| A Study on the Teaching Methodology and Learners’ Variables for the Grammar-based English Writing Class |
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Hak Sun Han |
| 문법기반 영어쓰기 수업을 위한 교수법과 학습자 변인에 대한 고찰 |
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한학선 |
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| Abstract |
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Grammar-based English writing is not related to the creative and logical writing which has been practiced in the ESL context or so-called top-ranked universities in Korea. It is an early stage prior to creative writing, aiming to help students enhance the ability to generate sentences based on a set of English rules. The goal of this study is to investigate learner variables as well as discuss teaching methods and the way of customized material development. As a theoretical framework, Vygotsky’s pedagogical theory is employed and the notions such as the zone of proximal development, internalization, mediation, and scaffolding are discussed. 40 college students at the under-intermediate and low level who are attending a university in the local area of Korea participated in this study. They have no experience of studying abroad and their English fluency is not good compared with those in the Seoul metropolitan area. Five methods were employed to collect data: a diagnostic test, two performance assessments, and two questionnaires. The findings from the diagnostic test show that most of the participants are lack of the grammatical knowledge in almost all areas, which means that the efficiency of a ten-year English education in the elementary and secondary schools should be reexamined. The results of the performance tests show that it takes time for participants to internalize basic English rules frequently used for writing in that participants showed the lack of development in the low and basic areas rather than in the high grammatical areas. The findings of the open question indicate that there was a significant change to their psychology, of which the most outstanding one is that they have overcome the fear involved in English as well as come to have an interest in English. They also said the enhancement of their self-esteem has made them have a new and big vision toward English and themselves. |
| Key Words:
Grammar-based, English Writing, General English, Vygotsky, the Zone of Proximal Development, Slow Learners |
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