Kitaek Kim
PRESENT POSITION
2024 - Professor, Department of English Language Education, Seoul National University
2020 - 2024 Associate Professor, Department of English Language Education, Seoul National University
[Previously, Assistant & Associate Professor at Gyeongin National University of Education]
EDUCATION
2014 Ph.D. in Second Language Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Dissertation: Unveiling Linguistic Competence by Facilitating Performance (Co-chairs: Bonnie D. Schwartz & William O'Grady)
2008 MA in English Language Education, Seoul National University
2006 BA in English Language Education, Seoul National University
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
1. Unveiling Linguistic Competence by Facilitating Performance
My primary research is grounded in the assumption that grammatical knowledge is represented in the learner’s cognitive system, and it seeks to empirically trace how such knowledge is manifested in observable behavior across both offline and online language tasks. I do not treat factors such as frequency or salience as competing explanations for grammatical structure; rather, I strategically manipulate and control these factors to reveal otherwise obscured structural knowledge. Within this framework, behavioral signatures—such as interpretive preferences, shifts in attention, and anticipatory eye movements—are taken as evidence for the availability of structured grammatical representations in both native and non-native languages. The overarching goal is to determine whether nontargetlike performance arises from representational deficits or from performance-related limitations, thereby establishing a principled link between grammatical representation and its deployment during processing.
e.g.,
Kim, K., O’Grady, W., & Schwartz, B. D. (2018). Case in heritage Korean. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 8(2), 252-282.
Kim, K., & Schwartz, B. D. (2022). Learnability in the acquisition of the English tough construction by L1-Korean adult and child L2 learners. Second Language Research, 38(2), 259-287.
Hwang, H., & Kim, K. (2026). Effects of lexical frequency in predictive processing: Higher frequency boosts L1 speed and facilitates L2 prediction. Language Learning, 76(1), 249-279.
2. Bridging Input Processing and Pedagogical Input in Second Language Acquisition
My second research program focuses on how language acquisition and processing can be facilitated by optimizing the conditions under which input is perceived and interpreted. This line of work centers on input processing. Within this framework, facilitation is achieved by enhancing the quality and accessibility of input—for instance, by increasing perceptual clarity, manipulating information structure to assign greater salience to new information, and providing predictive cues that enable the parser to anticipate upcoming structure and deploy structured grammatical representations in constructing target interpretations. This program further emphasizes the importance of assessing learners’ current proficiency, given that input must be aligned with their developmental level. To this end, learners’ abilities are systematically assessed (e.g., using CEFR levels or national English curriculum), and instructional materials are analyzed in terms of their linguistic complexity, with the goal of ensuring that input is appropriately calibrated to learners’ developmental stages. Overall, this research program seeks to identify the conditions under which input becomes maximally processable and, consequently, most conducive to acquisition.
e.g.,
Kim, H., Kim, K., & Kim, J. (2025). The role of processing goals in second language predictive processing: A visual-world eye-tracking study of Korean honorific agreement. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 47, 136-156 .
Choi, S., Kim, K., & Oh, S.-Y. (2025). Grade-level classification of grammar items in English textbooks based on the 2015 revised English curriculum. English Teaching, 80(2), 29-55.
Kim, K., & Kim, H. (2026). Salience in second language acquisition. International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 3rd Edition.
Kim, J., Isbell, D., & Kim, K. (2026). The influence of CEFR in South Korea’s 2022 National English Curriculum: A focus on grammar. English Today. Online First.
3. Modeling Cross-linguistic Influence and Representational Development
My third research program develops and empirically evaluates theoretical models of second language acquisition, focusing on cross-linguistic influence, representational transfer, and subsequent developmental restructuring. It examines these processes across a wide range of learner populations, including adult and child L2 learners, L3 learners, and heritage speakers. This line of research investigates how multiple linguistic systems interact within the learner’s cognitive architecture, with particular attention to how previously and subsequently acquired languages constrain the development and processing of an additional language, and how these systems are themselves reshaped through such interactions over time. It further identifies linguistic domains that are differentially susceptible to cross-linguistic influence. Extending this perspective to language maintenance, this research also examines how reduced input and use affect the accessibility and stability of linguistic representations. The findings suggest that linguistic competence requires sustained activation: without regular use, representations may weaken or become less accessible during processing, resulting in observable patterns of language attrition.
e.g.,
Kim, K., & Joo, K.-J. (2021). L1 transfer in the interpretation of L2 reflexive pronouns by child learners of Korean. International Journal of Bilingualism, 25(6), 1529-1544.
Jo, K., Kim, K., & Kim, H. (2021). Children’s interpretation of negation and quantifier scope in L3 English. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 24, 427-438.
Kim, K., & Kim, H. (2022). Sequential bilingual heritage children’s L1 attrition in lexical retrieval: Age of acquisition versus language experience. Bilingualism: Language & Cognition, 25, 537-547.
Sung, M.-C., Kim, K., & Nam, B. (2026). Influence of topic-prominent L1s on the use of L2 English copula be: A corpus-based study. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching (IRAL), 64(1), 499-521.
