Neural machine translators (NMTs), such as "Google Translate," may assist second language (L2) readers with general comprehension. However, previous empirical studies show mixed results regarding their effectiveness. In this study, 145 Korean English learners from a girls' high school were asked to solve three types of reading…

The semi-direct speaking test format has limitations, particularly due to its lack of situational authenticity and contextualized input. To address this issue, virtual reality (VR) can be integrated into speaking proficiency tests to enhance authenticity. In this study, a newly designed VR speaking test was administered, and test-takers'…

This study investigated the relationship between changes in language learning beliefs and English proficiency among 41 Korean university students who participated in a short-term English program. Participants' beliefs were assessed using the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), and their proficiency was measured using the Test of…

In story writing, interjections are used in dialogue to enhance the emotional tone of the text. However, crafting realistic dialogues that effectively incorporate interjections can be a challenging task for young learners with developing writing skills. This study examines how young learners utilize interjections in their story writing. The study…

The purpose of this study was to examine L2 learners' perceived writing anxiety and the usefulness of freewriting in improving L2 writing fluency. Seventeen L1-Korean preservice English teachers enrolled in a teacher education program at a university participated. An L2 writing anxiety survey, 170 freewritings, and 17 reflective writings were…

The present study aimed to analyze the developmental trajectories of English achievement and exposure time through private education, utilizing univariate and multivariate latent growth curve analysis. This study used a subset of the Gyeonggi Education Panel Study data from 2012 to 2017. The results indicated consistent disparities in the growth…

The present study aimed to validate a 70-item Korean bilingual version of the Vocabulary Size Test (VST) using Rasch modeling. The goal was to assess the applicability of this Korean version of the VST for Korean learners of English in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context by examining validity evidence based on Messick's framework.…

This paper explores the professional identities of four Filipino English teachers (FETs) who instruct international students at a language academy in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), a special district for the Philippines' globalization. Employing a narrative inquiry approach, data was gathered through individual interviews, and subsequently analyzed…

This qualitative study examines amotivation in South Korean EFL students through the lens of activity theory. Using semi-structured interviews, data were collected from six elementary and secondary school students, aged 10 to 16 years (Grades 4 to 10), to explore key psychological constructs, including the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, the…

Korean English medium instruction (EMI) classes aim to foster active discussions and communicative interactions in English between instructors and students. However, many Korean students in these classes struggle due to their limited English proficiency. This paper examines the challenges faced by Korean EFL students in EMI environments,…

In L2 pragmatics, only a few studies have examined task complexity. Furthermore, the existing studies have predominantly focused on the cognitive dimension and have lacked consistent findings. González-Lloret and Ortega (2018) and Pallotti (2019) have thereby contended that socio-interactional features be incorporated into task design. Along this…

This study investigated if the difficulty of instructional classroom English in primary teacher-guidebooks of English is adequately manipulated by learner-proficiency. Corpora of classroom English were compiled from 20 guidebooks from five publishers, approved following the 2015 Revised National Curriculum of Korea. Extracted materials from grades…

To investigate L2 adolescent learners' use of machine translation (MT), an MT error correction (EC) test was developed, based on the analysis of MT errors arising from translating the learners' L1 of middle school EFL textbooks. Learners were also asked to report on their use of MT EC strategies on the EC task. Results indicated that…

This study compared Korean adult learners' English speech in dialogic and monologic tasks, measuring 57 college students' oral proficiency in terms of holistic and analytic grades. The statistical analyses were focused on two questions: (1) how much do the holistic grades of oral proficiency and analytic grades of the four linguistic features…

This study addresses the lack of comprehension data in second language acquisition research by focusing on English existential "there"-constructions (ETCs) with a locative extension (e.g., "there is an X on the Y"). The post-copular noun X used in the present study consisted of two types: actual and nonsense. Participants…