The main purpose of this study is to investigate effects of writing instruction using comic strips on Korean students' English writing skills and learning attitudes. Using both narrative and descriptive writing tasks, the experiment was conducted for eight weeks with 120 secondyear middle school students. The experimental group had writing activities with comic strips, whereas the control group studied writing using the textbook or free writing. The results showed that the experimental group improved English writing skills more, and had more positive attitudes toward learning English, than the control group. Lower-level students in the experimental group showed a marked improvement in narrative writing, while upper-level students demonstrated a positive change in their attitudes. Through surveys, interviews, observation, and analysis of students' writing, it was revealed that the experimental group reacted differently depending on the contents and type of comic strips, and activity types. Comic strips that dealt with everyday life and were drawn humorously induced more interest, while those demanding cultural understanding diminished the students' motivation. Student participation increased when drawing their own strips and sorting cuts of comic strips into order.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of strategy training in teaching English for Korean elementary school students. It also attempted to provide some empirical data for more successful strategy training in elementary English education. Sixty six fifth grade elementary school students from two intact classes (33 each) participated in the study as the experimental group and the control group. For 17 weeks, the experimental group was given strategy training in addition to traditional instruction, while the control group was taught in the traditional way only. Some of the major findings are as follows: 1) Strategy-trained group did not show significantly better improvement over the traditionally-taught group in their English proficiency; 2) Strategy-trained group used all categories of learning strategy significantly more frequently at the end of the experimental period than traditionally-taught group; 3) Both the quantity and quality of strategy use was affected by the learner's English proficiency. From these results it was concluded that a strategy training program for elementary school English learners could be fruitful and viable. Suggestions for further studies are presented along with limitations inherent in the present study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of using and authoring web-based vocabulary learning tasks on Korean EFL learners' vocabulary acquisition. The subjects of the study were seventy-seven EFL college students in Korea. They were divided into three groups: a traditional control group, and two experimental groups using and authoring the web-based vocabulary tasks, respectively. The major results of the study were as follows: first, the two experimental groups performed significantly better on the vocabulary recognition and use posttest than the control group did. This result indicates that both the use of the web-based tasks and the participation of students in authoring the web-based tasks are more effective in vocabulary acquisition than the use of traditional vocabulary learning methods. Second, both the experimental groups performed significantly better on the delayed posttest than the control group did. This result provides evidence that using and authoring web-based vocabulary tasks are effective in helping students retain newly acquired words in the long-term memory. Third, the learners' responses of the two experimental groups prove to be positive with respect to the use of the web-based task authoring tools in vocabulary learning. Based on these results, some pedagogical suggestions should be made on the effective use of the web-based task authoring tools in Korean English classroom settings.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between MI and web-based learning in elementary school English education. For this purpose, this paper first examined MI and instructional models of web-based learning, which was based on constructivism. In order to verify the effects of this experiment, we proposed a web-based English learning and teaching model and applied it to the 5th grade students in an elementary school. After the experiment, we analyzed the effects that MI affects students' English achievement. The results of the study were as followings. First, students' intrapersonal intelligence, linguistic intelligence, musical intelligence, and spatial intelligence had a positive effect to their English achievement. Second, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, and interpersonal intelligence did not have a positive effect on their English achievement. This study indicates that all kinds of multiple intelligences should be thoroughly considered when we design and practice web-based English learning and teaching models.

This study investigated the relations among Korean phonological processing skills, English vocabulary knowledge, and the learning of new English words in 6th grade children. The children were tested in phonological awareness, phonological short-term memory, and naming speed tasks, as well as English vocabulary and paired-associate learning of Korean-English word pairs. Most tasks were significantly correlated with English vocabulary and paired-associate learning. In regression analyses, phonological awareness, short-term memory, and naming speed significantly predicted English vocabulary; and English vocabulary and naming speed predicted paired-associate learning. These results suggest that Korean phonological awareness, naming speed, and short-term memory are associated with English vocabulary knowledge and learning. These findings support the transfer of phonological processing skills across second languages.

Research has shown that using multimedia teaching materials such as movie videos and CD-ROMs in foreign language classrooms has been effective. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of using a movie CD-ROM in English classrooms as a way of improving English language skills and enhancing students’ positive perception of learning English. Sixty 10th-grade students in a commercial high school participated in the study which lasted 10 weeks. One group used the movie Big, while the other group used the conventional method of listening to a tape that accompanied a textbook. The data, which were analyzed statistically using the SPSS, showed the following results: 1) Even though the experimental group’s level of interest and confidence increased by using the movie CD-ROM, the increase was not statistically significant. The same can be said for the control group. 2) The experimental group showed a statistically significant improvement in vocabulary building, while the control group did not. 3) Neither group showed significant improvement in terms of listening ability.