한국어 교육을 위한 추측 표현 연구 = A study on conjecture expressions for Korean language education

This study aims to examine the problems related to the teaching of conjecture expressions, analyze their features, and suggest educational methods to systematically and effectively teach Korean conjecture expressions. There are different conjecture expressions in Korean. A conjecture expression is an indication of the speaker's psychological attitude toward the situation. Communication results may vary depending on how appropriately conjecture expressions are used in situations. The importance of conjecture expressions is well recognized in Korean language education and treated as an essential grammatical feature in the curriculum. Despite their importance, they are not taught systematically in the classroom. This study analyzed four different Korean textbooks to identify the problems related to teaching conjecture expressions and examine how conjecture expressions are taught in the classroom. The following material in the textbooks were examined: the conjecture expressions presented in each textbook, the order and steps of the presentation, and the grammatical explanation. We made the following observations. First, there were differences in the expressions presented in each textbook. Although 10 to 15 expressions were given as representative, there were only seven expressions were common to all four textbooks: -은/는/을 것 같-, -은/는/을지 모르-, -을 터이-, -은/는가 보-, -나 보-, -을까 보-, -겠-. Second, there was a difference in the order and level of the conjecture expressions presented in the textbooks. Not only did the conjecture expression first presented in each textbook differ, the stage at which it was presented was different too. Moreover, their order of presentation and level-setting was different. Third, the meaning of the conjecture expressions was not clearly presented in the textbooks. In general, it was not easy to accurately understand the meaning of the expression because their meaning was only described briefly, and the important qualities of individual conjecture expressions were not appropriately presented in the textbooks. Thus, it was difficult to accurately understand the meaning and usage of the expressions purely based off the grammatical explanations. To identify the difference between the conjecture expressions given in Korean textbooks and those used in everyday life, this study analyzed the use frequency of spoken corpora. A total of 25 conjecture expressions were analyzed from the spoken corpora. Of these, the use frequency of -은/는/을 것 같-, -겠-, and -을 것이- was 40.23%, 28.65%, and 10.68% respectively. Compared to the Korean textbooks, of the high-frequency expressions -은/는/을 것 같-, -겠-, -을 것이- those that were common to the textbooks were -은/는/을 것 같-과 -겠-. However, -을 것이-, which was used frequently, was not common to the textbooks. This seems to show that actual language use is not being reflected in Korean language education. This study also presented a step-by-step teaching method to address these problems and effectively teach conjecture expressions. To teach such expressions step-by-step, the study selected 13 essential conjecture expressions based on an analysis of spoken corpora, Korean textbooks, and the National Institute of Korean Language's "Korean Language Education Grammar and Expression Content Development." In addition, the study also analyzed the morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic features of the selected expressions and examined their significant qualities. Moreover, the teaching level for the expressions was divided into three stages to provide a balanced education. The study suggests using frequency, difficulty, and the practicality of learning as criteria for determining the stages. Finally, the study presented a step-by-step teaching model and content to teach conjecture expressions based on methods and contents suitable for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages. Since conjecture expressions are presented for the first time at the beginner level, it is essential to learn their grammatical meanings accurately. Hence, the study proposes a bottom-up teaching method in which teachers clearly present the rules of grammar and learners learn the sentence form through practice. Since many conjecture expressions are presented at the intermediate level, it is important to understand the differences between expressions and help students choose the expressions appropriate to the context. Intermediate Korean learners have significantly improved from the beginner level but are not yet able to speak Korean proficiently. Thus, elements of the bottom-up method were retained given their level of Korean in a blended method that partially incorporates top-down methods. Since learners can accurately use conjecture expressions at the advanced level due to their understanding of the subtle differences in the meaning and the patterns used in spoken and written Korean, the study proposes a top-down teaching method in which the teacher gives a story or a text and have the students learn the grammatical forms through the assignment.