This study investigated the effects of instruction based on a SCOBA—a schema for a complete orienting basis of an action—on young EFL learners’ understanding of English noun countability. A total of 81 third-grade elementary school students were assigned to either a SCOBA-based or a picture-based instruction group. Over four weeks, both groups practiced target nouns using pictures, but the SCOBA-based group additionally used a SCOBA, a mediational tool in concept-based language instruction (C-BLI). Although both groups showed comparable achievement on the immediate posttest, the SCOBA-based group significantly outperformed the picture-based group on the delayed transfer test involving novel nouns. Qualitative analysis of post-intervention surveys revealed that the picture-based group relied mainly on rule-based explanations, whereas the SCOBA-based group more often drew on concept-based and property-based explanations. The findings suggest that picture-based instruction may help young learners recognize recently taught noun forms; however, SCOBA-based instruction may be more effective in promoting a transferable understanding of English noun countability.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
    2.1. Challenges in Young L2 Learners’ Acquisition of English Count andNoncount Nouns
    2.2. C-BLI and SCOBA
    2.3. The Current Study
3. METHODOLOGY
    3.1. Participants and Design
    3.2. Materials
    3.3. Treatments and Procedure
    3.4. Tests and Measures
    3.5. Data Analysis
4. RESULTS
    4.1. Analysis of Immediate Posttest Scores
    4.2. Analysis of Delayed Transfer Test Scores
    4.3. Analysis of Survey Responses
5. DISCUSSION
6. CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

• Jeongsun Bang(Master Teacher, Daegu Wolseo Elementary School; 46 Wolbae-ro, Dalseo-gu, Daegu 42780, Korea)