Detecting Gender-biased Items in English Listening Tests: A Methodological Demonstration

Mun-Hong Choe(최문홍) 학습자중심교과교육학회 2019 학습자중심교과교육연구 Vol.19 No.19

이 연구는 성별에 따른 차별기능문항을 추출하는 방법과 해석 절차를 예시할 목적으로 중학교 영어듣기평가 문항을 분석하였다. 중학교 영어듣기평가는 1991년부터 EBS 교육방송을 통해 매년 두 차례 전국 규모로 실시되는 시험으로서 총 20개의 사지선다형 문항으로 구성되어 있으며, 친숙한 주제의 짧은 담화를 듣고 이해할 수 있는 능력을 측정한다. 분석 에 필요한 자료는 대도시 소재 공립 중학교 1학년 학생 875명에게서 수집하였다(남학생 450명, 여학생 425명). 특정 이론이나 방법의 편향성을 중화시키기 위해 전통적인 방법인 멘텔-헨젤 검정과 로지스틱 회귀분석에 더해 두 가지 문항반응이론에 입각한 방법을 함께 사용하였다. 그 결과 두 개의 균일적 차별 기능 문항과 두 개의 비균일적 차별 기능 문항이 발견되었다. 뒤이은 내용 분석은 담화의 주제가 성별에 따른 유불리 조건을 발생시킬 가능성이 가장 높은 원인임을 밝혔다. 이와 같은 발견에 근거하여 외국어 듣기 평가의 문항 개발에 대한 함의와 앞으로의 연구 방향을 논의하였다. This study aims to illustrate a psychometric and interpretive procedure for detecting gender-biased items in a standardized English listening comprehension test for secondary school students. The target test, which has been administered nationwide twice a year through Education Broadcast System since 1991, is composed of 20 multiple-choice items designed to assess students ability to understand monologic and dialogic spoken discourses about a range of familiar topics. Data for analysis were collected from 875 first-year students in a middle school (450 male, 425 female). In order to avoid theory-laden and method-contingent results, two classical (M-H and logistic regression) and two IRT-based methods (Rasch and IRTLRDIF) were employed in parallel. The final phase of analysis identified two uniform and two non-uniform items that functioned unequally by gender. The follow-up content analysis revealed that conversation topics were the most likely cause of the bias. Some implications for item development and fairness in the assessment of foreign language listening ability and directions of future research are discussed on the basis of the findings.

국내 영어교육학 연구의 최근 동향과 발전 방향 -『영어영문학21』 2017-2019년 게재 논문의 종합적 고찰

최문홍 ( Mun-hong Choe ),나윤희 ( Yoon-hee Na ),조영아 ( Young Ah Cho ) 21세기영어영문학회 2020 영어영문학21 Vol.33 No.3

This article discusses the significance and limitations of the studies concerning English language teaching (ELT) published in English 21 over the last 3 years (2017-2019) as an attempt to identify the current state and desirable directions of research. A total of 59 studies were post-hoc classified into three topic areas: (1) ELT methodology, (2) teachers, learners, and social contexts, and (3) materials, tools, and linguistic analyses of learner language. Evaluative comments were made not only on the internal and external validity of each study but on the overall contribution of recent efforts in the three broad areas. This review also takes account of the ideological and practical limitations of language teaching under the doctrinal guidelines of Communicative Language Teaching, and speculates that language learning in the next generation (and the teaching thereof) will be largely driven by and adjusted to personal needs rather than social ones. Finally, some suggestions for future research are drawn from the discussion.

한국어 장형 부정문의 비해석성 격자질에 대한 아동 학습자의 문법적 민감성: 예비 실험

최문홍(Choe, Mun-Hong) 숭실대학교 영재교육연구소 2020 Global Creative Leader Vol.10 No.2

이 연구는 명시적 지도 없이 자연스런 환경에서 노출된 정보에 의지해서는 그 규칙성을 파악하기 어려운 문법적 제약에 대해 아동 학습자들이 민감하게 반응하는지 알아볼 목적으로 수행되었다. 이 목적에 적합한 문법 요소로 한국어 장형 부정문에 작용하는 비해석성 격자질을 선택하였고, 4~5세 취학 전 아동 5명을 대상으로 예비 실험을 실시하였다. 실험에 참여한 아동들에게 문장을 하나씩 들려주고 따라 말하게 한 뒤, 잘못된 부분이 있는지 판단하게 했다. 잘못된 부분이 있다고 대답한 경우에는 어느 곳을 고쳐야 하는지 물었다. 연구 결과, 개인차가 어느 정도 관찰되었으나 모든 아동들이 문법적 격 부가와 비문법적 격 부가를 민감하게 구분하고 있음을 발견했다. 특히 비문법적 격표지가 포함된 문장을 따라 말할 때 무의식중에 그 격표지를 빠뜨리고 발음하는 경우가 자주 목격되었는데, 이는 관련 통사적 정형성에 대한 안정된 내재적 표상이 존재함을 뒷받침한다. The purpose of this study was to investigate child language learners’ sensitivity to grammatical constraints that are not sufficiently evident in the input that they receive. The uninterpretable feature involved in Korean long-form negation was taken into consideration, where the choice of the nominative -ka or the accusative -ul alternates in association with verb type. Five preschool children (ages between 4;8 and 5;6) were asked to perform an oral repetition task along with a judgment-and-correction task, through which an observation was made to determine if they are sensitive to the grammaticality in question. The results revealed that although there was a measurable degree of individual difference, all the children sensitively discerned grammatical and ungrammatical forms. In particular, they often dropped illegitimate case markers when repeating sentences containing them, implying that they have a firm internal representation of relevant syntactic well-formedness.

Reassessing Syntactic Accounts of English Resultative Constructions

Mun-Hong Choe(최문홍) 한국영어학회 2011 영어학 Vol.11 No.1

고교학점제 선택교과 「영미 문학 읽기」 운영 사례 연구

채시은 ( Sieun Chae ),최문홍 ( Mun-hong Choe ) 21세기영어영문학회 2021 영어영문학21 Vol.34 No.4

This study aims to examine the effects of reading literary works in high school English classes. Based on the study results, some suggestions are made for designing and implementing the elective course, Reading English Literature, in the reformed curriculum for general high schools. A total of 131 students participated in a program course in which they read literary works of their choice in English and carried out follow-up classroom activities. Their perceptions and attitudinal changes were assessed through questionnaires, interviews, and performance observations. The results indicate that reading English literature in the classroom significantly improved students’ attitudes towards English learning. The vast majority of students said they would be willing to take a similar course in the future. Among the opinions of the teacher and students, three are particularly noteworthy: First, more individualized procedures are necessary to promote unmotivated students’ participation in classroom activities. Second, the advantages and limitations of using literature for language teaching can be further clarified by examining the relationship between students’ cognitive and affective involvement in the books they read and their language attainment. Third, individual differences in language aptitude, prior learning experience, proficiency, and learning style appear to modulate the effectiveness of literature-based language teaching to a large extent.

영어 위치 전치사의 다의성 학습에 관한 연구: at, on, in의 인지의미론적 분석을 토대로

김민채(Kim, Minchae),최문홍(Choe, Mun-Hong) 이화여자대학교 교과교육연구소 2020 교과교육학연구 Vol.24 No.5

본 연구는 일반계 고등학교 학생들을 대상으로 영어 위치전치사 at, on, in의 다양한 의미들을 어떻게 인식하고 있는지 살펴볼 목적으로 수행되었다. 전치사 at, on, in의 의미를 원형의미, 변형의미, 확장의미로 분류한 다음, 각 전치사에 대한 의미별, 영어 능숙도 수준별 습득도를 조사하여 원형-변형-확장의 의미 연속성이 습득의 연속성과도 관련이 있는지 알아보았다. 본 연구를 위한 검사지는 의미는 영상도식적이라는 인지언어학의 가정을 근거로 각 의미를 잘 표현하고 있는 도식적 이미지와 사실적 이미지를 혼합하여 만들었다. 주요 결과를 요약하면 다음과 같다. 전치사 in을 제외하고 on과 at의 경우에는 원형적 의미를 잘 습득한 학생들이 변형의미와 확장의미 또한 잘 습득할 가능성이 높았다. 영어 능숙도 수준에 따라서는 상급 학생들이 중급, 초급 학생들에 비해 원형의미와 변형의미의 습득률이 높았지만, 확장의미에 있어서는 크게 다르지 않았다. 또한 at의 경우에는 모든 의미범주에 있어서 상급 학생과 중급 학생 간 차이가 거의 없었다. 의미 경계가 모호한 상황에서 학생들은 주로 on을 선호하였고, at의 사용을 가장 꺼려했다. 이는 on, in, at의 순서로 습득률이 높은 결과와 일치하며, 특히 on의 원형의미와 변형의미에 대한 이해가 상대적으로 더 높은 것과도 관련이 있다. 이는 다양한 상황에서 사용되는 전치사에 대한 노출과 학습이 부족했기 때문이며, 따라서 동일한 공간 장면도 다양한 관점에서의 해석이 가능하고 그에 따라 다른 전치사를 사용할 수 있다는 사실을 주지시킬 필요가 있다. This study examined Korean EFL learners’ difficulty in learning English locative prepositions from a cognitive linguistic perspective. The meanings of at, on, and in, were hypothetically classified into three groups: prototypical, less typical, and extended. Schematic and realistic images were used to represent varying spatial situations, and 156 high school students at different levels of proficiency participated and were asked to choose an appropriate preposition. The results indicate that one’s awareness of prototypical concepts does not necessarily correlate with their ability to choose appropriate prepositions in less typical and extended contexts. However, those who have acquired the basic concepts of the prepositions show a tendency to accommodate them to less typical and extended situations in a target-like way. Although advanced learners demonstrate higher achievement in the normative use of the prepositions in less typical contexts, they were not much different from lower level learners with extended meanings. When spatial relations can be construed differently, they seem to choose a preposition that is more formally, rather than conceptually, familiar to them. All in all, these findings are not consistent with the claim that starting with prototypical usage instances and gradually moving to less typical and abstract ones can facilitate learning.

현행 중학교 영어 교내 지필평가의 내용 및 문항 분석

서혜리(Seo, Hye Ri),최문홍(Mun-Hong Choe) 언어과학회 2017 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.80

This study investigated English achievement tests in middle schools with a focus on the validity of the test items and the characteristic features of the items with low validity. A collected sample of tests (N = 30) was analyzed in terms of overall composition and content validity. The main findings are as follows: Most of the passages in the tests were extremely short; only 14% were 100-words or more in length. About 15% of the items were judged to be weak in validity. The majority of the problematic items were those assessing grammatical knowledge. Many vocabulary items tested students’ knowledge of words’ forms and meaning out of context. The lack of unity of the extracted passages and unsuitable answer choices were the most common threats to the validity of reading comprehension items. The items assessing students’ comprehension and production of conversational expressions most often took the form of a single question and answer exchange.

자기주도적 학습전략 훈련을 연계한 지역수준 영어교육정책의 적용 사례연구

박선아(Park Seon A),최문홍(Choe Mun Hong) 학습자중심교과교육학회 2015 학습자중심교과교육연구 Vol.15 No.3

본 연구는 지역수준의 교과교육정책 중 충청남도교육청의 ‘영어교과서 외우기’에 대 한 현장의 인식과 실태를 조사하고 실제 교실 수업에 적용하여 그 효과를 알아보고자 했다. 해당 지역 영어교사를 대상으로 설문조사를 실시한 결과 학교급별, 지역별로 상 당한 차이를 보였다. 고등학교에 비해 중학교에서, 시보다는 읍면지역에서 관련 활동 및 행사의 실시율이 높았다. 대다수의 교사들은 이 활동이 대체로 효과적이라고 생각 하고 있었으며, 의사소통능력의 향상보다는 학생들에게 자신감을 심어주는 데 도움이 된다는 의견이 많았다. 다음으로 면 소재 소규모 중학교에서 16차시에 걸친 교과서외 우기 활용 수업을 진행하여 학생들에게 어떤 변화가 나타나는지 관찰하였다. 기계적 암기와 확인으로 이루어진 수업이 아닌 매 차시 학습의 과정과 결과를 학습일지에 적 어 자기에게 맞는 학습전략을 찾도록 유도하였다. 처음에는 무엇을 어떻게 해야 할지 어려워하던 학생들이 점차 학습에 대해 고민하고 서로 의논하며 새롭게 알게 된 지식 을 보다 구체적으로 기록하는 모습을 관찰할 수 있었다. 각 활동에 적극적으로 참여하 고 꾸준히 일지를 작성한 학생들은 교과서 암기뿐만 아니라 영어에 대한 자신감과 흥 미 또한 크게 향상되었다. 이는 자신의 학습과정을 반성하고 다양한 학습전략을 자율 적으로 시도해본 경험이 학습에 대한 책임감과 성취감을 고취시키는 데 효과가 있음 을 의미한다. Many regional offices of education in Korea have designed and implemented their own policies for enhancing students’ ability to speak English, and in this nationwide commitment to English language teaching, Chungcheongnamdo Office of Education has promoted the project called ‘English Textbook Memorization’ since 2011. In this study, the effects of the policy on classroom teaching and learning practices were investigated. A survey of English teachers’ perception of the policy revealed that their opinions differed according to the levels and locations of schools. The vast majority of teachers agreed that textbook memorization can promote students’ sense of accomplishment and give a higher degree of self-efficacy to low-achieving students. According to teachers in rural areas, it also helped reduce dependency on private education and facilitate self-directed learning. Then, a program consisting of 16 lessons based on textbook memorization was designed and conducted in a middle school. At first, it was difficult to incorporate the activity in regular classes because of time constraints and students’ low motivation. To resolve this problem, the lessons and activities were reorganized in a way that could encourage students to use self-directed learning and mnemonic strategies. In addition, students were asked to write reflection journals about what and how they learned in each class. It was found that students had been gradually trained to describe what they newly learned in detail while trying to find out the best way they could learn and memorize. In the end of the program, they seemed to recognize the importance of memorization and be capable of utilizing various learning strategies. Although macro-scale quantitative assessments of governmental policies are common, few studies have been concerned with how districtwide educational policies are actually practiced. The present study suggests that educational policies should be designed and implemented in a way that supports both teachers and students in practice, with reference to an accumulating body of case studies that offer first-hand qualitative observations and insights thereof.

The Conceptual Sources of Metaphorical Expressions for Love in Chinese and English

서자원 ( Xu Ziyuan ),최문홍 ( Choe Mun-hong ) 전남대학교 인문학연구소 2016 용봉인문논총 Vol.- No.49

본 연구는 영어와 중국어의 관습적인 은유를 비교해보고 그 유사점과 차이점을 체화된 인지와 문화적 관점에서 살펴보았다. 은유는 인간의 보편적인 사고 작용의 산물로서 원천 개념과 목표 개념의 대응 관계가 언어적으로 구현된 것이라는 Lakoff와 Johnson(1980)의 이론을 분석의 틀로 삼았다. 여기서는 특히 사랑을 목표 개념으로 어떤 원천 개념들이 두 언어에서 사용되고 있는지에 초점을 두고 탐구하였다. 두 언어에서 사용되는 사랑과 관련된 은유적 표현들은 공통적으로 불, 전쟁, 여행 등과 같은 보다 구체적이고 감지 가능한 개념들에 기반을 두고 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 이는 신체적 경험이 은유적 확장의 기초가 된다는 주장을 뒷받침한다. 두 언어 간 차이점도 발견되었는데, 영어의 경우 특징적으로 물품, 도취, 신성 등의 원천 개념을 사용하고 있었으며 중국어는 식물, 운명, 농산물 등의 원천 개념을 사용하고 있었다. 이와 같은 차이는 종교, 식생활, 문명의 유래 등과 같은 사회문화적 특수성에 기인한 것으로 사료된다. This article presents a comparison of conventional emotion metaphors in two typologically distant languages, English and Chinese, and seeks to account for their similarities and differences from a cognitive and cultural perspective. The analysis is based on Lakoff and Johnson’s (1980) theory of conceptual metaphor, according to which metaphorical expressions are linguistic realizations of the mappings between the source and target conceptual domains. The source domains through which the concept of love is expressed and understood in the two languages are investigated in some detail. A notable finding is that metaphorical expressions for love in the two languages are similarly rooted in more palpable concepts such as war, fire, and journey. This lends support to the hypothesis that bodily experiences serve the basis for metaphorical extension across languages and constitute cognitive universals. There also exist culture-specific conceptual mappings. In expressing love-related concepts, English speakers characteristically employ commodities, euphoria, and deity, whereas Chinese speakers utilize agricultural products and predestination. These differences can be attributed to cultural specifics pertaining to origins of civilization, religious beliefs, and eating customs, among a range of further possibilities.

읽기 후 그림책 만들기와 독후감 쓰기 활동이 초등학생의 영어 학습에 미치는 영향

최여은 ( Yeo Eun Choe ),최문홍 ( Mun Hong Choe ) 21세기영어영문학회 2016 영어영문학21 Vol.29 No.1

This study investigated the effects of post-reading drawing and writing activities on Korean elementary school students’ L2 English vocabulary learning and reading comprehension, along with the students`` affective reactions. The participants in this study were 16 elementary school students who were enrolled in an education program supported by a local child welfare center. They read two storybooks over 15 class periods and engaged in either drawing or writing activities in each class. The students’ achievement in vocabulary and reading proficiency was measured by formative and summative tests, and their affective responses were observed through questionnaires, interviews, and the instructor’s reflective journals. It was found that both activities had eventually enhanced the students’ academic and affective states. Writing activities were more effective than drawing activities in vocabulary learning and reading comprehension, while drawing activities evoked more positive reactions. In particular, the effects of the two activities were significantly different only in delayed performance as measured by summative tests. However, proficiency seemed to mediate the effects to a considerable degree; advanced students benefited more from drawing activities, whereas low-level students benefited more from writing activities. These findings suggest that post-reading activities can be more successful when their characteristic effects on students’ cognitive and affective dimensions are considered and implemented in a way that complements student proficiency.