청크 중심 학습이 초등 학생의 영어 기능 및 흥미에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of chunk-focused learning based on the lexical approach(Lewis, 1993, 2000) by Korean elementary school students. 54 students(15 fourth graders, 11 fifth graders, and 28 sixth graders) participated in after-school activities at 7 libraries in a city of Gyeongsangnamdo Province from January 2012 to September 2012. These students were asked to read out loud sentences in meaningful units from the chunk-focused text and to write journals about their activities. The analysis of questionnaires and the students' journals showed that chunk-focused learning increased the students’ English skills, self-esteem, and interest in learning. Furthermore, chunk-focused learning, which improves a speaking skill as well as a reading skill, seems to overcome the limitations of the lexical approach since lexis “refers to only one component[vocabulary] of communicative competence” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 138). This study suggests the possibility of chunk-focused learning in improving English skills, encouraging English learning interest, and boosting autonomous learning to the young learners.