Analysis of speaking & writing activities in high school textbooks (고등학껓 영어교��서 비교분석)

Students in Korea spend lots of time studying English. They memorize a plethora of vocabulary, read, and practice listening comprehension every day. However, their English is always described as unpractical since they cannot express themselves. Compared to their ability to understand English, they lack in production skills (written and spoken). In other words, their production (speaking, writing) competence is much lower than comprehension (listening, reading) competence. In fact, this difference is natural and universal. There is wide evidence of children’s ability to comprehend quantitatively more language than they can produce. The same is true of adults, in both foreign and native languages. We can take in words, phrases, grammar, styles, and discourse that we never actually produce. [Principles of Language Learning and Teaching by H. Douglas Brown – ‘Research Findings’ of ‘Classroom Connections’ in Chapter 2.First Language Acquisition] However, this is not enough to explain the exceptionally big gap between the two aspects of English ability of Koreans.