This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of metacognitive methods in college general English classes to improve students’ communication skills and metacognitive awareness. The approach involved structuring learning activities where students adapted movie dialogues, practiced roles, collaborated with peers, and received feedback on problemsolving. The results showed significant improvements in speaking skills, with preassessment scores of 24.79 increasing to 27.17 in the post-assessment (p < .01). These findings indicate notable gains in fluency and accuracy in English communication, as well as improved attitudes towards the language. Although there were improvements in post-assessment scores for metacognitive processes, these changes were not statistically significant. This study highlights the importance of incorporating diverse learning methods into college general English classes, particularly emphasizing the value of metacognitive techniques. These methods help students apply classroom learning to realworld social situations and enhance their communication abilities.

This study aims to investigate the major themes and contents of studies on teaching English as an EFL in elementary schools in Korea since TEFLES (Teaching English as a Foreign Language in the Elementary School) was first introduced in elementary schools as a regular subject under the 7th National Curriculum in 1997. For the purpose of the study, a total of 218 research was examined in terms of the research methods, topics and main contents, and implications. The results of the study show that more than a half of the research was oriented toward quantitative approach. In addition, the main foci were the effects of certain tasks, pronunciation, dramatization, the use of a variety of multimedia materials on elementary school students" speaking skills. However, a large number of studies dealt with speaking skills in an integrated manner with other factors such as language skills, motivation, interests, and confidence. On the basis of the results, pedagogical implications on the teaching of speaking skills are suggested.

This study examines the effects of Korean EFL learners’ motivation and anxiety on their English speaking skills with a structural equation approach. The participants of the study are 193 college students enrolled in English conversation classes. The questionnaire on learning orientations, attitudes toward the community of native speakers of English, motivational intensity, class satisfaction and anxiety are given to the college students and their English speaking skills are assessed in terms of IATEFL’s criteria: Range, ease of speech, attitude, delivery, and interaction. Reliability and factor analysis are employed to confirm the internal consistency of questionnaire items and the validity of construct, and a structural equation model is run to examine the relation of Korean EFL learners’ affective aspects to their English speaking skills. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) while Korean learners’ attitudes toward native speakers of English and their community do not contribute to their desire to learn English, their learning orientations are found to affect their desire to learn English. (2) class satisfaction and desire to learn English are found to affect learners’ efforts to learn English, while anxiety is found to negatively contribute to leaners’ motivation intensity. (3) both integrative orientation and anxiety have direct effects on English speaking skills, integrative orientation affirmatively but anxiety negatively. Based on the findings, some suggestions are given for effective second language learning and teaching.