Using Electronic Speaking Portfolios for Assessment in the EFL Classroom: Students’ Perspectives

곽연우,Judy Yin 한국영어학회 2018 영어학 Vol.18 No.4

Kwak, Yeonwoo. and Judy Yin. 2018. Using electronic speaking portfolios for assessment in the EFL classroom: Students’ perspectives. Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics 18-3, 442-469. The present study investigates students’ perceptions of using electronic speaking portfolios in the EFL (English as a foreign language) classroom. In particular, the study explores students’ experiences throughout the portfolio cycle and aims to find out the students' perceptions of the e-speaking portfolio as an assessment as well as a learning tool. A total of 17 undergraduate students enrolled in the Basic English Speaking course posted ten video clips of their speaking activities, including five initial oral drafts and five revised versions, on their blogs throughout the semester. The students were asked to keep a reflective journal every week about their experience and were interviewed twice. The results of the study show that students benefited from experiencing recursive cycles as they accumulated their entries. In addition, students perceived the e-speaking portfolio as an effective learning tool and an assessment tool as the e-speaking portfolio provided the essential diagnostic information to guide their awareness of their current state and directions for improvement. From the Assessment as Learning (AaL) perspective, this study suggests that the e-speaking portfolio be implemented as a tool to enhance learning by means of diagnostic assessment.

“That’s Me as an English Teacher”: Using Metaphor Drawings to Assist Secondary English Teachers to Explore their Identities

Judy Yin 학습자중심교과교육학회 2024 학습자중심교과교육연구 Vol.24 No.1

Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore Korean Secondary English teachers’ professional identities by using metaphor drawings. Methods A total of 15 secondary English teachers participated in this study and their metaphoric drawings at the beginning and the end of the course were collected as data. Furthermore, their reflective presentations and interview excerpts were transcribed for data analysis using a qualitative approach. Results The results showed that exploring their identities using metaphors allowed them to reflect on a wide range of issues such as their teaching practices, relationship with students, and burdening factors. They were also able to address issues that were unclear prior to the course by means of depicting their identities using metaphors and sharing them with others. Conclusions The findings of the study are in line with other studies that regard metaphors as an effective cognitive tool in shedding light on the teachers’ identities. The analysis of their metaphors also showed that they were able to reflect on how knowledge and experience gained from the teacher program have impacted their thoughts and beliefs.

The effects of training on in-service teachers` perceptual changes of TEE

( Judy Yin ) 한국중등영어교육학회 2013 중등영어교육 Vol.6 No.1

This study focuses on the experiences of in-service teachers during a TEE (Teaching English in English) training course and analyzes how their perceptions regarding teaching a course in English have changed within a semester. Thirteen in-service teachers who were enrolled in a TEE training course at a graduate school were interviewed in order to obtain a better understanding of their perceptions. The results showed that their initial concerns were mainly about speaking English when teaching the lessons. In particular, when the teachers were asked about which area they would like to improve, a majority of them answered that they wanted to improve their English skills. However, after completing three teaching demonstrations and getting feedbacks of their demonstrations, the teachers’ concerns shifted toward general classroom management including organization of the activities and interacting with students. The results suggest that there is a need for developing training programs that can provide teachers with a comfortable setting to lower their anxiety in using English as well as providing proper feedback. Some implications are given in terms of developing TEE programs that are more feasible and applicable for English teachers in Korea.

The Effects of Multi-Source Feedback on EFL Students’ Reflection of English Speaking Skills

Judy Yin 한국영어교과교육학회 2017 영어교과교육 Vol.16 No.3

The present study investigates the effects of multi-source feedback on EFL students’ reflection of their English speaking skills. In particular, the study aims to examine how feedback from the teacher and peers can allow opportunities for students to reflect and lead to enhanced awareness of their own L2 speaking skills. A total of 17 participants gave five in-class presentations on various topics and were provided feedback from the teacher and peers on their presentations. In addition, they recorded their reflections on their learning experiences in their reflective journals. The results of the study showed that the participants were able to gain a wide perspective of their L2 speaking skills by means of feedback from multiple sources. These newly gained perspective provided opportunities for them gain deeper awareness as well as experience a more focused self-reflection. The implication of the study points out the importance of feedback from multiple sources that are continuously provided over a period of time rather than a one-time feedback from only one source.

Exploring Pre-Service English Teachers’ Professional Identity Through Digital Welcome Letter

Judy Yin 한국중등영어교육학회 2022 중등영어교육 Vol.15 No.3

The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of their professional identities through the process of composing digital welcome letter. In particular, the aim of this study was to examine how the participants reflected on their professional identity as they worked on their digital welcome letter and the effects of digitizing contents on their professional identity. A total of 35 undergraduate students participated in this study and their digital welcome letters, reflective response sheet, and interviews were collected as data. The triangulated data were analyzed according the categories suggested by Pennington and Richards (2016). The results showed that digital welcome letter encouraged the pre-service teachers to conduct anticipatory reflection (Conway, 2001) that allowed them to consider what type of identities they associate with the image of a “good” teacher. Furthermore, they became aware of complex configurations of their teacher identities that are intertwined with their foreign language learner identity. Digitizing their introduction allowed the pre-service teachers to reflect on how they can better communicate with their students as well as ways to build a positive and constructive rapport with their students in the future. Implications highlight the importance of teacher educators’ role in helping pre-service teachers navigate their developing professional identities and placing less emphasis on methodology-focused training.

The Effects of Students’ Questioning while Writing on Their Usage of Teacher’s Feedback and Writing Process

Judy Yin 한국영어교과교육학회 2023 영어교과교육 Vol.22 No.3

When students receive feedback from the teacher that is not in line with what they actually struggled with while writing, the feedback does not achieve the goal of having students reflect while revising. Thus, giving and receiving feedback requires meaningful interaction between the teacher and the student. Moreover, students should also take an active role when seeking feedback so that they can prevent themselves from becoming passive writers. In this regard, this study focuses on how students’ questioning during writing affects their writing process as well as how they use teachers’ feedback. A total of 15 undergraduate freshmen participated in this study. They wrote a total of 6 writing assignments and were asked to attach questions to their rough drafts to which the teacher would provide responses. The results showed that having to question while writing allowed them to develop self-revision skills as well as lexical and structural sensitivity. In addition, they explained that they appreciated teacher’s comments more and utilized them more when they revised their work by receiving the feedback in response forms. The study provides implications to a more strategic way of developing a constructive dynamic between writing teachers and students.

Pragmatic Competence of Korean EFL Learners : An Analysis of Interlanguage Pragmatics in the Speech Act of Complaining

Yin. Judy 학습자중심교과교육학회 2016 학습자중심교과교육연구 Vol.16 No.11

본 연구에서는 한국 영어학습자의 불평화행(the communicative act of complaining)의 화용 능력을 살펴보고 불평 화행에서 원어민과 비원어민의 의미공식(semantic formula)의 차이가 있는지를 알아보고자 한다. 이에 13명의 참여자들에게 담화역할극과제(Discourse Role-Play Task): DRPT) 를 사용하여 불평을 요구하는 7개의 상황을 제시하고 역할극을 통해 불평 화행을 살펴보았다. 또한 제시된 상황에서 참여자들이 실제로 불평을 할 것인지를 파악하여 화용 능력에 중요한 역할을 하는 요소로 보았다. 연구 결과에서 원어민과 비원어민의 불평화행에서 의미공식의 차이가 있음을 확인할 수 있었다. 예를 들어, 비원어민의 영어 발화에서 예의전략(politeness strategies)에 대한 과민함을 확인할 수 있었으며 원어민이 사용하지 않는 의미 공식을 사용하여 불평을 간접적으로 표현하는 경향이 나타났다. 특히, 실제 상황에서는 불평을 하지 않을 것이라는 것이 이러한 차이점이 나타나는데 중요한 역할을 하였다. 연구의 결론으로 연구결과가 보여주는 경향과 교수학습 제안을 논의하였다. The purpose of this study is to investigate the pragmatic competence of Korean EFL learners in the communicative act of complaining. This study attempt to find out whether there are differences between Native Speakers (NS) and Non-Native Speakers (NNS) in terms of their use of semantic formula when carrying out the speech act of complaining. In addition, the participants’ choice for carrying out or opting out the actual act of complaining was considered as an influential factor that plays an essential role in their pragmatic competence. Lastly, Native Korean Speakers (NKS) were also included in the study in order to determine whether there are L1 influences. 13 participants (2 NS, 7 NNS, 4 NKS) participated in Discourse Role-Play Tasks (DRPT) which included 7 situations where they had to formulate a complaint. Furthermore, they were to specify whether they would opt out or carry out the actual complaint in authentic situations. The results of the study showed that there were NS and NNS differed in terms of their use of semantic formula. For instance, NNS were shown to be overly sensitive to politeness strategies in addition to using a wide range of semantic formulae that characterize their complaints as indirect. Moreover, their choices and reasons for opting out were shown to be influential in their final oral product. Related conclusive remarks and pedagogical implications are provided.

The Production-Oriented Approach to Teaching Writing in Korea: English as a Foreign Language Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences with Reading-to-Write

Judy Yin 아시아테플 2019 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.16 No.2

This study examined the experiences of pre-service English-as-a-foreign language teachers in a reading-to-write class. In particular, the study focused on how the class based on the Production-Oriented Approach (POA) proposed by Wen (2018) affected their reading during the reading-to-write tasks and their writing process when using reading materials. In addition, the factors that played essential roles in affecting the participants’ writing process were identified and discussed. A total of 18 pre-service EFL English teachers in Korea participated in this study. The data were collected from class observations, group discussions, reflective journals, and interviews. The results of the study showed that the participants had no prior training in using reading materials to enhance their writing skills, thus, they perceived reading tasks and writing tasks as two separate activities. As the participants carried out activities that promoted writerly reading, they learned how to mine the text and use what they found when they wrote their summaries and essays. The factors that were identified as encouraging such an effect were found to be closely related to the principles and hypotheses of POA. The findings of this study provides data to support the applicability of POA in teaching writing in the Korean EFL context and suggests factors that need to be considered when adopting this approach for teaching writing.

Process of Korean Students’ Pragmatic Development in English during Explicit Metapragmatic Instruction: Focus on Request Emails

Judy Yin 한국영어교과교육학회 2020 영어교과교육 Vol.19 No.3

The present study explores the process of how Korean students develop pragmatic competence when writing request emails during metapragmatic instruction. In particular, the study focuses on how students’ usage of request strategies, lexical devices, external modifications, and request perspectives change during the metapragmatic instructional period. Descriptive analysis of the usage frequency of politeness devices was conducted to examine changes before and after the instruction. In addition, the participants’ accounts during the metapragmatic discussions and retrospective interviews were analyzed to ascertain their intentions of the requests as well as their experiences during the instructional period. The results of the study showed that the participants developed pragmatic competence as they enhanced their awareness of the difference between what they had intended and what was actually conveyed. Moreover, the metapragmatic discussions among their peers in regard to the source of the pragmatic failure as well as their developing pragmatic awareness allowed them to experience meaningful interactions. The study stresses the need for explicit metapramatic instructions along with encouragements for metapragmatic discussions to reflect on the norms of the target culture along with their own pragmatic knowledge for Korean students to enhance their pragmatic competence.

Empowering Teachers through Core Reflection: A Case in Korea

Judy Yin 아시아테플 2018 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.15 No.4

This study explored the reflection process of secondary in-service English teachers during a graduate course. In particular, the study aimed to examine the type of reflection the teachers are engaged in as they strive toward experiencing core reflection. In addition, the restricting and contributing factors during the process of reflection were also looked into. A total of 17 in-service secondary English teachers participated in this study. The data were collected from class observations, group discussions, reflective presentations, and interviews. The results of the study showed that they struggled at first due to many restricting factors such as lack of training to conduct structured reflections and ongoing administrative concerns. As they progressed and focused on a particular question that triggered further reflection, they were able to collaboratively reflect on a shared theme. This enabled them to confront their long-term difficulties and finally move forward. The implication of the study points out the importance of proper training to conduct effective reflection on a regular basis and the efforts to provide programs that focus on helping teachers to redefine imported theories and methods so that they can appropriately apply them in their classrooms.