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Natural Language Processing (NLP) makes use of Artificial Intelligence algorithms to extract meaningful information from unstructured texts, i.e., content that lacks metadata and cannot easily be indexed or mapped onto standard database fields. It has several applications, from sentiment analysis and text summary to automatic language translation. In this work, we use NLP to figure out similar structural linguistic patterns among several different languages. We apply the word2vec algorithm that creates a vector representation for the words in a multidimensional space that maintains the meaning relationship between the words. From a large corpus we built this vectorial representation in a 100-dimensional space for English, Portuguese, German, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, Basque, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, and Estonian. Then, we calculated the fractal dimensions of the structure that represents each language. The structures are multi-fractals with two different dimensions that we use, in addition to the token-dictionary size rate of the languages, to represent the languages in a three-dimensional space. Finally, analyzing the distance among languages in this space, we conclude that the closeness there is tendentially related to the distance in the Phylogenetic tree that depicts the lines of evolutionary descent of the languages from a common ancestor.

This study examined how students of English as a foreign language (EFL) with different first language (L1) backgrounds use interactional metadiscourse markers in argumentative writing. Specifically, to explore unique patterns of metadiscourse features that reflect context and development, the essays written by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean EFL students at three proficiency levels were analyzed for topic, L1 background, and L2 proficiency. For a comprehensive analysis of 1986 essays, I used a natural language processing tool that generates quantity scores for Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse categories (i.e., hedges, boosters, attitude markers, self-mentions, reader pronouns, and directives). The results showed notable differences in the students’ use of metadiscourse features across topics, and significant variation was also found across different L1 groups. However, their use of interactional metadiscourse did not differ by L2 proficiency. A post hoc analysis of a parallel native-speaker corpus further revealed EFL students’ underuse of hedges and overuse of reader pronouns. Findings are discussed in terms of academic writing instruction, writing prompt development, and L2 learner categorization.

This article aims to elucidate the semantic gap between Jeong 情, discussed in the traditional Confucian intellectual society, and Jeong 정, understood as a conceptual cluster in contemporary Korean language and life. During the period when Joseon Korea was converted into Confucianism, part of the centrality of a native word, tteut, shifted to jeong, a naturalized word. In other words, “jeong” has grown into a new concept cluster with centrality in relation to the emotional aspect of the mind, while “tteut” still remains as a concept cluster associated with the mind. This phenomenon could be related to the spread and sharing of discourse on various emotions represented by “sadan 四端” and “chiljeong 七情” in the Confucian literature. As the discussion on the Four–Seven continued, emotional vocabulary extracted from Chinese Confucian literature was reconstructed by reflecting the Korean people’s pursuit and understanding of emotions. From this, we can evaluate that the Four–Seven debate not only contributed to the elaboration of Neo-Confucian emotion theory, but it also developed in the direction of moral emotion with social values implied by Korean “jeong”.

This autoethnography delineates how, I, as a bilingual researcher proficient in Korean and English, negotiated the tensions between conforming to English-only academic writing norms for survival in academia and embracing translingual writing practices during the composition of my dissertation. Based on the salient themes and repeating experiences that I penned in analytic memos, field notes and diaries, I meticulously rearranged the thoughts and emotions, weaving them into stream-of-consciousness-style narratives. Through this method, I aimed to vividly portray the inevitable tensions that might be experienced by numerous bilingual researchers speaking English as a second language. This autoethnography particularly portrays the troubles of conveying intricate cultural nuances when translating my research partners’ Korean responses into English. Also, I detail the process of how I negotiated the dilemmas between artistic translingual writing and writing solely in English for a broader readership. Such detailing processes eventually prompted me to contemplate whether I truly embodied the transformative linguistic practices that I kept advocating for in my research projects. This autoethnography, although entailing vulnerability, ultimately underscores the significance of practicing self-reflexivity through crafting authentic and vivid narratives.

This study examines the effects of teachers' language use—first language Korean (L1) or second language English (L2)—on the vocabulary acquisition and retention of two age groups: elementary school children after only a few years of English study (n=443) and adults at university with demonstrably higher levels of proficiency (n=286). Its context is the frequent recommendation by policy makers that L2 teachers should maximize the use of the target language and do so from the very beginning of instruction. We focused on the effects of language use on vocabulary learning because vocabulary teaching frequently involves L1 use even in an otherwise L2 communicative classroom. Our findings suggest that both age groups benefit from links being made with the L1, but that young learners benefit more and that differences in L2 proficiency levels, which often accompany age differences of L2 instructed learners, are a possible contributing, though not a deciding, factor in this conclusion.

The use of immersive virtual reality (iVR) technology creates an infinite set of possibilities for language learners both inside and outside the traditional classroom setting. In contributing a deeper understanding of language education with iVR, the present study explored how low-proficiency level English learners perceived iVR and how iVR benefited language learning. This mixed-method study included qualitative data (screen and in-class recordings, post-interviews) and quantitative data (pre-and posttests, post-surveys). Twenty-five 4th graders in a Korean elementary school participated in this study and the study explored their language learning experiences with an iVR platform, Immerse . Findings showed that the students perceived the activities in iVR as motivating, enjoyable, and useful for learning English. Specifically, the current study investigated students’ behavioral, affective, and cognitive engagement. The results showed that the iVR learning environment had a positive impact on students’ engagement in all three dimensions. The pre- and post-test results indicated that learning outcomes were significantly enhanced after the iVR sessions. The study suggests pedagogical implications to effectively utilize iVR technology for language learning based on the results.

The use of machine translation (MT) in the academic context has increased in recent years. Hence, language teachers have found it difficult to ignore MT, which has led to some concerns. Among the concerns, its accuracy has become a major factor that shapes language teachers’ pedagogical decision to use MT in their language classrooms. Despite the urgency of the issue, studies on MT output quality in foreign language education remain scarce. Moreover, as MT is advancing every year, updated studies are imperative. Therefore, the present study investigated the quality of MT outputs (Google Translate) from Korean to English by comparing it with the English-translated texts of intermediate English as a foreign language students. The study also examined the factors within the source texts that affect the quality of MT outputs. Five trained evaluators examined multiple aspects of MT output samples (N = 104) and students’ English texts (N = 104), including mechanics, vocabulary, grammar, and context. The results showed that both texts were equally comprehensible, but MT outperformed the students in most aspects under investigation. The study further found that only two factors in the source texts – punctuation and sentence complexity – influenced MT output quality, whereas lexical and grammatical accuracy, lexical diversity, and contextual understanding did not affect it. Based on the results, the study presents classroom implications for using MT for educational purposes.

This study examines the relationship between learning environments and learning outcomes in acquiring Korean as a language target. We compare two learner groups residing in the United States: English-speaking learners of Korean in foreign language contexts versus Korean heritage speakers. Both groups share English as their dominant language and receive similar tertiary-level instruction, yet differ in their language-learning profiles. We measure two groups’ comprehension behaviour involving Korean subject−predicate honorific agreement, focusing on two conditions manifesting a mismatch between the honorifiable status of a subject and the realisation of the honorific suffix in a predicate. Results from the acceptability judgement task revealed that (1) both learner groups rated the ungrammatical condition as more acceptable than native speakers did, (2) Korean heritage speakers rated the ungrammatical condition significantly lower than English-speaking learners, and (3) overall proficiency in Korean modulated learners’ evaluations of the ungrammatical condition in opposite directions between the groups. No between-group difference was found in the infelicitous-yet-grammatical condition. Results from reaction time measurement further showed that Korean heritage speakers responded considerably faster than English-speaking learners of Korean. These results underscore the critical role of broad usage experience—whether through home language exposure for heritage language speakers or formal instruction for foreign language learners—in shaping non-dominant language activities.