영어 마을 체험 활동이 초등학생들의 영어 학습에 대한 흥미도, 자신감, 학습동기에 미치는 영향

Abstract

Many Korean parents spend a significant amount of money on private education to improve their children’s English language skills. To reduce parent’s financial burden, English villages were founded to offer immersion programs in an environment similar to a real life situation. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of elementary school students’ participation at an English village on their English learning interest, confidence, and motivation. The subjects of this study consisted of 103 5th grade students from 9 elementary schools, comprised of 48 boys and 55 girls, that came to an English village. The questionnaire was composed of 36 items dealing with student’s interest, confidence and motivation in learning English. Pre and post-questionnaires were replicated with the exception of 2 items. The two items were replaced with questions that asked for the student’s input on the difference in interest and confidence of English learning after their experience at an English village. The collected data were analyzed by statistical methods, such as descriptive statistics and t-test. The results of this study were as follows: First, the scores on the post averages of learners' interest in English learning were higher than pre-test and the difference was significant. Second, the scores on the post averages of confidence in learners’ English learning increased after the experience of the English village, and the difference was significant. Third, the mean score of the participants’ motivation also significantly increased after experiencing at an English village.