between the Second language (L2) motivational self-system of Korean high school students and their L2 achievement. The researcher employed 50 questionnaire items, which is based on Dörnyei’s (2005) L2 motivational self-system. The participants were 87 high school students in South Korea. This study used the National Achievement Test of South Korea to obtain the data of the L2 achievement level. The results of the study suggested that 1) Ideal L2-Self, 2) Attitudes to Learning English, 3) Criterion Measures, and 4) Cultural Interest positively correlated with L2 achievement. Also, the result of the intermediate level only had a significant correlation while there was no significant correlation between motivation and L2 achievement for the advanced-level and low-level students. Moreover, the data revealed that there were differences based on gender. While Attitudes to Learning English and Criterion Measures of the male high school students had a positive relationship with L2 achievement score, Ideal L2-Self of the female high school students had a positive relationship with L2 achievement score.