Motivating EFL Students to Engage in Free Voluntary Reading: Does the Format Make a Difference?

( Bokyung Murray ) 21세기영어영문학회 2014 영어영문학21 Vol.27 No.1

Several studies have suggested that free voluntary reading (FVR) is a very useful pedagogical resource to enhance student proficiency in learning English. However, a persistent problem has existed on how best to motivate students to engage in this activity. This was a qualitative study to explore the possibility that reading format, either digital or print, may make a difference in encouraging students to participate more willingly in this activity. Four students in an English reading comprehension class volunteered to be involved in this study. All students in the class were allowed to select reading materials, both in digital and print formats, during the course of the semester. The four study participants were subjected to interviews, observations, and provided diary entries to describe their reactions to reading in these different formats. Charts were developed to present data from observations. Findings indicated that materials in both formats had a generally positive effect on encouraging these students to read, however, their preferences were somewhat inconclusive, with two students favoring digital and two preferred print materials. Data from observations was more definitive and indicated that the digital format was the preferred method for FVR. The study concluded with a discussion of limitations, and some possible implications for the classroom.

Teaching Culture and Its Effect on the Classroom Motivation of Korean EFL Students in a Reading Class

( Bokyung Murray ) 21세기영어영문학회 2017 영어영문학21 Vol.30 No.4

The purpose of this paper is to examine and compare the use of a standard textbook with the use of target language culture materials on student classroom motivation. Seven participants out of a class of 35 Korean university EFL students volunteered to participate in this study. This was a class in the skill of reading in English and met once a week for two hours, with one hour devoted to use of the textbook and another hour to studying cultural materials. These students engaged in interviews, diary entries, and were subjects of observation during one semester. Observation sheets were used to record students' on-task behavior, and also their overall class motivation as they used the textbook and the cultural materials, which consisted of three Hemingway short stories. Findings indicated five of the students were positively motivated to learn by the stories, and two students indicated a preference for the textbook. This study concludes with a discussion of classroom implications and study limitations.

Autonomous or Controlled: The Motivational Orientation of Adult Korean EFL Students

( Bokyung Murray ) 21세기영어영문학회 2015 영어영문학21 Vol.28 No.2

This study investigates the classroom motivation of adult Korean EFL students from the perspective of concepts contained in self-determination theory (SDT), namely autonomous regulation and controlled regulation and intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Two SDT self-report questionnaires, the Self-Regulation Learning Questionnaire and the Perceived Competence Scale, were administered to 37 adult Korean EFL students. Two research questions were addressed to determine the motivational stance of these students from an autonomous or controlled perspective. Overall results indicated that these students appeared to be motivated autonomously, but further analysis revealed this apparent autonomy was not true intrinsic self-regulation, but was from autonomous elements found in extrinsic controlled regulation. Therefore, these students could be found to function primarily under an extrinsic controlled form of motivation even though they exhibited some degree of autonomy. Discussion considered implications of these results for the classroom and suggested study limitations.

Classroom Motivation of Korean and Non-Korean Students: A Comparative Analysis

( Bokyung Murray ) 21세기영어영문학회 2016 영어영문학21 Vol.29 No.1

This paper is a replication study of previous research, with a different student population, which uses several concepts from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to examine the classroom motivational orientation of Korean high school EFL students. A total of 60 participants from a high school in Incheon took part in this study. These students completed the Self-Regulation Questionnaire-Academic (SRQ-A) and an SDT self-report survey consisting of 32 items, designed to measure four levels of a student``s educational motivation. This paper addresses the following research questions: 1) From the standpoint of the SDT extrinsic-intrinsic continuum, what is the motivational pattern of these Korean high school students, as measured by the SRQ-A? 2) How do the results from research question 1 compare to similar studies done in Korea? 3) How do results from research question 1 compare to similar studies done in other countries? Survey results indicate that the majority of these Korean high school students were externally or extrinsically motivated to learn, with most of the participants indicating they were motivated at the identified level of external regulation. This result is not entirely consistent with other studies done in Korea, but is consistent with studies done in other countries, including Japan and the U.S. This paper concludes with a discussion of some study limitations and suggests some pedagogical implications.

Korean Students' Perceptions of Parental Support and Achievement in the EFL Classroom

Bokyung Murray 한국응용언어학회 2009 응용 언어학 Vol.25 No.3

This study was an investigation into how students perceive their parental support to their studies, and what effect this support may have no their classroom achievement, specifically among Korean middle school students learning English as a Foreign Language(EFL). Two research questions were addressed: (1) How do these students perceive their parental involvement and support for their autonomy, based on the result of the Perception of Parents Scale(POPS) questionnaire?(2) What is the correlation between results of the POPS and these students" classroom achievement in English? The POPS questionnaire was administrated to a total of 167 students, ages 13 to 16, studying EFL at two middle schools in Seoul, Korea. A quantitative analysis was performed on the data collected and findings indicated that students" perceptions of parental support were at a moderated to high level, however the correlation of this support with their classroom achievement was at a very low positive level. In the case of one factor, fathers" autonomy support, a negative correlation with achievement was indicated. The study concluded with a discussion of limitations and pedagogical implications.

Metacognitive Strategies and the Achievement of Listening Proficiency in the Language Classroom

Bokyung Murray 한국응용언어학회 2007 응용 언어학 Vol.23 No.1

Several studies have suggested that student metacognitive awareness and use of appropriate learning strategies may have a positive influence on the development of second language proficiency, however, such findings have not been universally evident. This study sought to further examine this relationship for students engaged in learning how to develop listening skills in the language classroom, using Flowerdew and Miller’s (2005) listening model and a newly-developed scale, the Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (Vandergrift, Goh, Mareschal, & Tafaghodtari, 2006). A total of 17 English native speakers learning Korean were administered this survey to determine their strategies for learning while listening to oral texts. This data was compared to their level of listening proficiency to seek an answer to the following research question: What, if any, is the correlation between student metacognitive awareness and listening strategies, and their proficiency in L2 listening? Data was subjected to quantitative analysisand results were mixed, suggesting some positive relationship between certain individual strategies and proficiency, but such a relationship on an overall basis was not so well-defined. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations and some pedagogical implications for the classroom.

The Effect of Teacher Feedback on Student Motivation in an EFL Writing Class

Bokyung Murray 한국영어교과교육학회 2015 영어교과교육 Vol.14 No.1

Research studies on written corrective feedback have mostly focused on teacher input to students on their writing. However, this study concentrates on the effect of teacher feedback on student motivation and how it may affect their efforts to improve on future writing. Participants of this study consisted of 16 EFL students engaged in an English writing course in a Korean university. These participants were administered two self-report questionnaires to determine their affective responses to teacher written feedback on their writing. Results indicated that these students considered marking of all errors, especially errors in grammar, were very important to them to improve on new writing efforts. Teacher written feedback on organizational errors and vocabulary were also somewhat important to them. Feedback on content or ideas, punctuation and spelling were of lesser or no value to them. Findings also indicated that if these student preferences for feedback were utilized by the teacher, it seemed to have a positive motivational impact on these students to improve their writing skills. These results were triangulated with student interviews and teacher observations. The study concluded with a discussion of pedagogical implications, limitations and possible areas for additional research.

Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom

Bokyung Murray 한국문화교육학회 2016 문화예술교육연구 Vol.11 No.3

The purpose of this paper was to explore the topic of teaching culture in a Korean university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, and determine its impact in enhancing students' language skills. A self-report questionnaire was administered to two groups of EFL students to assess the effect on their language skill and any change in awareness of their own or English culture. Various pedagogical techniques for teaching culture are presented such as role play, culture capsules, games, drama, and use of authentic materials. The researcher provides some observations on teaching two classes of Korean EFL university students, concentrating on the skill of reading. One class used a textbook, and the other class of more proficient students were assigned to read English literature, including Hemingway short stories. During a survey, both of these classes expressed generally positive responses about learning culture. The study concluded with some implications for the classroom. 본 연구의 목적은 한국 대학에서 영어를 외국어(EFL)로 가르치는 수업에서의 문화교육이라는 주제를 탐구하여, 학생들의 언어기술 향상에 문화교육이 미치는 효과를 알아보고자하였다. 문화교육이 학생들의 언어기술을 향상시킬 뿐 아니라 자국의 문화 또는 미국문화를 인식하는데 과연 효과적인지 알아보기 위하여 다음과 같은 연구 방법을 사용하였다. 한국 대학의 읽기중심의 두 그룹의 EFL 학생들에게 셀프리포트 설문조사를 실시하였으며, 이들 두 그룹의 수업환경을 문화교육관점에서 관찰한 결과를 제시하였다. 한 수업은 이미 학교에서 정한 교재를 사용하였고, 또 한 수업에서는 영어가 좀 더 자유로운 학생들을 위해 헤밍웨이의 단편이야기를 활용하는 수업을 진행하였다. 설문조사를 통해 위 두 수업을 듣는 학생들이 전반적으로 문화학습에 대하여 매우 긍정적이라는 사실을 알게 되었다. 또한, 문화교육을 위하여 여러 가지 교육학적 기법들을 소개하였으며, 이 기법들에는 역할극, 문화 캡슐, 게임, 드라마 그리고 진정성 있는 자료의 활용 등이 포함된다. 끝으로 교실에서 가능한 몇 가지 수업활용방안 등을 제시하였다.