This research investigated consistency of achievement levels stated in the 2015 revised national curriculum of English, high school English textbooks, and the Korean College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) according to CEFR Levels. Based on CEFR levels, this study compared levels of targeted achievement standards in the national curriculum, focusing on reading passages in High School EnglishⅡ and CSAT implemented for three consecutive years (2021-2023). Results indicated that the reading section of textbooks and CSAT included a considerable portion of passages whose text difficulty levels were higher than CEFR B2, exceeding the achievement standards required for high school graduates. These results suggest that difficulty levels in the national curriculum, textbooks, and CSAT should be adjusted according to target levels of language proficiency based on CEFR levels so that learning burden of students can be lessened and competency-based English teaching and learning finally can be performed.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the readability of reading passages used in 5th and 6th grade elementary school English textbooks under the 2015 Revised National Curriculum. For this purpose, all the reading passages of each textbook were calculated with ATOS (Advantage-TASA Open Standard) formula as a readability index. The results of this study indicate that, firstly, the average readability score of 6th grade English textbooks is higher than that of 5th grade ones. Secondly, the readability of 6th grade English textbooks is about six months ahead of that of 5th grade ones. Thirdly, the readability scores are similar in all reading passages for 5th grade, while the readability scores of 6th grade differ from textbooks to textbooks. According to the textbook writers, the readability score of 6th grade textbooks is higher than that of 5th grade ones in four out of five textbooks. Lastly, In terms of the units in each textbook, the readability scores fluctuate and do not increase sequentially as expected.

The purpose of the current study is to examine 123 English reading-related articles published in English Teaching from 1965 to 2014 in order to consider what has been studied in English reading and how, and to gain insight into what has to be studied and how from now on. To fulfill this purpose, the articles were analyzed in terms of basic data, research methods, and research themes across four time periods. In accordance with the findings, it has to be admitted that English reading-related research has made notable, impressive advances in quantity and quality. In particular, it is notable that research methods and themes have been diversified and expanded across the periods. For further development, it is required for researchers' ceaseless endeavor to explore ongoing issues and troublesome gaps in English reading research and to establish a theoretical and practical framework for reading research in Korean EFL context.

The present study was designed to probe pedagogical viability of extensive reading as an effective alternative in English reading instruction. To accomplish the purpose, an English book club was formed, consisting of 40 high school students. The book club activity was held during four months of summer and winter vacations in 2009. The participants were encouraged to freely write anything in their reading logs they felt while reading. The reading logs and interviews were analyzed. They revealed effects of extensive reading and changes of the readers' cognitive and affective reading processes. According to the results, 1) extensive reading has potential to be a successful alternative in English reading instruction; 2) the readers could experience “amusement” and “absorption” by reading sufficient books with the i−1 level; and 3) extensive reading enabled them to choose their ways of reading and to be responsible for their choices.

It has been reported that primary school students have difficulties in the reading process and their interests and achievement in reading is low, in spite of the various methods that have been introduced. This study aims to examine the reading approaches at the primary school level. To achieve this purpose, the primary English curriculum and textbooks were analyzed in order to explore the approaches that were adopted for primary English reading. The textbooks were analyzed in two aspects: the selection of words and the teaching methods for reading. The data revealed that the curriculum looked well-structured according to the developmental stages of reading, but that the textbooks did not facilitate reading for early readers. Although the reading text increased gradually from the letter to the sentence level, the words in each unit were not organized to help readers recognize the text efficiently which impinged on the students’ reading comprehension. Since words at each unit were selected meaning-based, students had to memorize them as a unitary whole. On the other hand, it was rare to find words structured on the basis of letter-sound relations between words. This lack of structure prevented students from recognizing the alphabetic principles of English. As a result, the textbooks did not consider the bottom-up skills at all in its development process. Therefore, students failed to acquire the basic principles of alphabetic language in the early reading stage. Some suggestions for curriculum and textbook development are presented in the end.