Taehyeong Terry Kim
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MY WORKS
Work | 01 The Effects of Text Length on EFL Learners' Reading Comprehension of Fill-in-the-blank Texts in KCSAT
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M.A. thesis
Work | 02 Reflexive in L3 Language Transfer: Typological Primacy Model and Community Language Account
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The locus of attention for language transfer and cross-linguistic influence research has started to shift to L3 acquisition in the last two decades in tandem with growing multilingualism around the globe. Contrary to the past in which L3 learners were sometimes even categorized as L2 learners in an attempt to delve into adult UG-continuity, this novel attention to transfer of morphosyntactic properties in L3 acquisition was expected to provide a deeper understanding not only of UG-accessibility but also of language acquisition and development itself, as—contra the L2 acquisition—L3 learners are confronted with more than one options as to which language will feed into the initial state of L3 interlanguage grammar. Subsequently, what variable(s) will account for the selection of a certain language—and whether its steady state will be transferred as a wholesale or partial system—and whether that such transfer will be facilitative, obstructive, or both have been the queries that drove L3 acquisition research in recent decades.
Work | 03 The Role of Prior Knowledge on L2 Reading Comprehension of Expository Texts: A Systematic Review with Substantive and Methodological Foci
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Though more extensive and robust compared to its L2 counterparts, L1 studies on the effects of prior knowledge on expository reading comprehension also reveal an area of divergence—the difference being that in L1 research, these distinctions take the shape of sub-branches within the same field. In contrast, in L2 research, such differences are largely by-products of the researchers' arbitrary decisions.
Thus, an overview of such distinctive branches in L1 research will be first introduced to establish a theoretical ground and experimental data as a criterion against which the theoretical and operational consistency of L2 studies may be evaluated. After the theoretical and operational plurality in L2 studies has been identified, the insights from findings previously made in L1 studies will be incorporated to synthesize the findings, draw all-inclusive implications from the findings of current L2 studies, and point to methodological recommendations that future research may adopt to enhance our understanding of the role of prior knowledge in L2 reading comprehension.
Work | 04 The Roles of Syntactic Components in EFL Reading Comprehension of Korean Adolescents: Exploring Direct and Indirect Contribution within the Simple View of Reading
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The robust body of research has saught to explicate the factors that contribute to reading comprehension. Among such endeavors, “simple view of reading” (Gough & Tunmer, 1986; hereafter, SVR) has been one of the most prominent theories that provided the accessible and pragmatic framework with which a myriad of empirical studies laid their theoretical foundations.
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Given the status of grammar-translation method as a dominant instructional approach in Korea, the role of syntactic components within the framework of the SVR will raise critical pedagogical issues in terms of reading instruction. An approach that separately analyzes the language components of the SVR will better assist educators in identifying specific linguistic skills that should or can be taught and intervened. Hence, the current study aims to gauge the contributions of syntactic components—defined as syntactic awareness/knowledge (i.e., implicit knowledge) and as grammatical knowledge (i.e., explicit knowledge)—to EFL reading comprehension of Korean adolescents by adding syntax to the currently prominent theory of reading.
Work | 05 The Interaction and Effects of Prior Knowledge and English Proficiency on L2 Reading Comprehension of an Expository Text
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In the field of reading theories, a stupefying number of factors involved in the process of reading have been researched and analyzed, showing the very complexities of reading comprehension itself. Of these variables, prior knowledge has been at the forefront of academia as one of significant contributors to the process of reading comprehension, the proposition initiated by schema theory. The extant research, as will be reviewed in-depth below, has proven that prior knowledge has larger impact on the reading comprehension of an expository text than on a narrative text. Through the review, cognitive processes behind such an effect will be explored and the findings made in L1 and L2 research will also be analyzed. Ultimately, the current research proposes to extend the findings made in L1 research to L2 context, and delve into the effects and interactions of prior knowledge and English proficiency on L2 reading comprehension of an expository text when students are proficient users of English, the research area largely left unexplored.
Work | 06 Herbertian Poem "Light" and Metaphysical Poem "Jay"
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Inspired by 17th century poets, George Herbert and John Donne, I wrote a poem in Herbertian style and in metaphysical style respectively.