Nearpod, an online teaching cloud-based platform, offers great potential to generate pedagogical tasks and yield better results in teaching communication skills. This study thus examined the effects of Nearpod-based English-speaking classes. To this end, one-on-one speaking tests were conducted twice in a semester, and a questionnaire was administered to assess university students’ perceptions of the usefulness of Nearpod in offline classroom. The participants comprised 39 university students who took a mandatory English class titled Communication in English. The paired samples t-test results indicated that the students’ overall speaking performance has improved over time. Specifically, compared to the high-level students, the low-level students showed a significant increase in speaking performance. The questionnaire analysis demonstrated that most students were satisfied with Nearpod-based English speaking classes because of enhanced interest, active participation in class, and increased interaction with class content and peers. The pedagogical implications are suggested and the limitations of the study are further discussed.

The present study investigated students’ preferences for the types of tasks used to assess English speaking performance. It further examined whether students’ task type preferences affected their perceptions of test effectiveness. One hundred eighty-two high school students responded to a self-report questionnaire. A series of frequency analysis and paired samples t-tests were used for the analysis. The results showed that students’ most preferred task types and their least preferred ones overlapped with each other, suggesting that the task types of English-speaking performance tests used in schools are limited. The four key reasons determining students’ task type preferences were identified, including task difficulty, emotional comfort, practical value, and interest. In addition, the results indicated that students’ task type preferences could affect their perceptions of task effectiveness. Overall, the results suggest the need for developing more varied task types for English-speaking performance tests as well as helping students become familiar with English speaking performance tasks. Pedagogical implications were discussed along with study limitations.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of voice recording as a speaking assignment on Korean EFL nursing students’ speaking confidence and perceptions of speaking assignment. The participants of the study were 22 nursing students who took college English course and were divided into two groups. One was an experimental group performing voice recording assignment for speaking practice during 5 weeks and the other was a control group that did not receive treatment by the researcher. Speaking confidence questionnaire and in-depth interview were used to collect the data in this study. The result of this study showed that there was some statistically significant achievement of the participants’ speaking confidence after speaking assignment of voice recording performed by them. In addition, the participants had positive reaction to the experience of the assignment. This suggests that voice recording assignment encourages students to have their speaking confidence and helps them to overcome speaking difficulties in EFL environment.

Kim, Jeongyeon. 2018. “A Case Study of Nonnative English-Speaking International Students' Adjustment to a Korean University”. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea 26(1). 111~133. In the midst of intense global economic competition, institutions of higher education in many non-English-speaking societies have rigorously expanded internationalization and seen a dramatic increase of international students. This study investigated a case of nonnative English-speaking international students' adjustment to a Korean university devoted to internationalization. A mixed method was adopted to examine the relationships between adjustment and factors including perception of English as a lingua franca (ELF), perception of English-medium instruction, cultural knowledge, and perceived language proficiency. The analysis of the questionnaire responses of 132 international students and qualitative interviews with seven of the respondents revealed their negative view of EMI, which was frequently associated with the local language used in class. Their adjustment correlated significantly with the amount of the knowledge of the Korean culture and with the extent to which they would perceive English as a means of intercultural communication. Although the relationship between their view of EMI and adjustment was not significant, it was found still valid and indirect through the factor of the Korean language proficiency. Notably, in the qualitative interviews, the participants revealed limited understanding of the way interaction is framed in different local communities. These findings are discussed to propose improved support for international students of non-English-speaking higher education.

This study investigates the relationship between a native English-speaking teacher and EFL students in the response-and-revision process. The data consisted of drafts and revisions produced by three students in response to teacher comments and interviews with students. In order to examine how EFL students react to the feedback, teachers’ written feedback on the papers was evaluated by calculating frequency counts on the same types of feedback. We then examined the extent to which students made use of teacher feedback in their revisions. In addition, we supplemented our interpretations by extracting aspects of the students’ views through analysis of the interview data. All three students believe that only native speakers can correct language errors in their writing. Furthermore, the students prefer or indeed demand native English-speaking teachers as writing teachers. In fact, dissimilar student reactions to native English-speaking teacher feedback probably arise from whether and how they positioned themselves as a writer in the EFL writing classroom.

This study investigated the effects of pairing based on English proficiency and gender on high school students’ speaking task performance. A total of 16 high school students - 4 female advanced, 4 female intermediate, 4 male advanced, and 4 male intermediate learners - performed two information gap tasks spotting differences between two pictures, once with a same-level learner and once with a different-level learner. Their performance was analyzed in terms of degree of task completion, amount of utterances and fluency. The results showed (a) advanced level learners performed the task more accurately, more fluently, and in higher length when they were paired with advanced level learners than paired with lower level learners, although the differences were not significant; (b) For intermediate level learners, male students demonstrated a better performance when paired with higher level learners, but female students performed better when paired with the same level learners. The findings are discussed with regard to more feasible and more effective ways of grouping for pair work in high school English classes.

This study investigates the effects of shadowing, the oral repetition of what is said right after the language spoken, on L2 listening and speaking abilities of Korean middle school students. It also examines whether shadowing has a positive effect on students’ affective aspects in terms of self-confidence, preference, and perception. The experiment was conducted with 108 middle school students in Gwangju. The participants were divided into three groups, listening only, shadowing only, and listening plus shadowing, and received six weeks of treatment. The data collection consisted of the result of listening tests, speaking tests and questionnaires. The results showed that listening plus shadowing had a positive effect on L2 listening abilities compared to listening only techniques. The results also showed that there was no positive effect of shadowing on L2 speaking abilities. In addition, the results indicated that shadowing increased students’ self-confidence in using English, their shadowing preferences, and the positive perception about the efficacy of shadowing on English speaking skills improvement. This paper therefore argues that shadowing techniques need to be considered as an effective supplementary technique for practicing English listening skills in EFL middle school context.