Analyzing Trends in Korean Language Education Evaluation Research Using Text Mining Techniques

Objectives This study analyzed KCI-registered academic articles using text mining techniques to interpret the trends of research related to language education evaluation. Methods For this purpose, a total of 206 articles from January 1, 2000 to July 15, 2024 were collected from RISS and KCI, and after supplementing the abstracts, data preprocessing was performed, and finally, a total of 1,955 words were targeted for topic modeling and network analysis. Results As a result of the analysis, 10 topics were extracted and themes were extracted by topic. The themes of each topic in the research on Korean language education assessment are: improvement of Korean language teaching through assessment, school-centered Korean language assessment system, theoretical approaches to the content of Korean language assessment, development of Korean language assessment items, domain-specific characteristics and content of Korean language assessment, Korean language writing assessment, process- oriented Korean language assessment, national-level Korean language academic achievement assessment, importance and implementation of Korean language performance assessment, and assessment expertise of Korean language teachers. Conclusions The research on assessment in Korean language education tends to focus on changes in Korean language assessors' perspectives and teaching innovations, the characteristics of assessment in different areas of Korean language, research centered on writing assessment, the expansion of national-level assessment to unit school-level assessment, and theoretical research on assessment in Korean language education based on practicality.