A Corpus-based Study of To-Infinitive Errors in Korean College Freshmen’s Writing

김정은,Yoo Isaiah Wonho 아시아테플 2015 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.12 No.4

This study aims to investigate how accurately to-infinitives are used by Korean learners of English who have completed primary and secondary education in Korea. Data were retrieved from a learner corpus consisting of essays written by 815 incoming freshmen at a university in Seoul, Korea. Of the 2,309 tokens of to-infinitives from the corpus, only 171 tokens were found to be errors, a finding which suggests that Korean students with high-intermediate proficiency in English possess a firm understanding of the use of to-infinitives. In addition to those 171 error tokens, 65 tokens of omission errors were manually identified; of these 236 error tokens, substitution was the most common type of error (103 tokens, 43.6%), which was closely followed by omission errors (99 tokens, 42.0%). A close examination of all the errors revealed that several types of errors derive from the learner’s lack of knowledge regarding subcategorization, i.e., information about selecting proper complementation types. Teachers should therefore provide L2 learners with detailed subcategorization information, especially when new verbs are introduced.

Overview of Second and Foreign Language Writing: Characteristics, Perspectives and Pedagogical Approaches

Chi Thi Kim Nguyen 아시아테플 2019 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.16 No.3

Writing plays a crucial role in communication and knowledge construction. In the era of globalization, under the impact of English as a lingua franca, there is an increasing need for written communications in English. This paper provides a review of both theoretical and empirical research on second and foreign language writing, for the purpose of informing ESL/EFL teachers especially those in Asian countries. The review first discusses distinctions between first language (L1) writing and second and foreign language (L2) writing with more focus on L2 writing situated in Asian contexts. Then it presents approaches to teaching writing in L2 contexts which originated from L1 writing pedagogy. Next, it provides a review of empirical research on the implementation of these approaches in L2 contexts, especially in Asian contexts. Finally, the paper concludes with pedagogical implications for L2 writing instruction in this particular context. It is hoped that this paper could offer Asian EFL/ESL teachers a series of pedagogical choices and help them improve the quality of English education in general, and English writing in particular.

Korean Secondary EFL Learners’ Reading Comprehension Development through the Student-generated Reading Comprehension Test Development: From the Learning-oriented Assessment Approach

Gi Jung Kim 아시아테플 2022 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.19 No.2

This study explored the learning-oriented nature of the student-generated reading comprehension test development, a classroom-based reading assessment task implemented in Korean secondary EFL reading classes, based on Carless’ (2007) framework for learning-oriented assessment (LOA). To this end, six eleventh-grade students, who constituted two groups of three, participated in the study and developed three reading comprehension tests based on the reading texts covered in class. Their test development processes, the actual test items that they developed, and their post-interviews were qualitatively analyzed based on the three key components of LOA in Carless’ (2007) framework: assessment tasks as learning tasks, student involvement in assessment, and feedback as feedforward. In relation to the first component of LOA, the students developed and used reading strategies aligned with the instructional objectives of the course. They also participated in the test development as self- and peer-evaluators of their reading comprehension. The last component, feedback as feedforward, was primarily provided by peers and led to their increased agency and control over reading comprehension. These findings suggest that the student-generated reading comprehension test development was learning-oriented and supported student learning and development in their reading comprehension skills.

Investigating MAKE Patterns in Learner English Writing: What can Frequency Tell?

ZHI Yuying 아시아테플 2022 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.19 No.2

This paper presents the uses of MAKE patterns in writing of Chinese English learners of different proficiency levels. MAKE patterns, such as “make decisions”, “make them have” or “make me happy”, are frequently used in EFL learners’ writing. Previous studies have examined MAKE patterns used by EFL learners, but it is still unclear what the differences are on the uses of MAKE patterns among learners at different proficiency levels. Thus, the present study investigated the different uses of MAKE patterns from a frequency perspective. The study compared MAKE patterns in writings of Chinese English learners at intermediate and upper intermediate levels. Corpus data were extracted from the Language teaching and Testing Center (LTTC) English Learner Corpus. Findings indicate that learners at the intermediate level use MAKE-VP/ADJ more frequently, while those at the upper intermediate level, use the causative function frequently and the support verb function of MAKE. The choice of verbs in the MAKE-VP structure reflects the learners’ lexical and grammatical control while writing. This study promotes the understanding of MAKE patterns used by different English proficiency level learners, which shed light on the developmental process of general-purpose verbs and other lexicons.

Analysis of CLIL Teachers’ Instruction on Language of Learning

Chin-Wen Chien 아시아테플 2022 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.19 No.2

Teacher Professional Learning: Using an Online Learning Study Model to Facilitate EFL Teachers’ Self-reported Practices and Cognitions about Brain-based Principles

Michael Burri,Wendy Nielsen,Anthony Wotring,Joshua Amiel,Yuen Sze Michelle Tan 아시아테플 2023 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.20 No.1

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Individual Accountability in Cooperative Learning in EFL Classrooms: More Opportunities for Peer Interaction

Puji Astuti,Leslie Barratt 아시아테플 2018 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.15 No.1

Research shows that cooperative learning (CL) supports foreign language learning (e.g., Almuslimi, 2016; Wei & Tang, 2015). However, there is little research demonstrating how CL works and, specifically, how it promotes learning, particularly individual accountability, which is a principle in CL. This article reports on part of a larger study that aimed to fill this gap by exploring the roles of individual accountability in CL in enhancing EFL learning. The study involved two secondary school EFL teachers, with 77 students in their classrooms, and four focus students. Analysis of data from participant observations, in-depth interviews, and document analysis shows that individual accountability manifests itself in a series of activities from individual, group, and class presentations as well as other peer interactions. The findings also showed that the learners had more opportunities to interact and had more interactions with their peers during CL than during conventional group work (i.e., students simply completing non-CL activities in groups). Opportunities for student-student interactions in CL activities, absent in the conventional group work, may have contributed to the EFL learners’ communicative competence. However, teachers new to CL should follow the preset procedures for CL strategies to promote individual accountability and understand how these activities benefit students.

Predicting Second Language Writing Proficiency in Learner Texts Using Computational Tools

정연주,Scott Crossley,Danielle McNamara 아시아테플 2019 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.16 No.1

This study explores whether linguistic features can predict second language writing proficiency in the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) writing tasks. Advanced computational tools were used to automatically assess linguistic features related to lexical sophistication, syntactic complexity, cohesion, and text structure of writing samples graded by expert raters. The findings of this study show that an analysis of linguistic features can be used to significantly predict human judgments of the essays for the MELAB writing tasks. Furthermore, the findings indicate the relative contribution of a range of linguistic features in MELAB essays to overall second language (L2) writing proficiency scores. For instance, linguistic features associated with text length and lexical sophistication were found to be more predictive of writing quality in MELAB than those associated with cohesion and syntactic complexity. This study has important implications for defining writing proficiency at different levels of achievement in L2 academic writing as well as improving the current MELAB rating scale and rater training practices. Directions for future research are also discussed.

Importance of Ongoing Motivation for EFL Writers’ Performance: Growth Curve Modeling

채수은 아시아테플 2016 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.13 No.4

The current study sought to examine the influence of Korean college students’ initial motivation on their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing development, as well as the relationships among EFL writing performance, self-efficacy, communicative interest, and instrumental interest. A total of 187 Korean college students completed questionnaires at repeated intervals during one semester of an EFL writing course. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the longitudinal data. The findings showed that the students’ performance and self-efficacy developed significantly, whereas their interest decreased over the semester. The results of growth curve modeling with longitudinal data from three time points suggested that the students’ motivational orientation significantly predicted their EFL writing performance at the beginning of the semester. However, the influence of initial motivation on the growth rate of EFL writing proficiency, specifically EFL writing performance, was negative. The conclusion of this study is that the contribution of motivational constructs to EFL writing performance depends on time.

Examining EFL Teachers’ Non-verbal Behaviors in English-medium Lessons

Rintaro Sato 아시아테플 2018 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.15 No.1

This paper describes an observational study with three Japanese EFL teachers that examined: (1) the difference in the frequencies of non-verbal behaviors (NVBs) depending on the amount of the second language (L2) used by the teacher; (2) the kinds of NVBs the Japanese EFL teachers used in the classes, and (3) the difference in frequency of NVB use depending on whether the same teacher used their first language (L1) or L2. An analysis of the findings indicated the following: (1) the greater the amount of teacher output of L2, the more frequently NVBs were used; (2) the teachers used different types of NVBs depending on the situation; and (3) NVBs were more frequently used when the teacher spoke L2. These findings suggest that NVBs play a crucial role in providing comprehensible input in EFL classrooms. The pedagogical implications for EFL teachers and teacher educators are also suggested in the conclusion.