This study intends primarily to propose an effective approach in teaching Korean as a Second Language by examining and further categorizing language production errors made by Korean language learners. A secondary purpose of this study is to describe ...
This study intends primarily to propose an effective approach in teaching Korean as a Second Language by examining and further categorizing language production errors made by Korean language learners. A secondary purpose of this study is to describe the different developmental stages in Korean language acquisition through a contrastive analysis of language production errors in terms of different language proficiency levels.
Chapter two presents the methodological aspects of this study. This study used a random sampling method and collected data on a total of 260 students consisting of 95 beginner level, 88 intermediate level, and 77 advanced level students. These students were then categorized into different nationalities as follows: 85 Japanese, 42 Chinese, 35 English, 41 Russian, and 52 students from other minor countries. Data analyzed for this study included a total of 76,872 words which was composed of 25,101 beginner level words, 25,914 intermediate level words, and 25,857 advanced level words.
Chapter three presents precise criteria for determining and classifying language production errors. Examination of correct versus incorrect sentences is reported as one of the important steps in determining production errors. This step shows a general pattern of errors and acts as a significant measure in calculating the percentage of error occurrences. The chapter also includes information on revising errors into correct expressions, another important step in analyzing errors. This step contributes in categorizing errors and determining causes for errors. It is further noted that in the process of revising errors, the researcher should maximize retention of the language learner's intention in using the incorrect expression which is to be revised. There are largely two types of language production errors: content errors and speech errors. Content errors are categorized according to causes for making errors. They include errors due to influence of native language, target language, and educational curricula. Speech errors include errors due to different language boundaries, situational cues, and amount of language that the learner is able to use. This study examines both content and linguistic errors for a more complete picture of expression errors in general.
Chapter four presents a discussion of the results of this study. The average error percentage of beginner level learners is 18.4%. 55% of errors occurred with consonants and 45% occurred with vowels. 65% of consonant errors were made with /ㅈ/, /ㅉ/, and /ㅊ/ sounds. The most errors among adverbs were made with the use of '-은/는‘ and '-이/가.’ Frequency of errors were, in order of occurrence, '-은/는,‘ ’-이/가,‘ ’-을/를,‘ and '-에.’ particle ‘-에게,’ and particle, ‘-을/를' replacement occurred most frequently among case particle errors. Further, there were two major types of tense errors. One was a replacement of past tense in place of the present tense and the usage of present tense in place of ending modifiers when using action verbs. Ending errors mostly consisted of interchanged usage of connectors, sequential connector, ‘-아서,’ and ‘-고.’ The causes for this error are stated in terms of the difficulty of using ‘-아서’ and the lack of text materials that deal with proper usage of ‘-아서.’ Results from detailed examination of relationships between beginner level errors and pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary show that there are significant relationships between case particles and auxiliaries, case particles and nominal/adjectival final endings, auxiliaries and conjunctive particles, and auxiliaries and verb tenses (p<0.1.)
Chapter five examines language production errors made by intermediate level learners. Intermediate level learners showed the highest percentage of expression errors, 19.56%, which is 1.96% higher than that of beginner level learners. This result is due to the intermediate learner's confusion between learned material and material being learned. Mispronunciation of /ㅈ/, /ㅉ/, /ㅊ/ sounds occurred most in pronunciation and replacements of auxiliaries, ‘-은/는,’ with subjective particles, ‘-이/가’ and subjective particles, ‘-이/가’ with objective particles, ‘-을/를’ occurred frequently as well. There were many tense errors made due to difficulty in following tensification rules in sentences with conjunctive endings/connectors The most frequent ending errors were replacements of sequence connector, ‘-아서’ and ‘-고.’ In conclusion, examination of the relationships between the percentage of intermediate learner errors and pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary categories respectively indicated a significant relationship between case particles and particles that carry meaning, case particles and nominal/adjectival final endings, case particles and auxiliary adjectival verb endings, and nominal/adjectival final endings and tense. (p<0.1.)
Chapter six examines errors made by advanced level learners. The advanced level students showed the lowest percentage of errors, 14%. Alike the intermediate learners, the advanced learners made the most errors in pronouncing the /ㅈ/, /ㅉ/, /ㅊ/ sounds. Among the particles examined, particles that carry meaning had the lowest rate of error occurrence. The most frequent error in tensification was the replacement of past tenses with present tenses. Errors, though less frequent, also occurred in the misuse of personal pronouns in formal speech situations. Examination of relationships between advanced level learner errors and pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary resulted in significant relationships between case particle and particles that carry meaning, connector, conjunctive particles, nominal/adjectival final endings, and tense(p< 0.1.)
Chapter seven presents quantitative results of the study based on statistical results. This study used the SPSS (10.0 Window Version) program and conducted an ANCOVA(Analysis of Covariance) with mother tongue, level of proficiency, and gender as independent variables and grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation as dependent variables. Results of the study indicate that within analysis of mother tongues, there is a significant relationship among case particles, modifier endings, and topic particles. In addition, largely, English speaking learners made the most mistakes. Russian speaking learners made the least mistakes with case particles and modifier endings. T-test results indicate that there are no significant relationships between and among variables tested. Further quantitative results show that the percentage of errors made by intermediate level learners regarding conjunctive endings and auxiliary verbs is lower than that made by beginner level learners. Additional analysis was conducted with gender as an independent variable. Although there is a lack of research on this type of analysis, this study reports significant gender differences in language production errors.
Chapter eight presents implications and recommendations regarding approaches for an effective Korean language education. Five main aspects that educators need to be aware of when applying results from this study in their Korean language classrooms are as follows: 1) provision of sufficient input; 2) provision of sufficient feedback to the learners; 3) provision of sufficient information on an grammatical feature; 4) effective methods to stimulate learner interest; and 5) provision of assistance to learners to correct their initial errors. A survey was conducted after an investigation on the learners' abilities to acquire and use ‘-길래’ and palatal sounds, /ㅈ/, /ㅉ/, and /ㅊ/, areas where learners make the most mistakes. Learners reported favorable responses to teacher explanations and game activities. The use of errors to plan and conduct lessons is an effective tool in Korean language education. The pattern of errors provides information on learners' areas of difficulty. Teacher instruction should be given in appropriate doses. Teachers should also equip themselves with sufficient knowledge regarding commonly occurring language errors for a more learner-centered classroom environment. A summary of this present research is as follows. First, this study attempted to overcome the weaknesses of previous comparable studies that only dealt with small populations and narrowed-down categories by examining overall learner production errors and its influence on Korean as a second language education. Second, unlike previous error studies, this study sought to provide a conceptual model of Korean learners' production errors based on errors made by Korean language learners themselves. Last, but not least, this study found ways to give feedback through learner-produced errors especially in developing study materials, syllabus, and evaluation methods. A more detailed guideline for teaching Korean as a second language based on this research study is presented as well. Limitations of this study include the diverse nature of the population studied, level of reliability of results, and the study's focus on written errors as opposed to spoken errors. It is recommended that for more accurate results, researchers take these points into consideration when conducting future comparable studies.