EVELYN MIYOUNG SONG (EVE ENGLISH ACADEMY)

WILL GUIDED READING AFFECT YOUNG LEARNERS' READING COMPREHENSION AND VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IN THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE? : TEACHING YOUNGER LEARNERS

This study was conducted to investigate how guided reading affects young EFL learners’ vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. Two classes of eighteen Korean elementary school students read three English fiction books for nine months under the guidance of their teacher. A list of important words for each chapter was provided before reading along with some comprehension check questions so that they could answer during or after reading. Twice a week, they came to class and presented and compared their answers for those questions. Before and after this study, the students took a nationwide English proficiency test for young learners to see how the fiction reading affected their reading comprehension level. In addition, 50 words extracted from the 1000 most common English words list were tested, and the results were compared with those of students of the same age who had not participated in the study.

Miyoung Song obtained her PhD degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She has taught both English and Korean to various students ranging from young learners to university students. In particular, she is interested in vocabulary learning through reading and motivating young learners through guided reading.