It remains an open question whether second language (L2) learners can process linguistic properties at the syntax-discourse interface. This study examines this issue in the context of the L2 processing of Korean dative sentences under different information structure requirements. Given that discourse constraints associated with information…

This study investigates the acoustic realizations of English phonemic contrasts by Korean EFL learners, comparing their productions with those of native English speakers. Focusing on the segmentally correct production, the research aims to determine if Korean learners' acoustic properties align with those of native speakers, influenced by second…

This study examined Korean learners' production of intervocalic English biconsonantal clusters consisting of /p/, /t/, /k/, /m/, /n/, or /[eng] / followed by /l/ or /[voiced alveolar approximant]/. The results of the production experiment showed several factors influencing Korean learners' production. First, Korean learners' production was…

Both Native English-Speaking Teachers (NESTs) and Non-Native English-Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) may have advantages as writing instructors, yet little is known about how they actually influence writing in EFL contexts like South Korea. To address this issue, 76 high proficiency Korean EFL university students from the International Corpus Network…

This study investigates what characteristics are considered important for a hypothetical multilingual person to be perceived as a "native" speaker of English. The data was collected from 521 participants from the United Kingdom, Singapore and South Korea, responding to a survey comprised of 30 questions with opportunities for qualitative…

In the English "tough" construction (TC), knowledge of "tough" movement is necessary for target performance (the object-interpretation only; e.g. "John is easy to see" e). The acquisition of the English TC raises a learnability problem for first-language (L1) Korean learners of English as a second language (L2): (1)…

Mobile technologies and platforms that facilitate communication across different languages are increasingly relevant in a world characterised by the global flows of diverse populations and disparate digital environments. This qualitative study explores communication between native and non-native speakers of Korean, mediated through mobile instant…

This study explores useful ways of using an instant messenger in a peer-tutoring environment when two students exchange their mother languages. Seven learners of Korean and seven Korean students learning English were paired randomly to conduct language exchange via an instant messenger, KakaoTalk. The pairs (five of male and female pair and two of…

This article reports on a pedagogical project aimed at helping second language (L2) learners of English develop the ability to detect and appropriately interpret spoken sarcasm. The study used a pre- and posttest procedure to assess the development of learners' ability to both detect sarcasm and impute appropriate speaker intentions and attitudes…

Although the number of native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts has increased in recent years with the emergence of English as an international language, only a few studies on NESTs and non-NESTs have extensively and directly examined students' beliefs about these two groups of teachers. To fill this…

This study investigated the effect of language immersion in an English-speaking environment on the production of intonational features in L2 English sentences. It was hypothesized that the Korean group who had been immersed in the English language as children would have intonation patterns more similar to native English speakers than a nonimmersed…

Casual observation usually shows a tendency for most Korean EFL students to prefer the pronunciation of teachers from English speaking nations such as Canada and the United States. However, sometimes their preferences and the reasons for their preferences, may not always reflect reality. This paper examines the results of a survey done on 92 EFL…

The purpose of this article is to explore Korean English learners' identity and pedagogical implications of the findings. After a brief explanation about why the manners of examining English learners' identity can be diverse according to their sociocultural context, as an agency of Korean English learners' identity representation, their…

This study investigated and compared how native-English and native-Korean speaking university students, who received their education respectively in the U.S. and in Korea, thought about the concepts of "infinity" and "limit". The primary motivation for this study was the discontinuity in Korean and the continuity in English…

The international use of English as a lingua franca (ELF)--i.e. between non-native speakers of different nationalities, in situations where no native English speakers are present--has become an important feature of business, diplomacy, education, and personal relationships around the world. Nowhere is this more true than in Northeast Asia, where…