A Study on English Literacy Education in Elementary Schools

Park, Mi Jeong

Article

Journal of English Teaching through Movies and Media 2003;4(1):159-181.
Published online June 30, 2003.

A Study on English Literacy Education in Elementary Schools

Mi Jeong Park

초등 영어 문자언어 교육 실태에 관한 연구

박미정

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interest level of children in English and their English literacy skills in elementary schools. This paper is also concerned with looking at and identifying the problems of the 7th National English Curriculum, with respect to literacy, and providing a basis for future curriculum revision and teaching policies in English literacy education in elementary schools. To these ends, a questionnaire was designed and implemented, which covered the four areas of children's English learning: their perception of English as a school subject, interest levels in English, private English tuition and the four English skills. Four hundred and forty-seven students from grades 3 to 6, participated in the investigation. The data obtained from the questionnaire were analyzed using the SPSS program. The results demonstrated that generally students preferred English as a subject. The third graders showed the highest interest, and the six graders the lowest. Secondly, more than 70% of the students had taken private English tuition outside of school; 32% for at least one year. Thirdly, 80~90% of Grade 3 and Grade 4 students were able to read and write the English alphabet. And a considerable number of students were observed to read and write simple words and sentences. Fourthly, it was found that the students' reading and writing skills were correlated with their listening and speaking skills. On the basis of these findings, a number of pedagogical implications were drawn.