The Preparation of South Korean High School Students for International Communication

There has never been a greater need to develop South Korean students’ ability to use English as a means of international communication than now. While English has spread to all corners of the world (Graddol 1997) South Korea has seen an increased reliance on international trade and a significant increase in both foreign visitors to South Korea and South Koreans going abroad. Meanwhile, new models of English language teaching have evolved to account for the increased use of English involving one or more non-native speakers. One of the most prominent of these is English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), which promotes a shift from traditional English as a Foreign Language (EFL) models of teaching towards an approach that recognises and accounts for the important role non-native English speakers play (Seidlhofer 2004). The changing role of English towards that of an international language incorporating non-native speakers is reflected in the goals of the National English Curriculum (NEC) of South Korea (Ministry of Education (MOE) 2008), which states the need for South Korean students to be able use English to “develop our own [Korean] culture and introduce it to other countries” (p.43) and use English to “connect [South Korea] to different countries” (p.41) as well as having numerous goals specifically aimed at developing students ability for international communication with both native speakers of English (NS) and non-native speakers of English (NNS). As the need for students to become competent interlocutors with other NNS becomes increasingly recognised, Graddol (2006:87) claims that “its [ELF] ideas are likely to influence mainstream teaching and assessment practices in the future.” The role of textbooks may be imperative in the realisation of ELF models in English language classrooms. Jennifer Jenkins, who is one of the founding and most influential figures of ELF, states that textbook developers have the potential to act as ‘gatekeepers’ to English language classrooms (Jenkins 2002). The importance of textbooks is summarised eloquently by Sheldon (1988:237), who states “these [textbooks] represent for both students and teachers the visible heart of any ELT programme.” Yet, currently, there has been no research on how appropriate South Korean public school textbooks are in the preparation of South Korean students for international communication including NNS of English. With this in mind, this study will analyse the appropriacy of textbook materials used in South Korean high school classrooms in meeting the international communication goals stated in the NEC (MOE 2008). The attitudes of teachers towards ELF models of English language teaching are also important if they are to make their way into the classrooms of South Korea. Research on attitudes towards communicative language teaching describes how hostility amongst South Korean English language teachers can prevent the uptake of approaches perceived as ‘Western’ (Li 1998). With this in mind, this study looks to analyse the extent to which South Korean public school teachers may now be affected by similar attitudes towards preparing students for international communication through an ELF oriented approach. This paper will begin by describing the development of education in South Korea, including an analysis of how the development of the South Korean education system has been, and still is, heavily influenced by South Korean culture and the possible effects these influences have in preparing South Korean students for international communication. In Section 2 I will move on to discuss the development of ELF, how it relates to the goals of the NEC (MOE 2008) and how these tie in with South Korea’s current economic climate. As part of this discussion I will evaluate the issues ELF faces both as a concept and a pedagogical tool when applied to South Korean public high school classrooms. Section 3 outlines the research design used for this study. It also describes the difficulties encountered and how this research has been adapted to account for these. Section 4 presents the results of the textbook analysis and teacher surveys, before moving on to Section 5, which contains my discussion of the key issues highlighted by the results of this study. This paper concludes with my recommendations on how the South Korean education system can adapt teaching strategies aimed at improving students’ international communication skills to the current framework of education on both a micro and macro level

Testing four skills in Japan

This paper considers arguments for the testing of spoken language skills in Japan and the contribution the use of such tests might make to language education. The Japanese government, recognising the importance of spontaneous social interaction in English to participation in regional and global communities, mandates the development of all ‘four skills’ (Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking) in schools. However, university entrance tests continue to emphasize the written language. Because they control access to opportunities, entrance tests tend to dominate teaching and learning. They are widely believed to encourage traditional forms of teaching and to inhibit speaking and listening activities in the classroom. Comprehensive testing of spoken language skills should, in contrast, encourage (or at least not discourage) the teaching and learning of these skills. On the other hand, testing spoken language skills also represents a substantial challenge. New organisational structures are needed to support new testing formats and these will be unfamiliar to all involved, resulting in an increased risk of system failures. Introducing radical change to any educational system is likely to provoke a reaction from those who benefit most from the status quo. For this reason, critics will be ready to exploit any perceived shortcomings to reverse innovative policies. Experience suggests that radical changes in approaches to testing are unlikely to deliver benefits for the education system unless they are well supported by teacher training, new materials and public relations initiatives. The introduction of spoken language tests is no doubt essential to the success of Japan’s language policies, but is not without risk and needs to be carefully integrated with other aspects of the education system

Who are the Real Insiders? Ambivalent Dynamics between a Korean Man and Immigrant Labourers in 'He’s on Duty'

This article explores the possibilities and the limits of immigrant workers’ struggle for coexistence by analysing the ambivalent representation of migrant workers in the Korean film, He’s on Duty (2010), about Taesik Bang, a Korean man who pretends to be an illegal worker from Bhutan to get a job. While many media representations of immigrant labourers reinforce stereotypical concepts of them, this film captures the dynamics between the domestic poor and the migrant labour force with more complexity than previously displayed. The article shows how the film asks the audience to redefine Korean identity and multicultural society by focusing on the struggles of the Korean protagonist as well as immigrant labourers

Barriers to English Language Learners in the Chicago Metropolitan Area

Immigrants from all over the world are continuing to move to Illinois in large numbers. As they settle into an increasingly diverse range of communities within metropolitan Chicago, this expansion of ports of entry creates new challenges for the state and local communities in assessing and meeting their needs.In 2000-2001 the Center for Impact Research (CIR) conducted research to address the following questions:-- Where are immigrants in northeastern Illinois moving and how does the migration pattern today differ from previous trends?-- How many immigrants are in need of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instruction? Where do these immigrants reside?-- What barriers can be identified that prevent or make it difficult for immigrants to learn English?-- What are the employment patterns of immigrants that might affect their ability to have time or access to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)?Methodology: CIR analyzed demographic data, primarily to establish the communities in northeastern Illinois that needed to be targeted for further investigation. Material consisted of Census data from 1990 and 2000, Current Population Surveys from 1994-1998, as well as information from academics, demographers, and community leaders who were able to provide more accurate and up-to-date information about immigration patterns and trends.To determine experiences with, and barriers to ESOL instruction, CIR conducted 76 interviews with immigrant service organizations and ESOL providers in the Chicago metropolitan area. In addition, CIR conducted 37 interviews with Mexican and Polish immigrants throughout the region and with Chinese immigrants in Chicago to confirm or validate information from social service providers and to further identify barriers and issues around ESOL instruction. Lastly, McHenry County College, at our request, administered a written survey in Spanish to 200 immigrants in ESOL classes at the college.This report presents the findings from this research. As ESOL providers work to meet the needs of their students while maintaining the integrity and professionalism of their instruction, the thoughts and opinions of ESOL students and other immigrants in the Chicago metropolitan area enrich the discussion of issues under consideration by policy makers, funders, and ESOL learning centers

Peer mediation for conflict management: a Singaporean case study

The burgeoning interest in conflict and its management has recently begun to impact on schools and school systems worldwide. Motivated by a concern for increasing levels of violence in schools and student�student conflict, many school administrators are looking at conflict management programs as a means of dealing with the problem. Most of the more widely used programs have their origins in the United States; their appropriateness and effectiveness in other countries and cultures is, at best, unknown, and in some respects open to conjecture. In this paper the cultural appropriateness of a peer mediation program in a primary school in Singapore is the subject of investigation. The study also addresses, in an exploratory manner, the effectiveness of peer mediation as a mechanism for student�student conflict management

Recent Immigration to Philadelphia: Regional Change in a Re-Emerging Gateway

Analyzes 1970-2006 trends in the growth and characteristics of the city's immigrant population. Presents data by regional origin, settlement area, arrival year, citizenship status, age, gender, education, and language, and in comparison with other cities

Chinese and Japanese: The Changing Values of "Flexible Capital"

Our project hinged on the ability of the undergraduate advanced Chinese and Japanese students at the UIUC to describe, during short interviews, the value of their respective languages in economic terms. We found that the undergraduate students involved in learning third-year Chinese and Japanese were very well aware of the changing economic reasons for learning their languages. Our hypothesis that Japanese students were more motivated by popular Japanese media while the Chinese students were more motivated by economic reasons was borne out by our findings, though to say that our hypothesis was perfect would be a gross generalization not cognizant of the outlying data and the limitations of our project.unpublishe

World-class apprenticeship standards: Report and recommendations

The aim of this research was to identify world-class apprenticeship standards and to make suggestions as to how these could be applied to the English system. By ‘world class’ we mean that the standards described here are acknowledged to be among the best in the world. Thirteen indicators for world-class apprenticeship standards were identified through the research and these have been divided into four sub-sections: (1) training, (2) skills and expertise, (3) recognition and (4) progression. Each of the indicators is explained separately in this report but they have to be understood as being in close relationship to each other. As well as identifying world-class apprenticeship standards the indicators are also designed to compare these standards to apprenticeship standards that are of a good level but do not necessarily feature amongst the best in the world. Identifying and applying standards in apprenticeships is important because apprenticeship training, especially if delivered at a world-class standard, can raise the number of people in employment, increase individual and company productivity and enhance economic growth. The findings from our research suggest that world-class apprenticeship standards require: • extended apprenticeships of between three to four years; • broad and in-depth scientific and industrial skills and knowledge; • the presence of a ‘master’ in the company to train an apprentice; • high-quality knowledge-based education and training; • recognition through an occupational title on completion of the training; • apprentices to acquire all the skills and knowledge necessary to work effectively in an occupation; • apprentices to become skilled workers in an occupational area with a critical and creative approach; and • progression routes into employment as well as into further education and training. This report is based on interviews with seven experts from Australia, Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and South Korea on vocational education and training with a review of the literature

Factors Influencing Cities' Publishing Efficiency

Recently, a vast number of scientific publications have been produced in cities in emerging countries. It has long been observed that the publication output of Beijing has exceeded that of any other city in the world, including such leading centres of science as Boston, New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo. Researchers have suggested that, instead of focusing on cities' total publication output, the quality of the output in terms of the number of highly cited papers should be examined. However, in the period from 2014 to 2016, Beijing produced as many highly cited papers as Boston, London, or New York. In this paper, I propose another method to measure cities' publishing performance; I focus on cities' publishing efficiency (i.e., the ratio of highly cited articles to all articles produced in that city). First, I rank 554 cities based on their publishing efficiency, then I reveal some general factors influencing cities' publishing efficiency. The general factors examined in this paper are as follows: the linguistic environment, cities' economic development level, the location of excellent organisations, cities' international collaboration patterns, and the productivity of scientific disciplines