This paper presents a case study of developing a blended reading program for Korean EFL middle school students using a process drama methodology to generate intrinsic motivation to read, improve reading comprehension and language fluency, and foster twenty-first-century skills such as creativity, communication, and cooperation. For the development of the reading program, a needs analysis was conducted using student questionnaires and diagnostic tests. From results of the needs analysis, sample lessons were designed based on the process drama methodology following its planning principles and strategies. Based on feedback from teachers and students after piloting the sample lessons, the blended reading program was finalized. The proposed blended reading program is expected to help Korean EFL middle school students build a positive attitude toward reading English books and develop reading comprehension, language fluency, and 21st-century core competencies. It will also encourage English teachers to use innovative teaching methods in English education.

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.

This research aims to explore whether guided visual artwork discussions called Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) using picture book images can benefit and enhance Korean EFL secondary students’ L2 writing. Incorporating content analysis, this research examines how carefully guided artwork discussions can enhance visual understanding, critical thinking skills and interpretive L2 writing skills. The L2 writing samples of the focal students revealed that they were able to think based on visual clues. The discussions were led by the teacher who pointed out significant visual elements and allowed time for the students to explore diverse ideas. The focal students were able to piece together the jigsaw of the images and articulate their thoughts in English, during which time they learned to take risks and to make mistakes in using a foreign language. Their critical comments and improved L2 writing suggest how critical/aesthetic thinking skills can be developed through continued visual practices in a secondary EFL setting.

This study aims to investigate the effects of semantic clustering on Korean secondary school students’ English vocabulary learning. The present study was conducted with 56 secondary school students in South Korea. In order to determine if and how semantic clustering affects second language learners, the participants were divided into two groups: a semantically related (SR) word group and a semantically unrelated (SU) word group. The two comparison groups were taught the same 25 vocabulary items in different clusters (SR vs. SU). In the experiment, vocabulary test scores were gathered and analyzed three times: on a pre-, post-, and delayed-test. In the results, scores from the SU word group significantly outperformed the SR word group on the post-test, but on the delayed-test. Findings suggest that presenting new L2 words in SU sets is more effective than SR sets in the short term with Korean EFL secondary school students.

The purpose of this study was to explore how motivational factors affect Korean EFL secondary students’ motivated learning behavior using structural equation modeling (SEM). It further examined differences in the internal structure of L2 motivation over time. A total of 489 secondary school students participated in the study. Data were collected at two time points during an academic semester: in the beginning and at the end of the semester. Results of the SEM showed that students’ ideal L2 self was the strongest determinant of their motivated learning behavior at both time points for middle school students, whereas for high school students, ought-to L2 self had the strongest direct and significant impact on their motivated behavior in learning English throughout the semester. It was also found that both middle and high school students’ perceptions about the international posture of English and their parents’ involvement in English learning made indirect effects on their motivated behavior. Pedagogical implications and research suggestions are discussed.

It recently became evident that the EFL needs of secondary school students could not be met by the then-current complement of teachers. This led to an increase in the number of Conversational English Instructors in the public school system. This growing demand for EFL instructors in our nation‟s public schools requires an obligation to examine the selection criteria and process for incoming EFL instructors. Based on our analysis of a nationwide survey of EFL Instructors, we recommend reforms to the selection process system. A total of 199 EFL instructors in secondary schools including those in Seoul, metropolitan cities, medium-sized cities, and small communities participated in the main survey. The survey considered the entire EFL Instructor selection process including the 1st step of applicant specifications, the 2nd step of teaching-learning performance test and interview test. Our analysis suggests that the selection criteria should include the applicant‟s proficiency test score in spoken and written English, and the teaching-learning performance should be emphasized in a greater extent. This research suggests that the way of testing the applicants‟ teachinglearning performance in the 2nd step selection process should be changed into a more authentic microteaching situation, and that regional needs vary and must be considered in the selection process.