Search Advanced Search Adode Reader(link)
Download PDF Export Citaion korean bibliography PMC previewer
ISSN : 1017-7108(Print)
ISSN : (Online)
English Teaching Vol.68 No.1 pp.179-200
DOI :

The Role of Frequency in Korean Learners’ Acquisition of English Dative Construction

Cheongmin Y ook

Abstract

This study draws on recent corpus-based information to investigate the influence of frequency on Korean ESL learners’ acquisition of English verbs occurring with the double object construction (DC). Thirty low English proficiency Koreans (LPK), 30high English proficiency Koreans (HPK), and 30 native English speakers (NS)participated in an acceptability judgment test and an elicited production task featuring six high frequency (HF) verbs and six low frequency (LF) verbs. Results indicate that (a) both the LPK and the HPK more favorably accepted and more frequently produced DC sentences with HF verbs than with LF verbs and (b) the HPK more favorably accepted and more frequently produced DC sentences with both HF and LF verbs than the LPK. These results are interpreted as evidence for the significant role of frequency in Korean learners’ acquisition of English verbs occurring with the DC. The study ends with a discussion of theoretical and pedagogical implications.

초록

Figure

Table