Does accurate sound perception facilitate accurate sound production?

Yang, Miran 이화여자대학교 영미학연구소 2005 영어학 연구 Vol.- No.10

The influence of learners' first language(L1) is rather critical in second language(L2) acquisition, even though it does not explain every phenomena of L2 acquisition. However, it is well-known that L1 transfer is commonly observed in acquiring pronunciation of L2. Some researchers claim that learners fail to produce a certain sound of L2, because phonological process is largely unconscious so that learners have difficulty perceiving it. The purpose of the study is to investigate whether L1 phonological process of L1 is transferred to the L2 acquisition and whether accurate perception of sound facilitates accurate production of it. The results showed that it transferred to L2 acquisition, but there was no correlation found between accurate perception and production of the sound.

A Comparison of the Efficacy Between Input-based Instruction and Output-based Instruction in Focus on Form

Yang, Miran 한국영어교육학회 2004 ENGLISH TEACHING(영어교육) Vol.59 No.2

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy between input-based instruction and output-based instruction for acquisition of the English present perfect continuous tense. Seventy second-year university EFL students were divided into two groups based on the results of a reading proficiency test. The superior effects of output-based instructions in previous studies seemed to be due to its elaborateness in feedback and cognitive demand. Thus, the comprehension group conducted more elaborate comprehension task with textually enhanced material, while the production group performed a dictogloss which was modified to unify the modality of input for both groups. Pre- and post-test data were analyzed by using the T-test. Results showed that input-based instruction was as effective as output-based instruction in both the comprehension and production of the target form. It also revealed that output-based instruction contributed to the learners’ accurate use of the target form. Over-crowded classrooms and teachers with inappropriate English speaking abilities are the norms in an EFL context. This study shows that input-based instructions may be good alternatives in such a context.

A Few Considerations in Using Textual Input Enhancement Based on the Cognitive View

Yang, Miran(양미란) 한국영어교과교육학회 2010 영어교과교육 Vol.9 No.2

The purpose of the present study is to examine the role of attention in language learning and how it affects focus-on-form instruction. It also suggests some considerations in using textual input enhancement, which is a common technique of focus-on-form instruction in non-communicative context. In order to give better understanding of the role of attention as the construct of focus-on-form instruction, some cognitive views related to the role of attention in language learning and their relationship were examined and various studies related to textual input enhancement were reviewed in terms of the additional tasks accompanied and their effectiveness. In conclusion, the critical role of attention in focus-on-form instruction, depletion of attention on comprehension when learners' attention is prioritized forms over meaning, and more elaborate ways to enhance input such as explicit rule explanation. teacher's additional feedback or input flood should be considered for more successful use of textual input enhancement in EFL classrooms.

The Effects of Task Difficulty on Learners' Attention to Meaning and Form during Focus-on-Form Instruction

Miran Yang 한국외국어교육학회 2008 Foreign languages education Vol.15 No.3

The purpose of focus-on-form instruction is to attract learners' attention effectively to linguistic forms of the target language during a meaning-focused activity. However, there is always competition of learners' attention between to form and meaning due to the fact that human attentional resources are limited. Task difficulty is identified asa critical factor which depletes learners' attention during language activities by many researchers. The purpose of the present study is to examine how task difficulty affects the allocation of learners' attention between form and meaning during different types of focus-on-form instruction, which are Textual input enhancement and Dictogloss. The results showed that learners' attention to form during the instruction was not affected by the task difficulty, while their attention to meaning was negatively affected by it. it means that focus-on-form instruction needs to be designed appropriately based on learners' level of language proficiency in order for it not to be focus-on-formS instruction which focus only on linguistic forms separately from meaning.

The Effects of Teaching Prosody on L2 Listening Comprehension

Miran Yang 한국외국어교육학회 2013 Foreign languages education Vol.20 No.1

The prosodic features are known to be the meaning- bearing units for effective communication and learners in L2 as well as L1 make use of the prosodic cues both in production and comprehension. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effectiveness of teaching the prosodic features in L2 learners' listening comprehension. The participants were eighteen students who enrolled in a pronunciation practice course at a 3-year college located in a local city of Korea. The pre- and post tests were given at the beginning and end of 15 week training on word stress, rhythm, and intonation. The tests were analyzed by a paired t-test to investigate the improvement of listening comprehension ability. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between the tests except one part of them, which means that the prosodic features affect L2 listening process in a certain type of the task. The limitations of the current study remain for further investigation utilizing different types of tasks and measures.

The Effects of SQ3R Instruction on Learners’ Self-Efficacy and Reading Ability in College Academic Reading

Miran Yang,Kyunghye Kim 한국외국어교육학회 2016 Foreign languages education Vol.23 No.2

The purpose of the current study is to present a class model of SQ3R instruction, which consists of 5 stages of reading strategy, Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review for foreign language learning and to investigate its effects on learners’ self-efficacy and their reading comprehension. Five reading steps of reading strategy were instructed associated with skill practices, annotating, note-taking and summary outlining. A total of 23 students in a college academic reading class participated in the study. Students’ self-selected academic reading materials were used for the course. Reading self-efficacy survey and the academic reading part of IELTS practice test were conducted before and after the instruction. Student products such as annotated texts and reaction writing as well as portfolios were collected and analyzed. The survey and academic reading test results indicated that the learners’ reading self-efficacy and their reading ability were improved and that the students seemed to have gained more confidence in academic reading.

영화를 이용한 비평적 문화교육 연구

양미란(Yang, Miran),방영주(Bang, Youngjoo) 한국영어어문교육학회 2011 영어어문교육 Vol.17 No.4

The purpose of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of the cultural instruction based on the critical pedagogy through film. The participants were 21 college students enrolling ‘Understanding American/British culture’class and the class was 15 week long. During class, they discussed and selected the cultural topics related to the movies, complete the research papers, and then gave presentations. The students’portfolio, which consists of the goal statements, research papers, and the reflective journals, was analyzed to investigate the effectiveness of the instruction. The results showed that the instruction was effective in five aspects. They are, 1)accumulation of the cultural knowledge, 2)better understanding of the target culture and its people, 3)acquisition of the critical perspectives toward the target and their own cultures, 4)teaching method, and 5)increase of the motivation for studying other cultures. The study suggested that the instruction should be applied to Englishmedium class with more advanced students.

A Review of College Girls’ Eating Manner Measurement Tool

Yang Jiwon,Jung Miran 한국보건기초의학회 2019 보건기초의학회지 Vol.12 No.2

This research applies the criteria for qualitative evaluation on the tool for measuring eating manner, and selecting the most appropriate tool for measuring Korean college girls’ eating manner in the most qualitative manner. Researches were done through PubMed on papers published on journals from 2003 to 2013, with the main search words as “eating attitude”, “eating disorder.” Using pre-determined inclusion criteria, two reviews independently studies for full-text review, extracting data and grading instrument validity using an eating manner tool. Out of the final 15 papers selected in this research, a total of 8 tools were used to measure college girls’ eating manner As the final result of applying each tool’s qualitative criteria, EDE-Q and EDDS was selected as the best qualitative tool with 14 points, EDI-2 had 11 points, EAT-40 and EAT-26 with 10 points, DRES and EDI with 9 points, SCOFF with 4 points. Therefore, by applying EDE-Q and EDDS which had the same total score in further researches, the validity of Korean college students’ eating manner can be compared and evaluated, and the foundation for confirming and evaluating structural model is established. Based upon this research, there is a necessity for the follow up of confirming the eating manner tool which acts best criteria by applying EDE-Q and EDDS with Korean college girls as targets. Also, considering a change in male aesthetic criteria and heightened attention on appearances, positive research on whether there are gender differences is required.

Highly Efficient and Stable Organic Photo-Sensitizers based on Triphenylamine with Multi-anchoring Chromophore for Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

양현식(Yang, Hyunsik),정대영(Jung, Daeyoung),정미란(Jung, Miran),김재홍(Kim, Jaehong) 한국신재생에너지학회 2010 한국신재생에너지학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2010 No.06

Organic dyes, because of their many advantages, such as high molar extinction coefficients, convenience of customized molecular design for desired photophysical and photochemical properties, inexpensiveness with no transition metals contained, and environment-friendliness, are suitable as photosensitizers for the Dye-sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC). The efficiency of DSSC based on metal-free organic dyes is known to be much lower than that of Ru dyes generally, but a high solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency of up to 8% in full sunlight has been achieved by Ito et al. using an indoline dye. This result suggests that smartly designed and synthesized metal-free organic dyes are also highly competitive candidates for photosensitizers of DSSCs with their advantages mentioned above. Recently, the performance of DSSC based on metal-free organic dyes has been remarkably improved by several groups. We had reported the novel organic dye with double electron acceptor chromophore, which was a new strategy to design an efficient photosensitizer for DSSC. To verify the strategy, we synthesized organic dyes whose geometries, electronic structures and optical properties were derived from preceding density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations. In this paper, we successfully synthesized the chromophore containing multi-acceptor push-pull system from triphenylamine with thiophene moieties as a bridge unit. Organic dyes with a single electron acceptor and double acceptor system were also synthesized for comparison purposes. The photovoltaic performances of these dyes were compared, and the recombination dark current curves and the incident photon-to-current (IPCE) efficiencies were also measured in order to characterize the effects of the multi-anchoring groups on the open-circuit voltage and the short-circuit current. In order to match specifications required for practical applications to be implemented outdoors, light soaking and thermal stability tests of these DSSCs, performed under 100mWcm^{-2} and 60?C for 1000h.

Structure-Based Discovery of Novel Cyclophilin A Inhibitors for the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus Infections

( Suhui Yang ),( Jyothi K. R. ),( Sangbin Lim ),( Tae Gyu Choi ),( Jin-Hwan Kim ),( Salima Akter ),( Miran Jang ),( Hyun-Jong Ahn ),( Hee-Young Kim ),( Marc P. Windisch ),( Daulat B. Khadka ),( Chao Z 전남대학교 약품개발연구소 2015 약품개발연구지 Vol.24 No.-

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major cause of end-stage liver disease. Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), including inhibitors of nonstructural proteins (NS3/4A protease, NS5A, and NS5B polymerase), represent key components of anti-HCV treatment, but these are associated with increased drug resistance and toxicity. Thus, the development of host-targeted antiviral agents, such as cyclophilin A inhibitors, is an alternative approach for more effective, selective, and safer treatment. Starting with the discovery of a bis-amide derivative 5 through virtual screening, the lead compound 25 was developed using molecular modeling-based design and systematic exploration of the structure-activity relationship. The lead 25 lacked cytotoxicity, had potent anti-HCV activity, and showed selective and high binding affinity for CypA Unlike cyclosporin A, 25 lacked immunosuppressive effects, successfully inhibited the HCV replication, restored host immune responses without acute toxicity in vitro and in vivo, and exhibited a high synergistic effect in combination with other drugs. These findings suggest that the bis-amides have Significant potential to extend the arsenal of HCV therapeutics.