Soo-Ok Kweon
(POSTECH) Pohang University of Science and Technology
About
Soo-Ok Kweon is Professor at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology) in Korea. She received her Ph. D degree in linguistics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her primary research interests lie in second language acquisition, L2 psycholinguistics, and L2 reading, focusing on Extensive Reading. She has published articles in many leading journals including Second Language Research, English for Specific Purposes, and Language Teaching Research.Sessions
College and University Effects of Pachinko literature circles on Korean EFL university students more
Tue, Aug 8, 10:30-11:05 Asia/Makassar
This presentation examines the effects of Literature Circles specifically constructed to analyse the English-language novel Pachinko. The LCs included in this study are made up of 24 senior year Korean university students majoring in science and engineering – a group traditionally considered less exposed to reading fictional literature, in comparison to their peers. The post-reading student-survey results showed that the reading experience, combined with the LC activities, improved the student’s ability to read and to discuss literature in English, the overall effect being that students observed increased confidence in their broader English usage. Results also showed that 80% of class students did not find Pachinko difficult to read. This suggests that Extensive Reading conducted without graded readers can be a success in the EFL classroom. Lastly, this presentation will recommend a number of English-language texts that are appropriate, in terms of both educational purposes and cultural content, for EFL students participating in ER streams.