Will a U.S. Earned Ph.D. Help a Teacher Educator Apply Theory to Practice in Korea?: A Case Study

Lee, Yoo-Jean The English Teachers Association in Korea 2009 영어어문교육 Vol.15 No.3

As great attention is given to a high quality of English education in Korea, more and more in-service and pre-service English teachers are looking for an opportunity to study in an English speaking country to become better qualified teachers. However, after receiving a degree in an English speaking country, many teachers fail to apply what they have learned to their own teaching due to their tensions of identity, beliefs, knowledge, and professionalism within the changes of sociocultural settings. By using sociocultural theory as a theoretical framework, this paper explores how formal training and Ph.D. studies in the U.S. have influenced a Korean teacher educator in applying theory to practice in relation to her identity, beliefs, knowledge, and professionalism during 30 years of her teaching experience. Rather than facing tensions, the teacher educator has been willing to change her roles, broaden and deepen her beliefs in teaching and knowledge about theory of teaching and learning, and continue her professional development. Limitations and implications of the study are provided.

Does Instruction Affect Korean EFL Learners' Argumentative Writing Performance?: An Analysis of their Organizational Patterns and Processes of Writing

Yoo-Jean Lee,Kyung-Rahn Kim 한국영어어문교육학회 2014 영어어문교육 Vol.20 No.2

This paper examines the instructional effect of organizational patterns of argumentative writing on Korean EFL university students. In order to investigate what their weakest areas are in organizing text and if the instruction could help them develop those areas, thirty Korean university students enrolled in an English writing course entitled, Critical Thinking on Current Issues, were recruited. They were divided into two groups; higher and lower proficiency level groups; and were taught how to write an argumentative essay with good English organizational patterns. By comparing their pre- and postsemester essays, it was found that both the higher and lower level students showed statistically significant improvement in the overall areas of text organization. The instruction thus not only helped them enhance their writing organizational skills but also become much more planned in developing their ideas for writing. In addition, the students generally provided positive comments on the instruction even though they expressed difficulties of writing an argumentative essay. It was thus ascertained that English organizational patterns could be taught so as to bring positive effects on various proficiency levels of Korean university students in developing their organizational skills and planning strategies of writing an argumentative essay.

Sharing Peer Feedback: How Does It Affect EFL Learners’ Oral Presentation Skills?

Yoo-Jean Lee 인문사회과학기술융합학회 2017 예술인문사회융합멀티미디어논문지 Vol.7 No.12

Flipped Vocabulary Learning for Enhancing EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge

Yoo-Jean Lee,Kyung-Rahn Kim 한국영어교과교육학회 2018 영어교과교육 Vol.17 No.2

The purpose of this study is to explore how flipped vocabulary learning in an EFL university class would affect learners in their achievements and perceptions of learning. Thirty intermediate level students registered for a core English course were taught in a flipped way, and the other 30 in a traditional lecture-based manner in vocabulary lesson. Their pre- and post-test results were compared using t-test, and their answers to a survey questionnaire were analyzed to identify some benefits and/or suggestions for either flipped or non-flipped learning type. Although both groups obtained higher scores on their post-test, they showed a statistically significant difference when they were compared with each other, indicating that the flipped class students gained much more improvement (t=6.597, p<.001). In addition, it was found that overall flipped class students were more satisfied with their learning process such as internalizing vocabulary and using it contextually. On the other hand, the majority of the non-flipped class students focused mainly on understanding the meaning of new vocabulary. This study thus confirmed that flipped vocabulary learning can be an effective way of helping students expand vocabulary knowledge as well as improve their satisfaction and motivation in learning.

Teaching Academic Writing through Dramas for Korean EFL University Students

Yoo-Jean Lee 한국영어어문교육학회 2013 영어어문교육 Vol.19 No.3

This paper investigates the effect of using dramas in teaching academic writing for university-level EFL learners. In order to discover whether or not using dramas as a supportive tool for the ordinary textbook would lead to benefit in writing development, two groups of Korean university students with varying proficiency levels in a basic writing class were compared. The experimental group was taught with the dramas of their interest, whereas the control group was taught only with the two main textbooks. Both groups were taught how to write a good academic essay during one semester. The students' performance on the pre- and post-writing tests and their responses to the survey questionnaire were analyzed. It was found that the experimental group improved different areas of writing ability (i.e. content, organization, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics) much more than the control group regardless of different proficiency levels. The former group also provided positive comments on the drama-based writing class, and showed high interest and motivation in developing their writing by making many revisions on their essays. It is thus confirmed that using dramas in English writing class would help Korean university students get more interest, become motivated, and consequently improve their overall writing ability.

Training Pre-Service English Teachers With ICT in English Education : How Will it Affect Their Perceptions?

Yoo-Jean Lee(이유진) 강원대학교 인문과학연구소 2020 인문과학연구 Vol.0 No.67

본 연구에서는 사범대 영어교육과에 재학 중인 예비영어교사들을 대상으로 ICT 훈련과목 운영 방법과 과목에 대한 예비교사들의 인식을 알아보고자 했다. 이전 문헌연구에서는 ICT 훈련 제공에 대한 필요성을 인지하고 있었으나, 실제로 한 학기 동안의 ICT 훈련과목을 예비교사들에게 수강하게 하고 그에 대한 효과를 검증한 연구는 찾아볼 수 없었다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 한국의 한 국립대학에 재학 중인 20명의 예비영어교사들을 대상으로, ‘ICT활용 영어교육’ 과목이 어떻게 운영되었는지 살펴보고, 수업에 대한 학생들의 인식을 설문조사를 통해 알아보았다. 과목 담당교수는 아홉 개의 주제를 선별하여 리딩 자료와 질문지를 제공했으며, 그룹 토의와 발표를 진행하였다. 몇몇 주제와 관련해서는 전문가가 초청 수업을 진행했고, 마지막 프로젝트로는 여러 가지 ICT 도구들을 활용하여 온라인 영상을 제작하는 과제를 진행했다. 연구 결과, 학생들은 수업 내용구성과 진행방식 대해 높은 만족도를 보였으며, 실제 다양한 ICT 도구 활용 경험을 가장 선호하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 향후에도 사범대에서 ICT 훈련과목을 지속적으로 개설하고 예비교사들의 ICT에 대한 경험과 지식을 넓혀 줄 필요성을 보여준다. 마지막으로 연구의 한계점과 사범대 수업과 관련하여 본 연구의 시사점을 제시하였다. The current study explored the ways to implement an ICT training course for pre-service English teachers in the college of education and investigated how they perceive of the course. The previous research recognized the necessity of providing ICT training for pre-service teachers, but no research was found which provided them with a full semester ICT training course examining its effects. This study, therefore, describes how a course named ‘Using ICT for English Education’ was implemented to 20 pre-service English teachers in a national university in Korea. In addition, their perceptions were investigated using a survey questionnaire. The course instructor preselected nine topics, provided reading materials and questions, and had group discussions and presentations. For some topics, experts were invited. Finally, the pre-service teachers were engaged in the final project of creating an online video by using various ICT tools they had learned. It was found that they were satisfied with the course content and procedure/approach. Particularly, they liked actual experience of using various ICT tools the most. It is concluded that it would be important to provide an ICT training course continuously in the college of education and let pre-service teachers accumulate their experience and knowledge on ICT. Some of the limitations and implications for the college of education are presented.

Will a U.S. Earned Ph.D. Help a Teacher Educator Apply Theory to Practice in Korea?

Yoo-Jean Lee 한국영어어문교육학회 2009 영어어문교육 Vol.15 No.3

As great attention is given to a high quality English education in Korea, more and more in-service and pre-service English teachers are looking for an opportunity to study in an English speaking country to become better qualified teachers. However, after receiving a degree in an English speaking country, many teachers fail to apply what they have learned to their own teaching due to their tensions of identity, beliefs, knowledge, and professionalism within the changes of sociocultural settings. By using sociocultural theory as a theoretical framework, this paper explores how formal training and Ph.D. studies in the U.S. have influenced a Korea teacher educator in applying theory to practice in relation to her identity, beliefs, knowledge, and professionalism during 30 years of her teaching experience. Rather than facing tensions, the teacher educator has been willing to change her roles, broaden and deepen her beliefs in teaching and knowledge about theory of teaching and learning, and continue her professional development. Limitations and implications of the study are provided.

Breadth and Depth of Vocabulary Learning:Which Is Better for Improving TOEIC Listening and Reading?

Yoo-Jean Lee 한국영어교과교육학회 2015 영어교과교육 Vol.14 No.3

The present study attempts to investigate the relationship between EFL students’ breadth and depth of vocabulary learning and their performance on the TOEIC listening and reading. One hundred and thirty three Korean EFL university students at various proficiency levels participated in the study and were divided into two separate groups: breadth and depth groups. The students in the breadth group were trained to increase the size of their vocabulary, whereas those in the depth group to develop a deeper knowledge of words. They kept notes of the new words they studied and took a vocabulary quiz every week. They also took the pre- and post-vocabulary tests along with the pre- and post-TOEIC tests. The results obtained from the analysis of the data revealed that breadth of vocabulary learning had a more positive effect on the students’ listening performance, while depth of vocabulary learning a more positive effect on reading achievement. In particular, the higher level students who studied vocabulary in depth showed the greatest improvement in reading. These findings imply that both breadth and depth of vocabulary learning are important to improve students' TOEIC listening and reading ability, but that the latter is more important to achieve a greater extent of improvement at more advanced levels. Implications and suggestions are further discussed.

Still Taboo? Using Machine Translation for Low Level EFL Writers

Yoo-Jean Lee 한국영어교육학회 2022 KATE Forum Vol.46 No.2

중등영어교사의 전문성 향상을 위한 사범대학 연계 직무연수 수요조사 및 프로그램 개발

이유진(Yoo-Jean Lee) 한국영어어문교육학회 2023 영어어문교육 Vol.29 No.2

This study aims to develop a teacher training program to effectively enhance the instructional expertise of secondary school English teachers in Gangwon province by collaborating with a local school of education. In order to achieve this objective, the researcher proceeded with two Focused Group Interviews (FGI) with a total of three English teachers, consisting of one middle school teacher and two high school teachers. A questionnaire was provided ahead of each interview which was carried out via Zoom. Drawing upon the questionnaire responses and the information gathered from the interviews, the researcher analyzed the training experiences and specific needs of the three teachers. Then a 30-period teacher training program was designed, taking into account the identified needs as well as the current state of teacher training. To finalize the program selection criteria and determine its detailed contents, the second interview was conducted, focusing on the proposed 30-period program. It was determined to separate the training programs between middle and high schools, offering both online and offline sessions during regular semesters and vacations. The teachers’ opinions on effective ways to activate training were also provided. Finally, the limitations and implications arising from this research were presented.