Second Language Studies (SLS) Doctoral Candidate Joanne Koh is the recipient of the 2023 Mango Languages Dissertation Award

Joanne Koh has won a highly competitive and prestigious dissertation support award from Mango, which is a company that provides online language learning support and platforms. In addition to obtaining support from Mango for her work, her dissertation work has also been included as an honorable mention from the TIRF.  Joanne’s dissertation investigates how adult Korean learners of English watch English language TV shows on Netflix. She is interested in how the learners use captions when they watch, as well as their motivations for turning captions on or leaving them off while viewing. By tracking learners’ viewing habits and patterns, along with their learning of new vocabulary, Joanne can see the benefits of extended viewing at home.  

Joanne has been in Michigan State University’s Second Language Studies (SLS) program since August 2020. She holds a BA in English Education, with a Secondary Teacher’s Certificate for teaching English, and earned an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Ewha Womans University in South Korea.

Throughout her academic journey, Joanne has maintained a persistent interest in ways to best incorporate technology in second and or foreign language (L2) learning and teaching. As an initial inquiry, her MA thesis titled “The effects of different frequency applications of automated writing feedback on Korean EFL writing” sought to determine the optimal stage in the process-based writing approach for delivering automated writing feedback. Her dedication to leveraging technology in L2 learning is further evidenced by her recent publications. In collaboration with Dr. Josephine Lee and Sinia Lee, she co-authored “L2 pragmatic comprehension of aural sarcasm: Tone, context, and literal meaning” (2022) published in System. Most recently, she authored a research article titled “Deconstructing the Benefits of Reading-While-Listening on L2 Reading Comprehension: The Influence of Cross-Orthographic Distance” (in press) published in Foreign Language Annals.

Joanne’s ongoing work, titled “Deconstructing the benefits of captions in L2 aural vocabulary knowledge development” aligns with her research pursuits. Additionally, she collaborated with Dr. Bronson Hui and Sanshiroh Ogawa to publish an open peer commentary titled “Voices of Three Junior Scholars: A Commentary on ‘Why Are Open Research Practices the Future‘” (early view) in Language Learning.

Joanne’s doctoral dissertation, which is funded by Mango, is “Vocabulary learning through out-of-class extensive viewing in an EFL context: A longitudinal study” underscores her enduring interest in technology-enhanced language learning. Her dissertation centers on extensive viewing —prolonged and regular engagement with authentic L2 audiovisual materials outside of formal language classrooms. By tracking learners’ viewing habits alongside other extramural language learning activities, the study aims to illuminate the impact of these practices on vocabulary acquisition