First Advisor

John Hellermann

Date of Publication

Winter 3-5-2013

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Department

Applied Linguistics

Language

English

Subjects

English language -- Study and teaching -- Korean speakers, English language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers -- Korean, Corpora (Linguistics), English language -- Discourse analysis.

DOI

10.15760/etd.911

Physical Description

1 online resource (x, 103 pages)

Abstract

This study analyzed hypothetical would-clauses presented in Korean high school English textbooks from two perspectives: real language use and Focus on Form approach. Initiated by an interest in the results of a corpus study, this study discussed hypothetical would-clauses in terms of how their descriptions in Korean EFL textbooks matched real language use. This study additionally investigated whether the textbooks presented the target language features in ways recommended by the Focus on Form approach. In the past few decades, authentic language use and the Focus on Form approach have received a great amount of attention in the SLA field. Recognizing the trend in SLA as well as necessities in Korean EFL education, the Korean government has incorporated these two into the current 7th curriculum. Such condition provided the momentum for the evaluation of the textbooks in these respects. The findings show that the language features were hardly supplemented by the information drawn from real language data. In addition, there were very few attempts to draw learner attention to language forms while keeping them focused on communication as recommended by Focus on Form approach. With increasing use of the English language, it is becoming more necessary for Korean EFL learners to use English in real life contexts where understanding correct nuances and delivering appropriate expressions may be important. Also, in EFL contexts like Korea, the students may have limited access to the target language input and little opportunities to produce outputs in extracurricular settings, so the integrated methodology of Focus on Form approach, rather than just using either one of structure-centered or meaning-oriented approach, would be of greater benefit to the students. However, the results strongly indicate that the textbooks neither incorporate the language features as they occur in naturally occurring language nor present them as to facilitate the learning of both form and meaning. This study suggests that greater use of real language data and more thorough application of Focus on Form methods in the textbook writing process should be seriously considered. Thus, this study could be useful for curriculum developers and textbook writers in creating curriculum and language materials concerning the incorporation of grammar patterns based on actual language use as well as in improving textbooks with respect to the Focus on Form approach.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/9367

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