Korean Flagship BA Program Assessment Results & Curricular Improvement

IntroductionThe Korean Language Flagship Center (KLFC) BA program’s goalis to prepare American students to be capable of functioning inKorean as professionals in their chosen academic or professionalfields. Flagship student performance is monitored and evaluatedvia various types of tests, which are administered on a regularbasis throughout the program.

Dept. of East Asian Languages and LiteraturesSang Yee Cheon & Sumi Chang

Assessment MethodsThe assessment tools that the KLFC BA programuses were developed externally and internally tomeasure students’ Korean language proficiency infour language skills. The Oral Proficiency Interview(OPI) is one assessment tool for speaking. UHMCollege of Languages, Linguistics and Literatureprovides official ACTFL OPIs for all graduating BAmajors in language departments. The Test ofProficiency in Korea (TOPIK) is an assessment toolused for listening, reading and writing in Korean. TheTOPIK is administered by the Korean Institute ofCurriculum & Evaluation in Korea. Speaking, reading,listening and writing assessment scores aredisplayed according to ACTFL levels of languageproficiency.

Conclusion17 Korean Flagship BA students from Spring 2011 to Fall 2013 have taken the official ACTFL OPI tests, and 17 students’ speaking proficiency has improved over the two or three year period. Based on the OPI results from three language sections, Korean Flagship BA program produces (41%) graduates with “superior” OPI level. Overall, the writing proficiency level is lower than the reading and listening proficiency levels. For balanced improvement of language proficiency, Focus courses such as oral communication or writing intensive have been offered.

Curricular ImprovementOver the past three years, Korean languagefocus courses for the improvement of eachlanguage skills were developed and offered”

KOR 404-411 (for speaking skill, O Focus)KOR 425.1-425.2 (for reading skill, repeatable)KOR 421-422 (for listening skill)KOR 485-486 (for writing skill, W Focus, CBICourse)

Korean Flagship BA Student Learning Outcomes1. Engage in oral communication in Korean in various social contexts, in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways.2. Express opinions and ideas by using professional-level vocabulary and formal expressions in Korean only.3. Read and comprehend professional-level Korean materials from a variety of genres and contexts.4. Listen, comprehend and analyze Korean audio/video materials from a variety of genres and contexts.5. Apply critical thinking and rhetorical skills to produce coherent written works in Korean only.6. Use a variety of Korean sources (i.e., dictionaries and encyclopedias both in book form and on the Internet.7. Conduct independent research on students’ major-related topics and effectively communicate the results.

2. Express opinions and ideas by usingprofessional level vocabulary and formalexpressions in Korean only [Speaking]

SLOs Assessed in 2011-13 Speaking (OPI) (Spr 2011-Spr 2013)

3. Read and comprehend professional levelKorean materials from a variety of genresand contexts [Reading]

4. Listen, comprehend and analyze Koreanvideo materials from a variety of genres andcontexts [Listening]

Reading

Listening

Assessment: Four major ACTFL levels of language proficiency

5. Apply critical thinking and rhetorical skillsto produce coherent written works in Koreanonly [Writing]

Writing

Novice Intermediate Advanced SuperiorReading 0 0 12 5

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

No.

of P

artic

ipan

ts

Novice Intermediate Advanced SuperiorListening 0 0 13 4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

No.

of P

artic

ipan

ts

Novice Intermediate Advanced SuperiorWriting 0 1 12 4

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

No.

of P

artic

ipan

ts

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Japanese Korean Chinese Korean FlagshipNovice Intermediate Advanced Superior

Superior

Advanced

Intermediate

Novice

Cheon, S. Y., & Chang, S. (2014, April). Korean Flagship BA program assessment results & curricular improvement. Poster session presented at the Assessment for Curricular Improvement Poster Exhibit at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI.