Earticle

This study aims to investigate the effects of a real-time level-differentiated TOEIC class on the academic achievement of EFL Korean university students. A total of 253 students participated in this study and were divided into two groups(beginning and intermediate). Computer-Based TOEIC(CBT) tests were conducted both before the beginning of the course and at the end of the semester. The results were compared to examine the academic achievement of the students. The results indicated that both beginning and intermediate groups greatly improved in TOEIC scores via real-time Zoom classes. In particular, beginning groups showed more significant improvement than intermediate groups, proving real-time online level-differentiated TOEIC class more effective in beginning groups. Also, both groups showed higher score increases in the Listening Comprehension section than in the Reading Comprehension section.

This paper investigates the functions of discourse markers yeah and yes used in the Buckeye Corpus and the interaction between these markers and speakers' stance. Firstly, the ambiguous stance discourse functions of yeah and yes are examined based on speakers' stance. Six common functions are identified, including Agreement(AGR), Backchannel(BC), Discourse Boundary(DB), Disagreement(DIS), Ending Discourse(ED), and Solicit(SOL). Secondly, six functions of yeah and yes are analyzed, and the main and non-main stance functions that are commonly found in both yeah and yes are identified. Thirdly, the most frequently used stance functions of yeah and yes are explored in various discourse contexts, namely AGR, BC and DB. There was no example where English marker yes was used as a SOL function. To confirm the significant differences in functions based on speakers' stance, chi-square tests and standardized residuals are conducted, revealing significant differences in the functions of yeah and yes based on speakers' stance.

The purpose of this study is to categorize the types of semantic extension of Korean antonymy from both pragmatic and cognitive aspects through a literature review method and to reveal the principles of semantic extension of each type of Korean antonymy. To this end, first, the definition and establishment conditions of Korean antonymy are reviewed. Second, the usage of 76 discourse antonyms in existing studies is analyzed and the types of semantic extension in Korean antonyms are classified according to the features of the semantic extension. Then the types of semantic extension in Korean antonymy are subdivided into six categories: semantic extension by the systematization of the same semantic field, semantic extension by the systematization of different semantic fields, semantic extension by analogy and association, semantic extension by ‘auto-antonyms’, semantic extension by the cognitive structure of speakers and listeners, and semantic extension in idiomatic expressions. Finally, the principles of semantic extension in Korean antonymy are explained by type. This study is significant in that it systematically organizes the types of semantic extension in Korean antonymy that have not been studied so far and further reveals the principles of semantic extension in Korean antonymy.

The purpose of this study is to take a corpus-pragmatic look at the politeness strategy markers utilized in Korean Students' Email Corpus(SEC). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and students in Korea have been communicating via email without in-person meetings for the past few years. In this virtual communication, the young generation politeness is often invisible, but it is a significant component of interactions between teachers and students in Korea. This paper examines what types of polite expressions are used in actual Korean emails written by native Korean students. The study finds that both students tend to use Jeongmal to emphasize their email courtesy. Korean male students want to save their positive face with the polite expression Annyeonghasimnikka with the ending -(su)pnikka in the beginning of the emails. Korean female students, however, tend to use Dareumi anira to reduce the positive and negative face threatening acts in their email communications with a professor.

The current study explores the Korean sibilants produced by 42 Jeju Korean speakers from three different age groups and genders by analyzing the spectral peak frequency(SPF). The results indicated that as the speakers’ age decreased, they pronounced the sounds at a more anterior area in the oral cavity; furthermore, female speakers were also found to produce sibilants more anteriorly than male speakers. However, when considering the phonation type and the vowel contexts, results showed different characteristics according to gender. Female speakers tended to produce a more fronted variant before the vowel /i/, while male speakers tended to produce it before the /a/. In particular, female speakers had a higher SPF for the lax affricate before the vowel /i/, but males showed a higher SPF for the tense fricative before the vowel /a/. Thus, the fronted features of sibilants were not consistently observed in Jeju Korean across the vowel contexts as a function of gender and age. The current study results demonstrate that the gender- and the age-related fronted variants are accounted for by not only a physiological difference, but a social-indexical marker to represent gender identity.

The study seeks to report Korean university students’ experiences with some general English classes focusing on interpersonal and interactional communication over the duration of the coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic. Incorporating a mixed method research design, the present study surveyed 302 students taking general English classes in a university and closely interviewed ten students. The findings revealed that students believed face-to-face communication-based general English classes generated more active opportunities to practice more speaking and listening and to empower his/her communicative competence through face-to-face empathy. It became a powerful bonding process through the sense of empathy with professors which made their own speaking/listening communication greater. During online education, on the other hand, students took more autonomous control over their learning contents, time, and place. Educational implications were drawn from students’ testimonies on their COVID-19 learning experiences.

This study investigates the effects of shadowing practice using the Text-to-Speech application, Naver Papago, as a supplementary tool of the English speaking ability of 31 Korean college students over a 12-week period. Due to COVID-19, all teaching and shadowing sessions were conducted on Zoom. The experimental group and control group participated in pre- and post-surveys, as well as oral assessments evaluated by two expert raters. A Speech-to-Text app called Speechnotes was used as a partial assessment aid to collect speech recognition rates. Additionally, student surveys were collected to examine attitudes toward English speaking, education, and the use of Text-to-Speech applications. The results suggest that Naver Papago and Speechnotes can be assistive tools for students’ practicing shadowing, improving their English speaking abilities and teachers’ evaluating their English speaking proficiency in English classes.