抄録
Language courses taught at universities in Korea have usually adopted a letter grading system without much consideration of its effects on learning outcomes and psychological burden on learners. A letter grading system, which has its base on norm-referenced testing, aims to differentiate students' achievement in relation to others and to boost their motivation for higher grades. A strict proportion of each grade has often been mandated, causing irrational competition between students. In contrast, a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading system, an S/U grading system, which bases its rationale in criterion-referenced testing, measures to what extent students have achieved the goals set up by a class and what they can and cannot do. In the field of language teaching and testing, little research has been done on the effects of a grading system on the teaching and learning of language courses. This research intends to show how a change in a grading system from a letter grading to an S/U grading system at a university in Korea has impacted the motivation of students for learning, attitudes in classes, and achievements. With the results of two questionnaire surveys from 896 students, and interviews from twenty students and three English teaching faculty members, this research found that an S/U grading system functioned well for the language program of the university. However, failure to promote motivation, insincere and inactive attitude in classes, and lack of interest of the students were pointed out as the major drawbacks of the system. Suggestions to make up for limits of the S/U grading system are presented.
