This paper investigates the cognitive processes involved in English word recognition among young EFL learners using eye-tracking methodology. A quasi-experimental mixed method design was used to investigate how young L2 learners engage with basic words, with or without pictorial cues. A total of seventeen 6th-grade pupils from two schools participated in the experiment. The participants were presented with a list of 20 words and were asked to read them aloud while their eye movements were tracked to discern their viewing patterns. Immediately after the reading task, stimulated-recall interviews were conducted to triangulate and validate the participants’ viewing behaviors. Results indicate that participants focused significantly more on the text than the accompanying pictures yet demonstrated better performance in recognizing and reading the words presented in a picture-based mode. Some participants reported that the pictures were not viewed because the words were easy to read. In contrast, others struggled to read certain words due to an over-reliance on their background knowledge, which sometimes led to misinterpretation. These results emphasize the importance of integrating visual cues with word recognition instruction in early language learning contexts, highlighting when and how these cues should be utilized effectively.

This study investigated the effects of complex problem-solving activities involving children’s literature on students’ critical thinking dispositions and English production. Thirty-one sixth-grade students were given lessons over a seven-week period. Various types of data were analyzed qualitatively, and the results of a critical thinking disposition test were analyzed quantitatively. Results were as follows: First, the critical thinking dispositions test revealed positive changes in open-mindedness, independence, objectivity, and inquisitiveness. The highest score was found for open-mindedness. The largest increase in score was for independence and objectivity. Second, changes in critical thinking dispositions enriched children’s English production. Open-mindedness helped with spoken language production as it encouraged students to share their opinions freely. Independence was mainly expressed in writing form in which students could question and evaluate the text. Greater objectivity was applied to spoken and written language production as the subjects were able to recognize the importance of evidence. Inquisitiveness affected children’s writing as it drove them to write down the results of their own research.

With the development of technology, innovations are taking place in the education field, with smart device-based Chinese educational applications drawing attention. This study examines the current status of Chinese educational applications in Korea, China, and the U.S., and explores possible directions to design effective applications for Korean young learners. A total of 179 applications from three countries were investigated and classified based on educational application criteria. Among them, the top five applications were selected from each country using ratings and reviews. Each application was then evaluated and analyzed according to the evaluation criteria. The results demonstrated that applications from the U.S. were the highest scoring overall and highest in terms of content, with applications from China highest in terms of function. The result also presented three common problems, which are limited types of applications, the absence of camera function utilization, and the lack of learning activities to experience Chinese culture. This study recommends further discussions on Chinese educational applications with the broadened scope of application types and target learners.

The current study examined the validity of classroom-based English assessment in the elementary school context using a validity analysis framework, which includes cognitive, instructional, and inferential validity components. As a case study, it evaluated two unit achievement tests administered to 142 6th grade students. Three types of data (i.e., the curricular learning goals, instructional contents covered for the two units, and two unit achievement tests and scores) were collected and analyzed for the classroom-based assessment validity argument. Results revealed that the two tests were relevant to the curriculum and instruction; however, there was a lack of correspondence between the two tests and the curriculum (cognitive validity); moreover, the instructional contents were not sufficiently covered with representative test items (instructional validity). While the test items functioned as expected, students showed a wide range of achievement, which was not expected in the achievement test context (inferential validity). The findings suggest implications for the development and use of classroom-based assessment for young language learners.

한국 어린이들이 중국어를 배우면서 접하는 한자의 학습에 대해 아직까지 국내에서는 경험에 근 거한 교수법과 방법론 위주로 논의가 이루어지며, 무엇을, 언제, 어떻게 도입해야 하는가에 대한 논 의는 충분히 이루어지지 않고 있다. 즉 학습자의 연령 요소와 그에 따른 인지 발달과 관련된 고려가 부족한 편이다. 본고는 이에 중국 어린이의 한자 읽기에 대한 실증적 연구들을 검토함으로써 한국 어린이의 한자 교육에 어떤 시사점이 있는지 살펴보고자 하였다. 선행연구에 따르면, 알파벳 등 표 음문자를 사용하는 어린이가 발달적 읽기 장애가 있는 경우, 이들의 기억력 장애는 시각적-공간적 자극 처리 능력보다는 음운 인식 능력과 관계된 것으로 알려져 있다. 또한 중국 어린이를 대상으로 한 많은 연구들이 중국어 읽기 능력의 습득에서 작업 기억의 중요성을 조사하여, 중국어 한자 읽기 에서 음운 인식과 시각적 자극에 대한 처리의 기능을 다각도로 관찰, 조사하고 있다. 그러나 아직까 지는 어느 한쪽을 지지하는 유력하고 일관된 결과를 보이지 않는다. 다만 중국 어린이 학습자가 언 어적 환경과 인지 발달 단계에 따라 한자 읽기 습득에 있어 음운과 시각적 정보, 두 유형의 인지적 처리 기술이 서로 다른 처리 기제를 가질 수 있으며 두 가지 모두 한자 변별과 밀접한 관련이 있음 을 시사한다. 따라서 한국 어린이를 대상으로 하는 외국어로서의 중국어 교육 및 학습에서도 한자 읽기의 교수와 학습은 학습자의 인지 발달 단계를 고려하여 적절한 교수요목과 교수방식을 선택해 야 하며, 이에 대한 실증적인 연구가 필요하다.

This study explores the notion of ‘good language teacher’ (GLT) identity in the context of English education in South Korea. While other studies have investigated parents’ and general public preferences for and associations of good language teacher identity with ‘native-speaking’ teachers of English, little research has examined the views of young learners as to what constitutes a GLT. In this study, a survey tool was used to collect student images and descriptions of imagined, good English teachers. A total of 577 young Korean students (K-6th grade) provided their own images and descriptions of good English teachers, both in English and Korean. The findings indicate that student perceptions of GLT identity strongly reflects their immediate learning experience. Contrary to previous studies showing preference for teachers according to ‘native speaker’ or other markers (e.g., race, gender), the study demonstrated no strong preference for native speaking teachers. Instead, factors such as personality were emphasized. This study provides implications for recruiting and hiring practices for English teachers.

The purpose of this research is to review studies of English education for young learners in the journal of English Teaching in order to commemorate its 50 years of history. Atotal of 126 young learners ofEnglish-related studies between 1965 and 2015 were collected. The studies were analyzed by historical trend, research methods, topics, subjects, contexts, and authors. The results are as follows: the studies on young learners of English have increased since 1982 when English was allowed to teach as an extracurricular activity in elementary schools; 103(81.7%) studies were identified as empirical research, and 23(18.3%) studies were identified as theoretical research; the most preferred research topic was 'teaching/learning' and 'investigation, effect, and direction' of English education in Korea; the most studied subjects were elementary students; the most preferred research context was Korea; and 98.4% ofresearchers was Korean. Based on the findings, several suggestions are made for future research in the area ofyoung learners ofEnglish.

Willingness To Communicate (WTC) is one's volition to enter into communication at a particular time with a specific person or persons using an L2. Despite the growing interests about WTC in ESL and EFL context, there is little research done in the Korean EFL classroom context with young learners. This study investigated variables affecting WTC of young Korean EFL learners in regular English classes. A total of 149 fifth graders participated in the study. Data were analyzed using factor and correlation analysis, cross-tabulation, and the ANOVA. The results confirmed the consensus about the positive correlation of competence and the negative correlation of apprehension to WTC. The most powerful predictor of WTC was communication with the native teacher and the second was prohibition of L1. There were partial statistical differences of WTC, Frequency of Communicative Behavior, and Self-Perceived Communicative Competence according to the age of onset, the amount of studying, and the length of stay in English speaking countries.

Despite the increasing interest in noticing by second language (L2) learners during the output process, little attention has been given to child L2 learners’ noticing and output. Thus, the present study investigated what child L2 learners of different English proficiency levels noticed as they composed a text and received written corrective feedback (WCF) (error correction vs. models), and how they incorporated the noticed features into their revised texts. Data were collected from twenty-six child pairs throughout three stages (composition, comparison, and revision stages) and note-taking was employed as a means of measuring learner noticing. It was found that learners were able to initiate noticing on their own when composing texts, and that highproficiency learners tended to attend to grammatical problems more frequently than medium/low-proficiency learners. WCF played a facilitative role in leading learners to notice, and their attention to language was mediated differently by different types of WCF. Learners incorporated the noticed features into their revisions, and textual revisions were mostly lexical. Error correction (EC) triggered more grammatical revisions, while the model text helped learners to notice something beyond what they could produce on their own. These findings suggest a facilitative role for output and WCF as a means of learner noticing, and the different roles of EC and model texts.

Recognizing English as an increasingly powerful lingua franca, many governments in East Asia have implemented English-language education at the primary school level. The zeal for teaching English to younger and younger learners extends to both within and outside of the formal education system. While there are many unique local issues, a number of challenges and issues apply across the East Asian region. In this article, I focus on three such topics: (a) the widespread belief in the increased benefit of starting English-language learning when children are very young; (b) the emergence of new instructional models in early English teaching; and (c) the growing gaps in English-language achievement by children’s socio-economic status (SES). In discussing these issues, I draw on examples from previous studies as well as my own applied linguistics research in East Asia. I conclude by offering suggestions for future research directions that will inform pedagogy and policies for early English education.

Presenting semantically related L2 words is a popular method in EFL coursebooks, but the research results on this issue remain inconclusive. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of semantic clustering on Korean young learners’ English vocabulary learning. The study was conducted with 174 primary school students. The subjects were divided into two groups: a semantically related words group (SR) and a semantically unrelated words group (SU). For the six weeks of treatment, the two comparison groups were taught the same 40 vocabulary items in different clusters. The vocabulary test results showed that both vocabulary presentation methods had a positive effect on vocabulary learning. However, the SU group significantly outperformed the SR group. These findings indicate that presenting new L2 words in semantically unrelated sets might be more effective than semantically related sets.

This article focuses on English language assessment for young learners in Korea questioning how far the special needs of young language learners (YLL) are being catered by the current English language assessments. First of all, this paper identifies the distinctive characteristics of young learners and the related assessments and provides several examples in the European context to explore how European programs apply the distinctive conditions of YLL on the assessing practices at schools. Secondly, four tests of oral proficiency which are currently administered in Korea (SEPT-general vs. SEPT-Junior; ESPT-general vs. ESPT-Junior) are explored to compare how the assessments for YLL take account of the special characteristics of young learners. Test content is analyzed on item types, test criteria and level descriptors. Lastly, suggestions are made based on the analysis of the assessments. It is hoped that this research paper provides meaningful implications on the YLL test development in Korea.

This research examines the L2 output of young Korean ESL learners with respect to early child English grammar. From the comparison of the frequency of clause elements between L1 and L2 clause elements with respect to semantic theta roles, both language data showed that the ""agent-action-object"" structure was most prevalent. The dominant clause structures of Korean ESL language data were the SVO and the SVA structure. The frequencies of the V, the VO, and the SV structure in EFL language data were higher than those of Korean ESL utterances. The syntactic development of the Korean ESL language data was formed around the SVO and the SOA structure, whereas the EFL language data did not reveal any specific order of the development. Much more English language input should be provided to the students in natural ways for their acquisition and we should take into consideration the language difficulty and the natural development of English clause structure at the same time when developing EFL textbooks.