This study conducts an empirical comparison and analysis of degree adverb usage patterns between English-speaking Korean learners and native Korean speakers. By employing large-scale corpus data from the National Institute of Korean Language and stati...
This study conducts an empirical comparison and analysis of degree adverb usage patterns between English-speaking Korean learners and native Korean speakers. By employing large-scale corpus data from the National Institute of Korean Language and statistically verifying the differences, the research aims to provide foundational data for Korean language education.
Chapter 1 outlines the rationale and objectives of the study and provides a systematic review of the relevant research. It was found that while studies on adverbs of degree have been consistently conducted, research specifically targeting English-speaking learners or directly comparing their usage patterns with those of native Korean speakers using large-scale corpora was insufficient. Therefore, this study seeks to empirically investigate the differences between the two groups by utilizing the <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><Korean Learner Corpus(2015-2023)> and the <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><Morphological Analysis Corpus(Version 1.1)>.
Chapter 2 examines the definition and categorization of adverbs of degree to establish the theoretical foundation of the research. Twenty-seven key adverbs of degree, including ‘gajang’, ‘neomu’, ‘aju’, ‘jeil’, and ‘jom’, which were commonly presented in previous studies, were selected as the research subjects. Based on the work of Lee Seok-gyu (1987), an analytical framework for this study was established by classifying them according to the semantic features of ‘[+/-standard]’ and ‘[intensifying]/[mitigating]’.
Chapter 3 describes the research methodology and analysis procedures in detail. It first outlines the composition and scale of the <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><Korean Learner Corpus(2015-2023)> and the <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><Morphological Analysis Corpus(Version 1.1)> used as analytical data. To ensure the reliability of the study, the sample of English-speaking learners was restricted to individuals from six specific nationalities, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The procedure for the corpus data analysis method was then described.
Chapter 4 analyzes the usage patterns of adverbs of degree by English-speaking learners, categorized by item, proficiency level, and classification system. The analysis revealed that learners tend to overuse a small number of specific adverbs such as ‘deo’, ‘neomu’, and ‘aju’. It was also observed that as proficiency increases, overall usage frequency decreases while lexical diversity gradually increases. Furthermore, an analysis of learner errors showed that ‘substitution errors’, where an inappropriate adverb is used in a given context, were the most prevalent type, primarily resulting from interlingual transfer caused by overgeneralization of expressions corresponding to their native English.
Chapter 5 analyzes the usage patterns of adverbs of degree by native Korean speakers and compares this data with that of English-speaking learners. The results indicated that native speakers use a much wider variety of adverbs of degree more evenly, showing a balanced distribution overall. A chi-squared test on the usage patterns of the two groups revealed a statistically significant difference (p < .001). Learners conspicuously overused adverbs like ‘aju’ and ‘jeil’, while underusing others such as ‘jom’ and ‘cham’ that are frequently used by native speakers. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications applicable to the Korean language education field were derived.
This study is significant in that it empirically compares the actual usage of adverbs of degree by English-speaking learners with that of native speakers based on a large-scale corpus and statistically verifies the differences. The findings of this study can serve as concrete foundational data for selecting educational content and designing teaching methods for adverbs of degree for English-speaking learners.
Keywords: Adverbs of Degree, English-Speaking Korean Learners, Korean Learner Corpus, Usage Patterns, Korean Language Education