Beyond the NS/NNS Dichotomy: Exploring the Potential of Translanguaging in CPP Practice by Korean EFL Teachers

Soojin Ahn,Mee-Jee Kim,Jin-Young Lee 아시아영어교육학회 2020 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.17 No.2

As a crucial part of English teacher education, this study aims to critically reflect on the commonly experienced issues related to EFL learning and teaching in South Korea. Within the theoretical and methodological framework of critical performative pedagogy (CPP), this study focuses on the analysis of Boalian forum theatre, directed and enacted by seven graduate students majoring in English education in a graduate course. The results of the critical discourse analysis of the forum theatres reveal that the participants experienced the internalized native/non-native speaker dichotomy in communication with native-English speaking teachers at school, regardless of their backgrounds in English learning and teaching. Additionally, the concept of translanguaging can be applied to the Korean school context as an alternative view on Korean-English bilingual practices. The implication of this study emphasizes the importance of teachers’ critical reflection of their own experiences in the EFL context and the application of CPP as an alternative teacher education model for EFL teachers.

The Effect of Different Types of Online Feedback on the Revisions of Korean EFL Students in Their L2 Writing

( Ahn Soojin ) 한국현대영어영문학회 2023 현대영어영문학 Vol.67 No.2

This study aims to explore the effects of different types of online feedback on Korean EFL students’ error awareness and revision process. The study involved 21 Korean EFL university students who wrote a three-page essay and received different types of feedback: automated feedback via Grammarly, teacher-written feedback via email, and teacher-student oral conferences via Zoom. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, with quantitative analysis of revision frequency and qualitative analysis of questionnaire responses. It was observed that although many students revised their drafts successfully based on the various online feedback, their revisions were primarily focused on surface-level changes (such as grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation) than issues with the content and organization. Additionally, the students expressed a preference for a combined type of oral and written feedback. The findings of the study could help L2 writing instructors better understand how to incorporate online feedback into their L2 writing programs to optimize the potential impact on Korean EFL university students' English writing skills. (Incheon National University)

Discriminating L2 Writing Proficiency through the Use of Computational Tool Coh-Metrix

Soojin Ahn 언어과학회 2020 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.92

Although many previous studies have examined how differences in writing proficiency are related to certain linguistic features, much more research is needed to provide a coherent understanding and more reliable predictors of L2 writing proficiency. In this vein, this study tried to fill this gap by identifying linguistic features to represent different proficiency levels of Korean EFL learners" writing by using the computational tool Coh-Metrix. The results showed that higher-level texts contain more varied words, adverbial phrases, and less overlapped and frequent words. The analysis also revealed that lower-level texts demonstrated less lexical diversity and more frequent, concrete, meaningful, and polysemous words while displaying less complex connectives and more coreferential cohesion. As a result, in line with previous studies, this study has important implications for providing reliable evidence that these linguistic features can be used to predict L2 writing quality.

So as a Multifunctional Discourse Marker Used by Korean Speakers in English Conversation

Ahn, Soojin 언어과학회 2015 언어과학연구 Vol.0 No.75

This study investigated whether Korean speakers`use of so in their English conversation differs from native speakers` use in terms of the distribution and discourse functions of so. The data were obtained from audio-recorded oral samples from 70 Korean undergraduate students enrolled in required first-year Academic Spoken English class. The findings are as follows: Firstly, the discourse marker so in the present data was underused by the Korea speakers compared to native speakers. Secondly, Korean speakers employ so with a different discourse marker functions than the native speakers do in their English conversation. The possible explanations were offered in the discussion section.

Effect of Cooling Rate on SCC Susceptibility of β-Processed Ti–6Al–4V Alloy in 0.6M NaCl Solution

Soojin Ahn,Jiho Park,Daeho Jeong,Hyokyung Sung,Yongnam Kwon,Sangshik Kim 대한금속·재료학회 2018 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.24 No.2

The effects of cooling rate on the stress corrosion cracking (SCC) susceptibility of β-processed Ti–6Al–4V (Ti64) alloy,including BA/S specimen with furnace cooling and BQ/S specimen with water quenching, were investigated in 0.6M NaClsolution under various applied potentials using a slow strain rate test technique. It was found that the SCC susceptibility ofβ-processed Ti64 alloy in aqueous NaCl solution decreased with fast cooling rate, which was particularly substantial underan anodic applied potential. The micrographic and fractographic analyses suggested that the enhancement with fast coolingrate was related to the random orientation of acicular α platelets in BQ/S specimen. Based on the experimental results, theeffect of cooling rate on the SCC behavior of β-processed Ti64 alloy in aqueous NaCl solution was discussed.

Developing Summary Writing Abilities of Korean EFL University Students Through Teaching Summarizing Skills

Soojin Ahn 한국영어교육학회 2022 ENGLISH TEACHING(영어교육) Vol.77 No.2

The study investigated if teaching summarizing skills could improve the summary skills of Korean EFL university students. This study involved 38 university freshmen in a required English course and were randomly chosen as the control and experimental groups. The experimental group was taught through summarizing rules, while the control group was engaged in other lessons during the intervention period. The students’ summaries were analyzed as to how effectively the participants paraphrased and integrated the main ideas, the major supporting details, and accurate information from source text into their summaries. The results show that a significant instruction effect was observed in the summary writing performance of the experimental group, in identifying main ideas and major details and paraphrasing and integrating ideas, compared to the control group, which showed a significant change between the first and second summaries only on the accuracy measure. The results are also supported by the questionnaire on students’ perceptions of the instruction.

Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Online Machine Translation in L2 Writing

( Soojin Ahn ),( Eun Seon Chung ) 한국멀티미디어언어교육학회 2020 멀티미디어 언어교육 Vol.23 No.2

This study investigated students’ views on the use of online machine translation (MT) in L2 writing by collecting survey responses from 171 Korean learners of English upon completion of actual writing tasks in the classroom and comparing these responses for different proficiency levels and text genres. The participants first wrote a paragraph without using MT or any other resources and then wrote another paragraph using only Google Translate a week later. The study found that students are generally satisfied with using MT for L2 writing and are also willing to use MT in future writing tasks. More importantly, responses by students in different proficiency levels and text genres showed notable differences. Low proficiency learners had the highest acceptance rate of MT output and showed the highest degree of satisfaction and willingness to use MT for L2 writing. The genre groups also showed differences, as the narrative group was significantly less satisfied with MT use, less likely to accept the MT output, and less willing to use MT in the future than the argumentative group. Based on these findings, we discuss the implications for the use of MT as a pedagogical tool in L2 writing classrooms.

The Analysis of English Speaking Conversation of Korean College Students: In Relation to Grammatical Errors and Their Impact on the Intelligibility

Ahn, Soojin(안수진) 새한영어영문학회 2019 새한영어영문학 Vol.61 No.3

This study explored the type and frequency of grammatical errors Korean EFL learners make when they communicate with their peers in English. This study also tried to see if these grammatical errors reduce the intelligibility of the interlocutors and interfere with the conversation. In this study, English speaking conversations of 66 Korean college students were recorded and transcribed before being classified into six categories of grammatical errors which were originally used in Chin (2001) and Kim (2004)’s study. It was found that the main errors in English conversation spoken by Korean EFL learners are in the use of noun phrases and verb phrases. In the sub-categories, the frequency lists of errors are as follows: omission of article, verb, and preposition, misuse of a word, and pronoun. Conversation analysis also shows that the communication problems were rarely caused by grammatical errors.

Text-Based SCMC for English Learners in Korean High School Classrooms

Soojin Ahn 한국영어교과교육학회 2016 영어교과교육 Vol.15 No.3

This study explores the use of text-based synchronous computer-mediated communication (SCMC) to provide Korean high school students with opportunities for productive interaction in English. The researcher analyzed the identified key features of text-based SCMC that are beneficial to English learners through a mixed method analysis of linguistic data from spoken proficiency tests, online chats, and interviews with participants. The findings determined that three linguistic features of text-based SCMC were related to fluency, accuracy, and affective aspects. First, the mean scores of the total number of words, clauses, and analysis of speech-act units in the proficiency tests showed an increase. The students also highlighted the advantage of simple but frequent utterances to produce complete sentences. Second, the mean scores of the total number of errors decreased, while the percentage of error-free clauses did not increase. However, the students demonstrated how they took opportunities to reflect on their language on screen. Furthermore, they engaged in a conversational flow with grammatical errors and limited vocabularies. Finally, the students showed a willingness to communicate in English and a sense of control over the conversation. The findings suggest that text-based SCMC can enhance low- to high-level students’ spoken proficiency in English both inside and outside the classroom.

Borrowing Words from a Source in Second-Language Writing

Soojin Ahn 현대문법학회 2020 현대문법연구 Vol.105 No.-

This study examined whether the English proficiency was a factor to determine how Korean EFL university students use language copied from a source without attribution. The unattributed copying from a source was analyzed using a quantitative measurement, and a questionnaire was administered to examine the students perception of plagiarism. The results showed that the total amount of textual borrowing and the length of strings of words borrowed from a source demonstrated a significant relationship with proficiency levels. The participants language proficiency also influenced their perceptions regarding plagiarism. The differences observed between the two groups in perceiving plagiarism suggest that students with low English proficiency may be somewhat less aware that their heavy reliance on direct copying of a source could be regarded as unacceptable in academics than those with high English proficiency. Implications of these findings are discussed focusing on preventing plagiarism.