This study examines the developmental trajectory of feedback research in Korean EFL writing from the early 1990s to 2025 through a qualitative systematic synthesis of KCIindexed journal articles. Drawing on major learning theories and educational reforms, the study identifies four stages that reflect shifts in curriculum policy, assessment practices, and the gradual incorporation of digital and AI-based tools. Early work was characterized by teacher-centered and form-focused corrective feedback, followed by comparative studies of feedback types influenced by sociocultural theory and formative assessment perspectives. Recent research has increasingly addressed learners’ metacognition, self-regulation, feedback uptake, and AI-mediated practices. Despite these broader theoretical orientations, the literature remains dominated by short-term interventions and perception-based studies, with limited evidence on sustained writing development in classroom settings. The findings indicate a gap between theoretical advancement and instructional practice in Korean EFL writing. This study calls for longitudinal, classroom-based, and mixed-method research that examines how teacher-, peer-, and AI-mediated feedback can be integrated within context-sensitive instructional models.

This study explored how task types and task phases influence fluctuations in EFL learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC), considering proficiency differences. Twenty-one female Korean university students, grouped into mid- and high-proficiency levels, completed three small-group communicative tasks that were manipulated according to goal orientation and outcome options. Situational L2 WTC was measured in real time using a computer-based rating scale, which produced time-series graphs capturing moment-by-moment changes. Stimulated recall interviews were conducted to examine learners’ perceptions of factors underlying these fluctuations. Results indicated that WTC was dynamically shaped by the interplay among task structure, task phase, and learner proficiency. Structured information-gap tasks reduced uncertainty and supported early-phase WTC, particularly for mid-level learners. Decision-making tasks enhanced WTC through collaborative idea construction, with initial proficiency differences diminishing as interaction progressed. In free conversation, increases in WTC were contingent on interactional alignment and topic elaboration. These findings underscore the importance of task-sensitive, phase-specific, and proficiency-aware instructional strategies for fostering WTC in EFL contexts.

This mixed-methods study explores perceptual learning style preferences among Korean and Uzbek EFL learners and examines teachers’ interpretations of these preferences. Quantitative data were collected from secondary-level learners in both countries (N= 208) using Reid’s PLSPQ, followed by semi-structured interviews with English teachers (n= 18) to contextualize survey patterns. The PLSPQ was selected for its modality-based structure and comparability with current EFL research, and teacher interviews were added to triangulate self-report. Independent-samples t-tests showed that Uzbek learners reported significantly higher preferences across all six modalities, with no group differences on visual. These higher scores are interpreted as context-responsive tendencies rather than indicators of superior ability, with Uzbek patterns linked to smaller classes, limited private tutoring, early instruction prior to full literacy, and movement-based activities in resource-limited schools. In contrast, narrower preference profiles among Korean learners align with exam-oriented, text-focused instruction, larger classes, and classroom norms of deference. While this study contributes a cross-context perspective on learning style preferences, its findings are limited by reliance on self-report and the absence of factor analytic validation of the PLSPQ. Future research should include psychometric testing and behavioral measures. Overall, results underscore the value of inclusive, multimodal pedagogy and learner metacognitive awareness.

This study investigated the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and peer interactions on the speaking performance and attitudes of EFL university students using a withinsubjects design. Thirty-nine participants engaged in both AI-based and peer-based speaking activities over 14 weeks and completed pre- and post-speaking tests, as well as pre-, mid-, and post-questionnaires. At the end of the semester, they also submitted reflective essays describing their experiences. Results revealed significant improvements in both speaking performance and self-perceived speaking skills from pre- to post-test. However, students’ attitudes toward AI and peer interactions diverged. Engagement, interest, and participation in AI interactions declined over time, whereas these affective dimensions in peer interactions remained stable or improved. Enjoyment and concentration were also consistently higher in peer interactions than in AI interactions. Overall, the findings suggest that although AI can enhance EFL learners’ speaking performance through repetitive practice and timely feedback, peer interactions play a more enduring role in supporting engagement, enjoyment, and meaningful language learning over time.

This study examined Korean university students’ ability to distinguish between authentic and modified spoken English texts and their perceptions of each in relation to language learning and content appeal. A total of 125 students completed a questionnaire after listening tasks, assessing their perceptions in three domains: authenticity versus modification, language learning, and content appeal. Questionnaire responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests. The results indicated that participants could distinguish between the two types of texts. Modified texts were rated significantly higher for clarity and fluency, whereas authentic texts were viewed as more reflective of natural speech, including features such as unclear pronunciation and hesitation. Pronunciation clarity, however, was not perceived to significantly influence listening comprehension or difficulty. Participants evaluated modified texts more favorably for supporting language learning, particularly in pronunciation, listening skill development, and content understanding. Both text types were considered similarly effective for comprehending real-life conversations. Regarding content appeal, modified texts were rated as more engaging, though no significant differences emerged in their usefulness for real-life application or new information. These findings highlight the pedagogical importance of using both authentic and modified texts to address diverse learner needs.

This study investigates how artificial intelligence (AI)-generated and instructor-provided feedback interact within process-based, collaborative EFL writing to influence learners’ affective engagement, motivation, self-efficacy, and attitude toward writing. Semistructured group interviews with nine pre-service English teachers were analyzed using NVivo 14. Among the three categories, attitude, encompassing both positive and negative factors, was the most frequently observed, followed by self-efficacy and motivation. Positive attitude was linked to the convenience, immediacy, and personalization of AI feedback, and to the collaborative course design that supported iterative revision and peer learning. Negative attitude reflected concerns about AI overreliance, inaccuracies, and limited contextual appropriateness, particularly in ESPfocused writing. Regarding self-efficacy, instructor feedback provided deep, contextaware guidance, whereas AI feedback offered rapid, mechanical accuracy and motivational support. Confidence improved through safer drafting, metacognitive insight, and gradual mastery of AI utilization skills. Motivation was reinforced by the process-oriented structure, targeted instructor feedback, collaborative activities, and peer support that fostered engagement and improvement.

This preliminary study examined how a professional development (PD) program supported Korean EFL teachers in integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into collaborative reading and writing instruction. Fifteen in-service secondary school teachers participated in an 11-session PD program that introduced GenAI-supported instructional models and guided teachers to adapt them through micro-teaching, reflection, and classroom application. Data were collected through pre- and postintervention surveys and three rounds of reflective journals. Quantitative findings revealed no significant improvement in perceived ease of using GenAI for collaborative reading. However, teachers reported significantly greater ease of use in collaborative writing, presentation, and form-focused instruction (FFI). Qualitative results identified recurring challenges—such as role imbalance, copy-and-paste reliance, and lack of scaffolding—which prompted teachers to revise the pre-existing instructional models into more structured ones (e.g., Expert Jigsaw Reading, role-based writing cycles). The findings demonstrate how PD programs can develop teacher agency by translating abstract GenAI principles into classroom-ready, pedagogically sustainable practices.

As social networking service (SNS) platforms become increasingly integrated into foreign language education, their impact on learner motivation and intercultural competence may vary depending on the learning context. This mixed-methods study compares American college students learning Korean as a foreign language (KFL) and Korean learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to examine how SNS-mediated intercultural contact affects motivational orientations and intercultural development. A total of 107 university students (56 KFL, 51 EFL) engaged in semester-long Facebook-based interactions. Pre- and post-semester surveys assessed intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, intercultural communicative competence, and intercultural sensitivity, followed by qualitative analysis of students’ reflections. KFL learners showed a significant increase in intrinsic motivation across the semester, while extrinsic motivation remained unchanged. Compared with the EFL group, they achieved greater gains in intercultural communicative competence (attitudes and skills) and intercultural sensitivity (respect), reflecting deeper interpersonal engagement and emotional openness. Their reflections emphasized peer-based cultural learning beyond textbook knowledge. EFL learners, without significant motivational changes, showed growth in intercultural communicative competence (knowledge and awareness) and increased confidence and enjoyment in the SNS interaction. Their reflections portrayed the interaction as academically structured and limited in spontaneity. These findings highlight the critical role of learning context in mediating how SNS-based intercultural engagement supports motivation and intercultural development.

This integrative review examined 38 published articles on the topic of formative assessment conducted in South Korean EFL settings, from 2014 to 2023. Despite strong interests in using quality formative assessments that are aimed at improving English learners’ performance, no prior systematic analyses have been performed to date. To that end, this study draws on Wiliam and Thompson’s (2008) conception of the formative assessment five-strategy model, and Yan and Pastore’s (2022) Teacher Formative Assessment Practice Scale (TFAPS), as a guiding framework to examine the extent to which formative assessment research conducted in South Korean EFL classroom settings has enacted the five key strategies and thereby promoted learning and improved teaching. For all five key strategies, more studies showcased weak evidence of implementing each strategy, and that positive student learning was more likely to be seen in studies that fully, or nearly fully, implemented the key strategies. Recommendations for enhancing formative assessment teaching and research practice are provided at the end.

Oral language comprehension (OLC) and vocabulary depth are widely recognized as key predictors of reading comprehension. However, research has either provided a limited representation of OLC or failed to acknowledge the distinctive predictive nature of vocabulary depth. This study investigates the combined contributions of OLC, conceptualized as a unified composite of foundational language variables and compares its effects on reading comprehension to vocabulary depth, while accounting for writing abilities. A total of 169 advanced Korean university EFL students were tested on listening comprehension, grammar knowledge, vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and reading comprehension in English. SEM analyses revealed that both OLC and vocabulary depth made unique contributions to reading comprehension, with OLC demonstrating relatively stronger predictive power. Writing abilities did not show significant effects when OLC and vocabulary depth were considered in the same model. These findings underscore the independent predictive roles of OLC and vocabulary depth in L2 reading comprehension and highlight the importance of integrating these constructs into EFL pedagogical practices.

This study aims to demonstrate the integration of character education with content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and evaluate its effects on the English language learning and character development of young learners who use EFL. Eight participants received character-integrated CLIL instruction over 16 class sessions. Employing a mixed-method approach, this study collected qualitative data primarily through observations, interviews, portfolios, self-assessments, and peerassessments, complemented by quantitative data from English tests and questionnaires. Findings revealed that character-integrated CLIL significantly enhanced learners’ oral language skills, confidence, and engagement in learning English. Additionally, it facilitated simultaneous development of language proficiency and subject knowledge, while promoting acquisition of positive character traits. The learner-centered environment supported by teacher scaffolding and authentic materials allowed learners to apply their knowledge to real-life situations. These results provide educators with a model for effectively integrating character education into language learning. They also highlight the broader potential of CLIL to foster holistic learner development.

This longitudinal study used data from the Busan Educational Longitudinal Study (BELS) to identify growth profiles of English class self-efficacy (ECS) over three years and their associations with English class comprehension, engagement, and achievement. A middle school student sample from 2016 to 2018 BELS comprised 3,038 students (1,394 females and 1,644 males) from 56 middle schools in South Korea. Using a personcentered approach with Mplus 8.4, a higher-order growth mixture modeling (GMM) yielded three distinct growth trajectories of ECS: 82.8% of initially high and slowly decreasing (HSD) group, 9.7% of intermediate high and decreasing (IHD) group, and 7.5% of low but increasing (LI) group growth profiles. Results indicated that English class comprehension, engagement, and achievement showed statistically significant mean differences across each growth profile of ECS. The identified ECS growth profiles can be used to tailor intervention measures. Empirical findings are discussed in terms of pedagogical implications in applied language learning and teaching practices and further research.

Writing conferences are one-on-one feedback sessions that enable teachers and students to engage in constructive interactions to improve students’ writing. While interacting individually, a teacher can use various feedback strategies to improve the quality of a student’s writing. This study examined how a secondary English teacher elicited students’ self-correction of writing issues during EFL writing conferences conducted in Korean (L1) as part of an after-school English program at a Korean high school. One English teacher and five first-year students participated in writing classes for two weeks during the winter vacation. Their conversations were video-recorded and analyzed using Conversation Analysis. Findings revealed that the teacher elicited the student’s selfcorrection through four key strategies: (1) metalinguistic clues, (2) building on initial corrections, (3) leveraging morphological knowledge, and (4) guiding students through a stepwise construction of sentence elements. This study can enhance our understanding of corrective feedback in secondary EFL writing conferences and offer insights for improving teacher-student feedback interactions.

The present study investigates the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools by pre-service teachers (PSTs) in lesson planning for a middle-school English as a foreign language (EFL) class, aiming to address gaps and inform teacher training. The case study examined PSTs in a South Korean university course who were tasked with creating lesson plans using generative AI to aid in lesson plan development for a middle school lesson that incorporated generative AI. Data were analyzed thematically, and results revealed that generative AI was used in topic selection, material creation, lesson organization, and language checking. While generative AI facilitated efficiency and creativity, challenges emerged, including the quality of outputs and limited incorporation of effective pedagogical strategies. These findings indicate a need for targeted training in prompt engineering, ethical considerations, pedagogy, and collaborative practices to enhance PSTs’ generative AI competencies. This study contributes to teacher education programs by providing insights into the practical integration of generative AI in pedagogical practices.

This research, grounded in the extended technology acceptance model, aimed to explore the relationships among factors influencing Korean EFL learners’ acceptance of ChatGPT for English learning in a voluntary usage context. To this end, a questionnaire was distributed to college students who had used ChatGPT for language learning, utilizing a convenience sampling method. A total of 400 responses were analyzed to test hypotheses using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings revealed that learners’ perceived usefulness significantly predicted their intention to continue using ChatGPT, while perceived ease of use did not. Moreover, learners’ result demonstrability was found to be a predictor of perceived usefulness, whereas subjective norm was not. Both playfulness and output quality significantly influenced learners’ perceived ease of use. This study identified key factors that could enhance EFL learners’ acceptance of ChatGPT by improving perceptions of usefulness and ease of use, offering valuable insights for integrating ChatGPT into English education.

This study aims to see if task-based flipped learning (TBFL) can be effective in developing university students’ self-regulated learning. The specific research question is: Does TBFL have a positive impact on learners’ self-regulated learning attitude in cognitive, motivational, and behavioral domains? The research took place at a university English class where a total of 12 students participated for 15 weeks in the fall semester of the year 2023. In order to answer the research question, the self-regulated learning attitude inventory was used along with focus-group interviews and class observation. Due to the limited number of participants, frequency analysis was made for the quantitative data. Major findings were revealed as follows: Firstly, a high level of self-regulated learning attitude was found in all factors in the cognitive domain except for ‘Planning and Monitoring.’ Secondly, positive responses shown in the entire factors in the motivational domain led to greater interest and self-efficacy. Lastly, in the behavioral domain, positive responses were revealed except for ‘Time Management & Environment Setting,’ which seems to be related to the problems found in the cognitive domain’s ‘Planning and Monitoring.’

This study investigated the relationship between teacher support in the areas of learner autonomy, relatedness, and competence, and motivational beliefs regarding achievement goal orientations and perceived task value in Chinese EFL college classrooms based on self-determination theory. A questionnaire was administered to 712 college students, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0. The findings indicated that teacher support for autonomy, relatedness, and competence was positively correlated with mastery goal orientation and performance-approach orientation, while it was negatively correlated with performance-avoidance orientation. Furthermore, these forms of teacher support positively influenced students’ perceived task value. Achievement goal orientation mediated the relationship between the three types of teacher support and student engagement. However, perceived task value only mediated the relationship between teacher autonomy support and student engagement. This study offers valuable insights for enhancing English teaching practices by promoting student motivation through addressing their psychological needs in EFL college classrooms.

This study investigates the effect of machine translation (MT) use on the writing performance of Korean EFL students, focusing on complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF). Six participants completed a series of writing tasks in which they first translated their L1 writing into L2 manually and then used MT to revise their L2 drafts. This process was repeated across ten different writing topics. Participants’ drafts were analyzed using CAF measures to assess MT’s impact on their writing performance and observe changes over tasks. The results show that MT significantly improved accuracy and fluency. However, gains in syntactic and lexical complexity were less evident. While group-level analysis showed consistent progress, individual trajectories varied widely, indicating diverse patterns of development. Overall, the findings suggest that MT enhances writing accuracy and fluency among Korean EFL students, although its impact on syntactic and lexical complexity is limited. These results indicate that MT can serve as a valuable tool for self-directed learning, helping students independently improve their writing accuracy and fluency and develop essential self-editing skills. This study highlights the potential of MT as a supplementary tool to support EFL students’ writing development, along with traditional instruction.

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, highlighting the necessity for support in both English and their native language to facilitate effective learning. It also identifies teaching strategies that have proven effective in helping these students navigate language barriers. The findings indicate that participants had difficulty developing their writing skills for assignments in EMI settings and encountered limited opportunities to communicate their understanding of course material with instructors. To address these challenges, it is important to assess students’ language skills and find a balance between Korean and English. Implementing flexible teaching methods can enhance the learning experience, making it more effective and supportive. By providing multiple approaches to learning, such as interactive activities or peer support, learning gaps can be bridged and overall educational outcomes enhanced.

With the increasing integration of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, there is a growing demand for accessible AI-powered platforms for teachers and students. This study examines the efficacy of an online question-making platform using GPT-3.5 generated content to develop Korean students’ question-asking skills in English. Employing a mixed-methods approach, we assessed the platform’s impact on students’ question making abilities and its feasibility in classroom settings. Participants included thirty students from a 4th grade elementary school English classroom in Korea and seven elementary school teachers. Quantitative data were collected through pre- and post-tests measuring students’ question-making skills, while qualitative insights were gathered from semi-structured teacher interviews. Results indicated that the application was able to significantly improve students’ question-making abilities. Thematic analysis of interviews indicated positive perceptions of the platform’s usability and p otential f or l anguage learning. Findings m ay contribute to the growing body of research on using artificial intelligence in L2 education and offer practical insights for educators seeking to leverage advance language models in their instructions.