Namhee Kang

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 10-36, 2021

This study investigates the effects of a wiki-based collaborative writing project conducted by 71 Korean university students taking an ESP nursing course. To offset wiki’s downfall - namely, lack of real communication - one treatment group had in-class face-to-face discussion slots. To analyze the effects of the learning model, students’ writing samples, logs, and a post-questionnaire were analyzed. The results illustrated that the writing proficiency of both groups was enhanced, especially significant difference in mechanics (experimental) and better language use (control). The wiki provided an ideal educational environment for collaboration, as the writing processed supported step-by-step interaction. This framework promoted collaborative peer-to-peer feedback, which built up a sense of community and allowed the students to self-reflect. In turn, this led to satisfaction with the project and improved the overall quality of writings. In-class face-to-face discussion contributed to more positive attitudes about the project in general in the treatment group - it activated interaction and encouraged students to get more engaged. It also prompted them to keep track of each stage of writing, in addition to reducing their burden of arranging out-of-class meetings. Similarly, the control group appeared to be more accountable for their engagement on the wiki.

wiki, collaborative writing, process writing, peer-feedback

김성연 Kim Sung Yeon

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 37-63, 2021

This case study describes the procedures involved in planning and implementing a problem-based learning (PBL) course for pre-service English teachers. Specifically, the study offers accounts of how PBL was realized in an online English writing course with the web-based learning platform, Blackboard. The learning management system (LMS) has various features that allow classroom teachers to develop short writing tasks, group discussion tasks, reflection journal assignments, and timed writing tests. This study reports how writing was used to facilitate discipline-specific problem-solving in a content course for pre-service English teachers. The study also describes how the participants (n=27) experienced content-based writing and problem-based learning based on their reflection journals and responses to the questionnaire. The findings indicate that online PBL promoted the process of learning and that the participants showed a relatively positive reaction to the disciplinary writing practice supported by the Blackboard LMS. The students reported that writing-to-learn through online PBL helped them acquire content knowledge and practice and develop critical thinking, problem-solving, collaborative learning, and writing skills. This study has meaningful implications for writing teachers who plan to implement the writing-to-learn approach in their online PBL courses.

online problem-based learning, PBL, writing-to-learn, learning management system, LMS, Blackboard, pre-service teachers, English writing

양희진 Yang Huijin

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 64-86, 2021

This paper aimed to examine adult English learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) and their perceptions of the usefulness of a synchronous online group discussion class (SOGDC). 30 office workers were assigned to lower and upper-level groups and participated in three 40-minute discussions. After the final class, a questionnaire comprised of 24 items was administered in order to determine their WTC and the relationship between WTC and variables such as motivation, communication anxiety, and L2 self-confidence. Descriptive analysis, Normality test, Sample independent t-test, Pearson's correlation analysis, Multiple regression analysis, and Chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the results. Statistical analysis revealed that, in terms of WTC, higher levels of motivation led to higher WTC in the lower-level group compared to other variables. However, the upper-level group showed that these variables do not affect WTC. In the upper-level group the most influential factor affecting WTC was topic of discussion, yet in the lower-level group it was English proficiency. As far as benefits of participating in an online class, both groups agreed that the flexibility of time and location was a positive. This study indicates the importance of WTC in relation to teaching an online English discussion class in the post COVID-19 era.

office workers, willingness to communicate, motivation, communication anxiety, L2 self-confidence, level-based, English oral discussion, synchronous online learning

전혜리 Chun Hailie , 이상민 Lee Sangmin , 박일이 Park Ilee

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 87-103, 2021

As artificial intelligence (AI) plays a revolutionary role in education today, AI technology is a promising tool for supporting English language learning. The present study examined studies published between 2016 and 2020 to understand the trends of AI technology used in English education. This review included 24 empirical studies from both domestic and international journals. The review results showed that the number of publications per year increased over the studied period. The empirical studies were further examined in terms of research topic, publication year, methodology, participant, AI tool type, and the effectiveness of the AI tools based on English language learning results. The reviewed studies focused mostly on students' actual language learning outcomes after using AI tools, and students' perceptions of the use of AI tools such as chatbots, machine translations, and grammar checkers. Most of the studies indicated positive effects of the AI tools in the affective, linguistic, and cognitive domains. However, the result also revealed a few issues with the reviewed studies, including limited ranges of participants and practicability of the technology. This study suggests that more diversified and pedagogically informed empirical studies based on students' actual learning outcomes are required to verify the effectiveness of AI technology in English education and to help effectively integrate such technology into learning in the future.

AI, chatbot, machine translation, grammar checkers, English education

황요한 Hwang Yohan , 이혜진 Lee Hyejin

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 104-133, 2021

While the implementation of AI chatbots, by and large, is gaining immense popularity in numerous sectors, in the fields of pre-service teacher education and research, a chatbot as a learning-to-teach tool to support pre-service teachers’ professional development remains still in its infancy. Along this line, this study expands upon the nascent line of research by delving into pre-service teachers’ experiences of deploying, evaluating and building a chatbot. The interview and questionnaire data from a total of 16 pre-service English teachers with no prior experience with the chatbot development were collected in three different stages of learning: First, through the use of Mitsuku, a conversational chatbot, the participants were offered a chance to gauge the potential of a chatbot as a medium of interactive and participatory language learning. Second, the participants configured and tested Dialogflow, a chabot API, in order to build task-oriented chatbots. Finally, the participants created chatbots with conversation flow of ordering juice and interviewing students. The findings demonstrate that such hands-on chatbot building experiences that gravitated towards growth and exploration can drive pre-service teachers to harness their potential from the positions as teachers. In light of the results, this paper presents some practical and theoretical implications.

Artificial Intelligence, AI speaker, AI chatbot, Dialogflow, pre-service EFL teacher

정남숙 Jeong Nam-sook

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 134-157, 2021

The purpose of this study is both to present the learning effectiveness of machine translators and to explore students’ perceptions of them. A total of 22 college students participated in the study. They were divided into two groups: the Papago group (10 students) and the Google group (12 students). The experiment operated for eight weeks in the two business presentation courses. They performed a pre-writing task on the paper as well as a post-writing task with their machine translator for two hours every week. Grammarly was employed to rate their writing proficiency for data analysis. Students completed a questionnaire for their perceptions. The findings indicated that both the groups improved their writing proficiency significantly, but the Papago group showed a higher statistical significance. Each group showed a significant improvement in sentence length. Second, students regarded machine translators as a useful tool for improving their writing proficiency. Lastly, the student responses indicated that they found more comfort and satisfaction with machine translators. Based on the findings, pedagogical implications for machine translators are discussed.

machine translation, college students, writing, students, perception, Papago, Google translator

최희 Choi Hee

DOI: Vol.24(No.1) 158-185, 2021

This study investigates the benefits of graded readers and the possibility of using them instead of the original versions of English novels in the Korean high school English elective, “Reading British and American Literature.” Literature is well-known for its role in supporting English language development but original texts are often too difficult for EFL learners. For the purposes of comparison, text files were extracted from a total of 10 books, for both the original and graded reader equivalents. A corpus analysis, using Antwordprofiler, revealed graded readers have a slightly better coverage of the three wordlists: KEBWL, GSL and BNC-COCA. Furthermore, a survey of 90 teachers revealed that they appreciated the importance of vocabulary in English education and agreed that it was beneficial for students to study English literature. However, they believed it would be difficult to successfully implement and integrate English literature into English education due to a lack of association with the CSAT, which serves as a pathway to college entrance. It is recommended that appropriate guidance and classroom resources be provided to teachers so as to increase the chances of the subject being taught effectively, and it would also be advisable to include literature questions in the CSAT.

English literature, graded readers, scaffolding, wordlist, perception of literature usage, English education, AntWordProfiler