유소년기의 다양한 영어 학습 방법이 고급 영어 구사 능력 달성에 미치는 장기적 효과에 대한 연구

Long - term effects of English - learning strategies for children and adolescents upon advanced communicative proficiency of English

This paper aims to answer a prevalent question raised by most English learners: What should children or adolescents do to accomplish advanced communicative proficiency of English as a foreign language when they grow up? We studied 280 college students’ personal histories of studying English through their lives using a questionnaire. For each student, we obtained detailed data about whether (s)he had had a foreign experience, whether (s)he had subscribed to periodicals, whether (s)he had gotten private lessons from native English speakers, etc. To assess their levels of communicative proficiency of English, we used TEPS scores, SNUCEP LAB scores, and our own speaking/writing scores. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses reveal that the subjects’ foreign experiences and their outstanding efforts to study grammar/reading, vocabulary, and listening at advanced levels significantly contribute to accomplishing efficient communicative skills of English. All other factors like the subscription to periodicals, the education at private language institutes, etc. do not play a significant role in accounting for adults’ mastery of English.