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영어

As a communicative approach has been the mainstream of the Korean vocabulary education, the emphasis has put on teaching the meaning of vocabulary. However, it is hard to say that one can use a certain word in a proper manner just by knowing its meaning. The complete understanding of vocabulary can be possible when it can be used in the right place in the actual language environment with the knowledge of the vocabulary. If one can write, read, and know the meaning of a word, but does not know when, where, to whom, in what way, and for what purpose to use, namely, the knowledge on the context of the situation in which it is used, it is impossible to have a good grasp of the vocabulary. Especially the native Korean vocabulary and Sino-Korean vocabulary have a very unique relationship, which is called ‘one-to-many corresponding relation’. It is a synonymous relation that a single native Korean word responds to several Sino-Korean words and the synonyms have developed very much. The native Korean vocabulary has developed in everyday and informal contexts while the Sino-Korean vocabulary has been used in professional and formal contexts. Despite the distinction of their situational contexts, teaching the differences has not been properly conducted in Korean vocabulary education. The information on the different situational contexts of the native Korean vocabulary and Sino-Korean vocabulary is an inherent knowledge for Korean native speakers since it has been acquired in the language environment that has been shared and transmitted for a long time. However, it can be the knowledge that cannot be acquired without intentional education for Korean learners. When Korean learners become aware of the situational contexts of the native Korean vocabulary and Sino-Korean vocabulary, they will be able to create appropriate discourses suitable for communication situations and successfully reach the advanced level of Korean speakers by enhancing the fluency of speech.