한국 영자신문의 코퍼스 기반 어휘수준 분석

A Corpus-based Analysis of the Vocabulary of Korean English Newspapers

English newspapers, along with the increasing attention to (E)NIE ((English) newspaper in education), have been one of the most recommended resources for English study among Korean students and teachers, resulting in many studies dealing with the use of English newspapers in and outside classroom. Despite considerable contribution of these studies, however, few of them have provided a systematic analysis of English newspaper vocabulary, thereby making it difficult for teachers and students to properly adopt English newspapers for their English teaching and learning. The goal of this paper is to analyze the overall vocabulary levels of English newspapers published in Korea and assess their appropriateness as English learning materials for Korean students of different levels. To attain this research goal, a corpus of English newspapers was compiled from two major Korean English newspapers (i.e. The Korea Times and JoongAng Daily) and then analyzed and compared to determine their overall vocabulary levels and relative status. The results indicate that the two English newspapers are similar in vocabulary size but different in difficulty level, while they have a higher vocabulary level than high school English (up to pre-college level) and a relatively high coverage of essential academic vocabulary. The findings of this study suggest that English newspapers, although they can be very useful, should be used with caution and appropriate adjustment, especially at high school or lower levels.