A Study on Korean EFL Middle and High School Students' English Learning Perception

Abstract

Objectives In this study, English learning motivation, English class satisfaction, and English learning perception were investigated as three intangible factors of English learning of Korean EFL students. The three intangible factors were studied in a bottom-up approach to find out whether they affect their overall life happiness as sub-factors. The purpose of this study is to present the rationale for the importance of the study on the factors of English learning perception and the need for further research. Methods This study surveyed 266 Korean EFL middle school students (M) and 211 high school students (H) about their English learning motivation, English class satisfaction, and English learning perception. Based on the questions that measure English learning motivation and English class satisfaction, the questionnaire that can measure English learning perception is produced, and finally, 40 questions that can measure four factors, including overall life happiness, are composed. Results It was found that 61.63% of students receive additional English lessons after school English classes, confirming that the amount of English learning is large. It was confirmed that the English grades, school grades, and English proficiency were all inconsistent, and high dissatisfaction with the circumstances where English learning was spent. In the correlation between the three intangible English learning factors, both groups showed the highest positive correlation (M:.803, H:.784) in English learning perception and English class satisfaction. In the correlation between the three intangible factors of English learning and overall life happiness, the factor that had the highest influence in both groups (M:.265, H:.400) was measured as English learning perception. The English learning perception average value of the two groups were 57.6 and 57.4, which were negative. Conclusions The English learning perception is that the higher students' negative perceptions of English learning in Korea's EFL environment, the more negative the outcome of learning English is, as well as the cause of lowering their overall life happiness. In the future, through in-depth research on English learning perception, it is expected that the positive increase in English learning perception will have a positive effect on their overall life as well as the outcome of English learning.