Literature has been repeatedly recognized as an effective source of authentic materials in EFL classrooms. Literature exposes learners to coherent and expert writing which can enable them to write better and facilitates students’ creative writing skills. The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching procedures of using short fiction in a Korean high school EFL course in which English writing and reading skills are integrated and to provide pedagogical suggestions for using authentic literature in EFL classrooms. First, this paper introduces a theoretical discussion of the advantages of using short fiction in an English writing instruction, and discusses reasons for selecting the Korean short novel Dongbackkot and the English short story “Araby” as resources for writing. After that pedagogical steps with practical classroom activities are described. We hope that the pedagogical suggestions provided here may inspire English teachers to design their teaching materials using appropriate literary texts to improve their students’ English essay writing and balanced communication skills.

By examining two low-proficiency EFL students’ experiences of reading literature, and of writing about what they have read during a semester-long reading/writing course, we investigate literature’s place in EFL writing classes. We also observe whether using literature in EFL writing classes lead to successful synergies among LW (learning-to-write), WLL (writing-to-learn language), and WLC (writing-tolearn content). We adopt a case study methodology. The participants, Mia and Sun, are first-year students who attend a private university in Seoul. Both students favor the inclusion of literature in the reading-writing classroom. Mia experiences the literature-reading-writing connection mainly as language knowledge, with the strong appreciation for WLL perspective. By comparison, Sun concerns for LW dimensions of writing, together with the WLL perspective. This study provides evidence that literature-reading-writing connection serves as a vehicle not only for a rich reading experience but also for the synergistic learning of writing, content, and language.

This study explores university students’ revising behaviors in the peer assessment process. The data for this study were collected from 18 college students taking English critical writing courses. The results of this study show that the students’ feedback on critical writing significantly affect their revising behaviors. That is, the students’ feedback had substantial variability in the process of revising and improving their critical essays. Specifically, it was found that the students revised their essays more in surface levels by self-reflection and peer feedback and more in meaning levels by teacher feedback. In addition, the students’ perceptions of peer assessment appeared to be related to the extent of their experience of peer assessment and their revision work by peer feedback. The students considered peer assessment useful and helpful for improving their writing skills. This peer assessment induces learning and promotes further learning beyond what the students currently know or are able to do. The results inform L2 writing test developers and researchers about the extent to which peer assessment affects students’ learning and improves their writing abilities. Based on the findings in this study, the implications related to the assessment policy are also discussed.

This study used focus group transcripts and blog entries to explore the experiences of five Korean community college students in a course designed to promote second language (L2) writing development. To provide an in-depth look at this experience from the learner’s perspective, the author was “embedded” in this writing course, taking on the role of participant-researcher. Through multiple readings and coding of data from focus groups and students’ shared blogs, five relevant themes emerged from the students’ discourse: internalization; depersonalization; simplification; bonding; and approbation. From consideration of the students’ perspectives on their experiences in the writing class, suggestions for improving the experience of Korean and other L2 writing students are proposed, including use of relevant and accessible writing topics. The cohesiveness established through the discussion activities in the current study may have benefited participants’ motivational and strategic adaptation, suggesting that such sharing of experiences could be helpful for L2 writing students.

본 연구의 목적은 탐구를 도모하는 과학글쓰기를 이용한 학생주도적 모둠 탐구활동을 실시한 과학수업에서 나타난 변화를 탐색하는 것이다. 본 연구에서는 학생의 활동 보고서, 학습 환경에 대한 인식, 담화유형을 변화의 핵심으로 보았다. 학생들의 탐구활동에서 비계의 역할을 할 수 있도록 과학 글쓰기 활동지를 개발하여 초등학교 4학년 1학급 29명의 학생을 대상으로 학생주도적 모둠 탐구활동에 적용하였다. 이를 위해 모둠 탐구활동은 2007 개정교육과정 4학년 1학기 4개 단원에서 총 16차시 수업을 실시하였고, 이를 모두 녹화하였다. 우선 학생 보고서를 분석하기 위해 Millar (2010)가 제시한 분석틀을 이용하여 과학탐구 정합성 평가의 틀로 활용하였다. 두 번째로 학생의 과학 수업 및 과학에 대한 인식의 변화를 알아보기 위하여 비교반 1개 반을 선정하여 과학수업 및 과학에 대한 인식을 사전 사후 비교하였다. 마지막으로 16차시 수업 중, 초기 수업과 말기 수업에서의 교사와 학생 간의 담화 형태가 어떻게 나타나는지 알아보았다. 이러한 과정을 통하여 얻어진 결과 통해 학생의 질문과 주장 사이의 정합성은 초기보다 말기에 증가했고, 학생의 자신의 학습 환경에 대한 인식이 좀 더 학생 중심 쪽으로 이동한 것을 알 수 있었다. 또한 담화의 유형이 더욱 교사중심보다는 학생중심에 가까워졌음을 발견하였다.

Although reading is part and parcel for the development of L2 literacy skills, such as in reading and writing, the skill has been practiced more often for grammar instruction and literal translation in EFL contexts. While realizing there is less focus on the development of L2 skills through extensive reading (ER) in EFL university contexts,the purpose of the present study was to explore the outcome of an in-class ER approach in English university classrooms. With 249 students, the study reports on the implementation of a university level ER class and the outcome for L2 development via the measures of L2 reading speed, L2 speed reading comprehension, and L2 lexical writing ability. Results indicated positive outcomes for the development of students’ L2reading ability, productive retrieval of academic words and lexical variety. The outcome of the ER program validates the effort and time expended on such programs when graded readers are utilized at matching student Lexile levels.

Second language writing research has focused on the learning-to-write approach whose analytic and pedagogical goal is to develop L2 learners' writing proficiency. Equally important is the writing-to-Iearn approach that uses writing as a primary tool for content learning. Drawn from writing across the curriculum (WAC) movement in North America, the writing-to-Iearn approach integrates writing into content instructions across various disciplines. Considering that Korean universities have increased English-mediated courses, it is timely to explore how the writing-to-Iearn approach can be used for content learning in English. Writing in this approach is considered to demonstrate whether and how students understand and undertake the course content presented in the assigned readings. The present study examines in-class timed writings produced in a course for English majors at a university in Korea. The student writings were analyzed and classified into four distinctive categories in terms of how they use sources in their writings. The data analysis demonstrates the types of problems these students have in processing complex texts and specifies an array of distinctive ski lls they need to be fully proficient.

Frequent interactions between teachers and learners take place in cyber education. It was found that tutors in cyber education play important roles in interactions. This is to acknowledge the characteristics of cyber education by watching and analyzing the interactions between learners and tutors that performed in the course of “cyber English writing class” of a cyber university. The main tools of interactions, e-bulletin board and e-writing assignment board have been quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. In order to learn whether the degree of the learners’ participation influences the degree of the learners’ achievement, a correlation analysis between the two variables was conducted. A questionnaire was also conducted to learn how the learners respond to tutors’ feedback in their interactions. This study also investigated any differences of the attitude and satisfaction degree in a cyber writing class according to the learners’ participation degree. It was found that the degree of the learners’ achievement and the learners’ participation are most correlated especially when the learners are in the medium level of the academic ability. Also, the learners generally think the tutors’ feedback gives to them positive influences.

This study explores whether journal writing and in-class discussion operate for developing reflective teachers and investigates main issues understood and enhanced by Korean EFL teachers through journal writing and in-class discussion. Seven participants in this study were all in-service English teachers as well as graduate students taking a course on ‘reflective teaching’ in a large university in Seoul. They were supposed to write journals on the web once a week and to read others’ journals for the following in-class discussion. Main issues enhanced by participants through journal writing and in-class discussion were as follows: Teachers’ beliefs about profession as English teachers in Korea; Teaching techniques to make students’ learning successful; Teachers’ perceived difficulties in current teaching. As to the feasibility of journal writing, most of the participants reported that journal writing had been a turning point to be a reflective teacher and in-class discussion made them find lots of useful teaching tips and solutions for the problems they had met. This study provides teacher trainers and teachers themselves useful insights to develop reflective teaching and to better understand the current issues of English teaching in Korea.