Soo-Ok Kweon
About
Soo-Ok Kweon, Ph.D. is professor at Pohang University of Science and Technology in Korea. She received her Ph. D degree in linguistics from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her primary research interests lie in second language acquisition, L2 psycholinguistics, and L2 reading. She has published articles in many leading journals including Second Language Research, English for Specific Purposes, and Language Teaching Research. She published a book entitled The Asian EFL Classroom: issues, challenges and future expectations from Routledge.Sessions
College and University Extensive and Blended Reading: A Comparison for Korean Engineering Students more
This study examined the effectiveness of different English reading instruction approaches at two Korean engineering universities. At University A (U-A), students engaged in extensive reading (ER) using English novels exclusively, while University B (U-B) employed a blended approach combining intensive reading (IR) of EFL textbook passages with ER assignments. The study involved 167 participants using pre- and post-tests. At U-A, intermediate-level students showed significant improvement in reading comprehension, whereas advanced-level students made modest gains. At U-B, advanced-level students experienced substantial improvement. Survey results indicated that students at both universities viewed English novel reading positively. However, U-B students preferred TOEFL-style reading, while U-A students favored peer discussions about novels. The findings suggest that the blended approach offers measurable advantages in test performance due to its alignment with TOEFL’s emphasis on detailed comprehension, while ER provides motivational and developmental benefits, indicating that a balanced mix of ER and IR may optimize curricula.
