English Article Use by Advanced Korean EFL Learners

English Article Use by Advanced Korean EFL Learners

Korean learners of English, even at the most advanced level, have difficulties in acquiring the English article system because the Korean language has no article system. This study explores the problems advanced Korean EFL learners experience in using the English articles accurately. Based on a developed classification of English articles, the study investigates which article usages are particularly difficult for advanced Korean learners in terms of semantic types, semantic environments, and article types. 72 advanced Korean college and graduate students participated in this study. An the participants completed a questionnaire and a doze test, and s디ected 41 students participated in an interview task intented to obtain supplementary data for learners' article use. The results showed that Conventional use, Type 3 (Referential indefinites), and Type 4 (Nonreferentials) were difficult, and that the environments with 'no article' Φ were considerably difficult Advanced Korean learners were found to have no explicit knowledge regarding the use of 'no article.' They felt insecure and empty if they did not use articles. And they tended to use 'the' or 'a' with most English nouns. Based on the results, this study suggests that formal instruction for the use of 'no article' is greatly required for advanced Korean learners.