Volume 79 Number 1 Spring 2024
ISSN 1017-7108 (Print) / ISSN 2671-9312 (Online)
English Teaching is an open access journal published by the Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE). All articles published by KATE are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This permits anyone to copy, redistribute, remix, transmit and adapt the work, provided the original work and source is appropriately cited.
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Table of Contents -
The Development and Validation of English Communicative Competence Model for High School Students in Korea [Full-Text Available]
Whyun Young Choi (Kongju Keumsung Girls’ High School) / Mun-Koo Kang* (Kongju National University) / *corresponding author, email: : kangmunkoo@hanmail.net
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 3-24DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.3© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] This study develops and validates an English communicative competence model for Korean high school students, in response to the need to redefine the relevant concepts and components of competence that are demanded by the rapidly evolving future society. Drawing on Celce-Murcia’s (2008) theoretical model on communicative competence, this research conceptualized a model that could assess high school students’ English communicative competence by examining relevant domestic and international studies as well as theoretical reflections. Expert opinions from a two-stage Delphi survey were compiled and incorporated to revise, supplement, and validate the English communicative competence among high school students reflecting Korea’s English education environment. Following this process, the conceptual model for English communicative competence was reorganized into five sub-competences (sociolinguistic, discourse, linguistic, interactional, and strategic competence) and 15 corresponding sub-factors. The content validity ratio values for the conceptual definition and factor structure of this model were all above 0.64, thus affirming the validity of the conceptual definition and factor structure.
[KEY WORDS] English communicative competence, model development and validation, Delphi survey, Korean high school, conceptual definition, factor structure -
Unraveling the Connections: English Proficiency, Motivational Orientations, and Online Community Engagement among ESP Students [Full-Text Available]
Jeongyeon Kim (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) / Victoria Kim* (Inha University) / *corresponding author, email: victoria@inha.ac.kr
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 25-48DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.25© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] This study addresses the scarcity of research examining technology’s impact on learners of English as a foreign language in English for specific purposes (ESP) courses within English-medium instruction (EMI) programs. Focusing on a business communication course using a social question-answering platform, this study explores the interplay among English proficiency, motivational orientations, and online engagement. Surveying 126 university students via a mixed-method approach, this research identifies distinct motivational orientations (intrinsic, extrinsic, and self-efficacy) existing during class activities, influenced by proficiency levels, with notable differences in online participation between beginner and advanced learners. The findings suggest that while online activities enhance peer interaction and teacher feedback, they may trigger anxiety in beginners, potentially diminishing motivation and self-efficacy. These results emphasize the need to tailor technology integration to proficiency levels and motivational orientations in ESP/EMI settings. Practical recommendations are offered for educators aiming to implement effective online activities and provide targeted support, particularly for beginner learners, thereby bolstering their motivation and self-efficacy.
[KEY WORDS] English-medium instruction, English for specific purposes, motivation, self-efficacy, online learning community -
AFAIK, IDK That Word: Investigating Learners’ Receptive Knowledge of Online Acronyms [Full-Text Available]
Dennis Laffey* (Pukyong National University) / *corresponding author, email: laffey@pknu.ac.kr
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 49-67DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.49© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] This paper presents data capturing Korean university students’ familiarity with English online acronyms, examines factors that may predict this familiarity, and presents an explicit instruction intervention involving vocabulary knowledge of online acronyms. The Vocabulary Size Test (VST) measured students’ vocabulary size, while a self-report survey measured social media engagement and the percentage of engagement that occurred in English. The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) measured initial familiarity and gains in vocabulary knowledge. The results suggest that English learners in Korean universities are not well-acquainted with English online acronyms, but that receptive vocabulary size and English-language social media engagement may offer some predictive power regarding their level of familiarity. An explicit treatment of acronym expansions and their uses resulted in a significant and robust gain in vocabulary knowledge, suggesting that explicit instruction of online acronyms may improve digital literacy and comprehension of computer-mediated communication (CMC) more effectively than simply relying on incidental gains through repeat exposures over time.
[KEY WORDS] computer-mediated communication, digital literacy, online English use, receptive vocabulary, explicit vocabulary instruction -
A Longitudinal Study of English Achievement of Korean EFL Young Adolescent Students: Focusing on Initial English Proficiency, English Private Tutoring, and Urbanicity [Full-Text Available]
Jiseon Ryu (Seongpo High School) / Byungmin Lee* (Seoul National University) / *corresponding author, email: bmlee@snu.ac.kr
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 69-92DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.69© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] The present study aimed to analyze the developmental trajectories of English achievement and exposure time through private education, utilizing univariate and multivariate latent growth curve analysis. This study used a subset of the Gyeonggi Education Panel Study data from 2012 to 2017. The results indicated consistent disparities in the growth of English achievement, depending on the student’s proficiency levels at the starting point. In particular, the early exposure to private tutoring was significantly and closely related to the initial status and the growth trajectory of English achievement. When the sample was classified by urbanicity, the findings suggested that the gap in English achievement was likely to increase over time across the two regions, with a stronger correlation with private tutoring found in urban areas. These results underscore the need for educational intervention for students in less advantageous conditions, and they provide valuable pedagogical implications for teaching English in the Korean EFL context.
[KEY WORDS] English achievement, private tutoring, exposure time, urbanicity, a multivariate latent growth model -
Korean Elementary English Teachers’ Professionalism Development in Using EdTech: A Grounded Theory Study [Full-Text Available]
Jihye Sim (Incheon Seokcheon Elementary School) / Seungcheon Ha* (Seoul National University) / Kyuhee Jo (Gyeongin National University of Education) / *corresponding author, email: musoyoo21@snu.ac.kr
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 93-120DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.93© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] This study explores the development of professionalism in using Educational Technology (EdTech) among Korean elementary English teachers amid the increasing integration of technology in English education. Employing the Grounded Theory methodology, the study involved in-depth interviews with nine Korean elementary English teachers experienced in using EdTech. It aims to identify their EdTech experiences, the elements constituting EdTech professionalism, and its developmental process. The study reveals that teachers’ EdTech professionalism encompasses a proactive approach towards technology, continuous professional growth based on practice and reflection, and adaptation of teaching methods in response to evolving technologies and learner needs. It highlights the importance of teachers’ self-directed approach, collaboration with other teachers, and the integration of pedagogical, content, and technological knowledge into their English teaching. The findings have implications for teacher education and the advancement of EdTech-utilized English education, suggesting new processes and directions for developing elementary English teachers’ professionalism in the rapidly evolving landscape of educational technology.
[KEY WORDS] educational technology (EdTech), elementary English teacher, teacher professionalism, professionalism development -
Exploring the Factors Influencing Student Engagement in University English Classes [Full-Text Available]
Xiaohui Zhang (Shangqiu Normal University) / Hyun-Ju Kim* (Dankook University) / *corresponding author, email: hyunjukim@dankook.ac.kr
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 121-143DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.121© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] This study investigated student engagement by conceptualizing learning engagement and examining the inner mechanism that operates in the university English learning context. This study administered a questionnaire to 376 college students, and data analysis was conducted with SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0. The findings revealed that student engagement can be conceptualized into behavioral, cognitive, affective, and interactive engagement. The results confirmed that cognitive engagement positively affected behavioral engagement, whereas affective engagement did not. Affective engagement had positive effects on both cognitive engagement and interactive engagement. Interactive engagement positively affected cognitive engagement but did not affect behavioral engagement. Further, the results showed that cognitive engagement acted as a full mediator between affective engagement and behavioral engagement, as well as between interactional engagement and behavioral engagement. The findings of this study propose implications for optimizing English teaching to facilitate student engagement and ultimately enhancing their learning satisfaction along with improving academic outcomes.
[KEY WORDS] student engagement, dimensions, inner mechanism, English learning -
Developing a College Course model for enhancing pre-service English teachers’ curriculum development competency via collaboration with in-service teachers [Full-Text Available]
Jin-Hwa Lee* (Chung-Ang University) / *corresponding author, email: jinhlee@cau.ac.kr
English Teaching, Vol. 79, Number 1, Spring 2024, pp. 145-166DOI: 10.15858/engtea.79.1.202403.145© 2023 The Korea Association of Teachers of English (KATE) / Open Access
[ABSTRACT] This study explores ways to enhance pre-service English teachers’ curriculum development competency through collaboration with in-service teachers. To this end, a course was designed to incorporate three key competencies of curriculum development (curriculum literacy, curriculum development competency, and curriculum evaluation competency) while adopting task-based language teaching and collaboration with in-service teachers as teaching methods. The designed course was implemented in a university for validation and revision. Ten pre-service English teachers participated in the course, where they developed English curricula in response to requests from three in-service middle school English teachers. A questionnaire survey conducted at the end of the semester with both pre-service and in-service teachers revealed that the proposed course model adequately worked to improve the three key competencies of English curriculum development among pre-service teachers. Further, collaboration with in-service teachers was found to enhance pre-service teachers’ responsibility and active engagement in curriculum development, while also providing practical assistance and creative teaching ideas to in-service teachers.
[KEY WORDS] curriculum development competency, pre-service English teacher training, collaboration between pre-service and in-service teachers, 2022 revised curriculum