Native English-Speaking Teachers Using Korean to Teach EFL in South Korea: A Sociocultural Analysis of Teachers' Beliefs and Practices

The use of learners first languages (L1) in second and foreign language teaching is a practice that is empirically supported and its inclusion is increasingly recommended by researchers (e.g. Cook, 2001; Corcoran, 2015; Cummins, 2007; Garca & Lin, 2017a; Turnbull & Dailey-OCain, 2009). Yet, native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) who deploy their learners first languages in their classes tend to be overlooked in the research, and the Korean context is no exception. Framed through the lens of Vygotkys sociocultural theory (1978, 1986) and Engestrms conceptualization of activity theory (1987, 1999, 2001), this study investigates how three NESTs use Korean to teach EFL to university students in South Korea. The study uncovers how the participants practices shape and are shaped by their beliefs toward the use of Korean, their past language learning and teaching experiences, English-only medium of instruction (MOI) policies and associated ideologies at the societal (macro) and institutional (micro) levels. The data for this study were obtained through 34 hours of classroom observations as well as background, stimulated recall and follow-up interviews. The analysis reveals that the participants used Korean as a mediating tool serving three broad functions based on Ferguson (2003), namely, to ensure that their students learned the course content, to manage the classroom and to improve the affective climate of the classroom. Additionally, two of the participants used the negotiation of their emergent bilingual identities (Garcia, 2017) as a pedagogical tool (Morgan, 2004). However, the analysis also revealed that the use of Korean is a potential source of tension. Two of the participants perceived an English-only MOI policy. The de facto policy served to create tensions and feelings of guilt and wrongdoing. Additionally, one of the instructors feared making linguistic errors and potentially confusing her students. These fears conflicted with her expert NEST identity and led to her rarely speaking Korean in class. Yet, the tensions surrounding the use of Korean and the de facto MOI also served as the genesis for agentive actions that enabled the participants to use Korean in a modality and manner that minimized or even negated these tensions

A comparison study on the effects of two explicit pronunciation syllabi on Korean adult EFL learners' learning of English sounds

textThis study compared two explicit approaches to teaching English pronunciation to Korean adult EFL learners. One approach involved teaching agendas based on the analysis of pronunciation errors that were considered to be typically observed in the target students. The other approach involved rather general teaching agendas that considered no specific L1 background. The experimental group, the error-analysis-based group, was taught by two Korean instructors of English, while the control group was taught by two native English-speaking instructors. The experimental group teachers used an in-house workbook that consisted of segmental sound items from the clinical data obtained from the error analysis. These Korean instructors of English presented short authentic video clips that the researcher edited from feature movies, situational comedies, news casts, etc. to the learners as model L2 utterances. The native English-speaking teachers used a pre-existing pronunciation workbook published by two native English-speaking language practitioners and presented relevant parts of the supplementary tutorial video to their learners. These four 75-minute pronunciation lectures were conducted as a part of an English intensive course at a tertiary institute in Korea. The two groups did not significantly differ in terms of L2 identification improvements. Based on the real-word and fake-word reading-aloud tests, the experimental group indicated a significantly higher production accuracy rate than the accuracy mean score observed in the control group. Mean accuracy scores of the identification and production tests of each individual sound were compared using Post Hoc ANCOVA techniques for any significant mean differences. Qualitative data from relevant surveys were also included.Foreign Language Educatio

국제교류수업을 통한 초등학생들의 문화 간 의사소통능력과 의사소통에 참여하려는 태도 탐구

학위논문(석사) -- 서울대학교대학원 : 사범대학 외국어교육과(영어전공), 2021.8. 최서용.The present study explores how online intercultural exchanges (OIEs) impact Korean elementary school students intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and willingness to communicate (WTC) and seeks to reveal students perception of ICC and WTC during OIEs. As no previous studies of OIEs in the Korean context have focused on interactions with non-native partners, the current study examines OIEs with Japanese and Indian peers. In addition, while many researchers have quantitatively analyzed the effects of OIEs on language learners, there remains a relative lack of qualitative analysis. Therefore, this study aims to enable a deeper understanding by mixing quantitative and qualitative analyses of the impact of OIEs on students' ICC and WTC. For the purpose of the study, 61 Korean EFL elementary school students in Seongnam, Korea completed an Intercultural Communicative Scale (ICS) survey and WTC questionnaire before OIEs. Subsequently, the OIEs instruction was implemented for ten sessions using the regular English curriculum. After completing all of the intercultural telecollaboration, surveys and interviews related to participants ICC and WTC were conducted. This study has identified that OIEs have a significant impact on Korean elementary school students ICC. Regarding students ICC before and after OIEs, the result of the paired samples t-test revealed statistically significant differences. In addition, a qualitative analysis of participants' interviews showed a variety of pedagogical implications throughout the four related topics (Interaction Engagement and Enjoyment, Respect of Cultural Differences, Interaction Confidence and Interaction Attentiveness). Similarly, OIEs turned out to have positive effects with Korean elementary school students WTC. The paired samples t-test also revealed that there were statistically significant differences in students WTC before and after intercultural telecollaboration. Furthermore, the post-test interviews for participants WTC discovered that they showed active willingness to communicate, voluntary efforts for communication, and willingness to communicate with non-native partners. Hence, it could conceivably be hypothesized that when Korean EFL elementary school students participate in OIEs, their ICC and WTC can be improved. To develop a full picture of OIEs, however, additional studies that focus more attention on a variety of telecollaborative activities and student-centered OIEs lesson plans will be needed.본 연구는 한국 초등학생 영어 학습자들이 온라인을 활용한 문화간 국제교류수업을 받았을 때, 그들의 문화 간 의사소통능력과 의사소통에 참여하려는 태도에 어떠한 영향이 있는지 알아보기 위해 수행되었다. 영어를 모국어로 사용하지 않는 비원어민 파트너와의 국제교류수업에 대한 기존의 연구가 드물었다는 점과 이전 연구들이 대부분 양적 연구에 치우쳐 있었다는 점을 발견하고, 비원어민 파트너와의 국제교류수업 환경을 조성하고 질적 연구와 결합한 연구방법을 사용하였다. 대한민국 성남시 소재의 초등학교에 재학중인 6학년 61명의 학생들을 대상으로 실시된 본 연구에서 학생들은 국제교류수업 전에 문화 간 의사소통능력과 의사소통에 참여하려는 태도에 관한 설문을 실시하였다. 그리고 10번(80분 수업)의 국제교류수업을 정규 영어교육과정 수업 시간을 활용하여 진행하였다. 연구 참여자들은 모든 국제교류수업을 마치고 다시 한번 동일한 문화 간 의사소통능력과 의사소통에 참여하려는 태도에 관한 설문을 실시하고 인터뷰에 참여하였다. 분석 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 온라인을 활용한 문화 간 국제교류수업이 한국 초등학생 영어 학습자들의 문화간 의사소통 능력에 유의미한 영향을 미치는 것으로 드러났다. 대응표본 t검정을 통해 국제교류수업 전과 후에 연구 참여자들의 문화간 의사소통 능력에 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 있음이 밝혀졌다. 더불어 학생들의 인터뷰를 질적으로 분석한 결과, 4가지 관련 주제 (상호작용 참여와 즐거움, 문화적 차이의 존중, 상호작용 자신감, 상호작용 주의력)를 통해 다양한 교육적 함의가 도출되었다. 둘째, 온라인을 활용한 문화 간 국제교류수업이 한국 초등학생 영어 학습자들의 의사소통에 참여하려는 의지에 유의미한 영향을 미친다는 결과를 얻었다. 대응표본 t검정을 통해 국제교류수업 전과 후에 연구 참여자들의 의사소통에 참여하려는 의지 역시 통계적으로 유의미한 차이가 있음이 드러났다. 더불어 학생들의 인터뷰를 질적으로 분석한 결과, 3가지 관련 주제 (적극적인 의사소통의지, 의사소통의지를 위한 자발적인 노력, 비원어민 파트너와의 의사소통 의지)를 통하여 학생들의 의사소통에 참여하려는 의지를 깊이 있게 이해할 수 있었다. 본 연구는 한국의 초등학생 영어 학습자가 온라인을 활용한 문화 간 국제교류수업에 참여했을 때, 그들의 문화 간 의사소통능력과 의사소통에 참여하려는 의지가 향상될 수 있음을 밝혀냈다. 이는 비원어민 파트너와의 국제교류수업이 가치 있는 영어교수방법 중 하나의 대안이 될 수 있으며, 학생 개개인의 특성을 고려한 국제교류수업 계획이 중요함을 시사한다. 이에 따라 온라인을 활용한 문화 간 국제교류수업에 대한 추가적인 연구와 교육 현장에서의 다양한 국제교류활동의 개발을 통해 한국 초등학생 영어 학습자들의 문화 간 의사소통 능력과 의사소통에 참여하려는 의지가 더욱 발전될 수 있을 것이다.Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Background of the Study 1 1.2. Purpose of the Study 4 1.3. Research Questions 7 1.4. Organization of the Thesis 7 Chapter 2. Literature Review 9 2.1. Online Intercultural Exchanges (OIEs) 9 2.2. Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) 14 2.3. Willingness to Communicate (WTC) 19 2.4. Previous Studies on Online Intercultural Exchanges 25 2.4.1. Intercultural Communicative Competence in OIEs 26 2.4.2. Willingness to Communicate in OIEs 28 2.4.3. OIEs in Korean EFL Context 30 Chapter 3. Methodology 33 3.1. Participants 33 3.2. Instruments 36 3.3. Procedures 40 3.4. OIEs Instruction 42 3.5. Data Analysis 45 Chapter 4. Results and Discussion 47 4.1. The Effects of OIEs on Students ICC 47 4.2. The Effects of OIEs on Students WTC 52 4.3. Students Perception of ICC during OIEs 56 4.3.1. Interaction Engagement and Enjoyment 57 4.3.2. Respect of Cultural Differences 60 4.3.3. Interaction Confidence 64 4.3.4. Interaction Attentiveness 67 4.4. Students Perception of WTC during OIEs 69 4.4.1. Active Willingness to Communicate 69 4.4.2. Voluntary Efforts for Willingness to Communicate 71 4.4.3. Willingness to Communicate with Non-native Peers 72 Chapter 5. Conclusion 77 5.1. Summary of the Major Findings 77 5.2. Pedagogical Implications 80 5.3. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research 82 References 84 Appendices 96 국 문 초 록 103석

International Posture, L2 Motivation, and L2 Proficiency among South Korean Tertiary EFL Learners

Today, English is spoken by more non-native speakers than native speakers; current estimates by Graddol (2007) indicate five to one. With this transformation English has become the international language of business and intercultural communication. The emergence of English as Lingua Franca is apparent in Korean society where English plays a defining role in educational, career, social, cultural, and economic domains. Despite such inextricable links the acquisition of English in Korea has not been successful. This study examines the relationship between Korean university students' International Posture or non-ethnocentric attitude (Yashima, 2002, p. 57) and their L2 (Second Language) Learning Motivation, and L2 Proficiency in English, first described by Yashima (2002) in her study of Japanese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) tertiary students. The methodology used in this thesis was quantitative as it employed Likert scales in order to elicit students' International Posture, and L2 Motivation, and obtained L2 Proficiency from percentile grades in the TOEIC exam. With the use of path analysis software, AMOS 7, data from 118 university freshman (majoring in English literature) from Hannam University, South Korea were analyzed in order examine the relationship between International Posture, L2 Learning Motivation, and L2 Proficiency among South Korean EFL students. The results indicated a significant and very strong relationship between International Posture and L2 Learning Motivation and a significant and moderate relationship between L2 Learning Motivation and overall L2 Proficiency. The findings of the study conclude that EFL learner motivation can be understood by an agglomeration of integrative and instrumental motivational orientations. The findings in this study also suggest that the tendency for Korean EFL learners to approach, rather than avoid, interaction with people of different cultures is especially important to understanding Korean tertiary level students' attitude, motivation and performance in EFL. These findings could be implemented in the classroom by providing Korean EFL learners with safe and appropriate opportunities to interact with foreigners. Potential areas for further research include longitudinal studies (utilizing both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies) that look into the effect of EFL learner age, gender, and teaching pedagogy on International Posture, L2 Learning Motivation, and L2 Proficiency

Incorporating intercultural communicative competence components into the English for tourism curricula in Southern Thailand universities

Successful intercultural communication needs both language and cultural knowledge but in Thailand, English proficiency of Thais and Thai students are very low and the present English curricula including teaching practices do not integrate Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) which is important for intercultural interactions. The study of Incorporating ICC Components into the English for Tourism Curriculum in Southern Thailand Universities investigated the key components of ICC which are needed for undergraduate students who have high potentiality to work in tourism domain after graduation. Mixed method approaches were employed to find out (1) the appearance of ICC components in the present English for Tourism curriculum in five universities in Southern Thailand, (2) the importance of ICC from the students’, lecturers’, ICC academics’, tour guides’, and employers’ perspectives, (3) the most required ICC skills and dispositions for the undergraduate students, (4) the most relevant ICC skills for undergraduate students from the ICC academics’ perspectives, (5) the teaching practices of English for tourism courses. There were 857 participants consisted of 191 students, 5 lecturers, 3 ICC academics, 312 employers, and 346 tour guides and all of them were purposive samplings. The findings from the study revealed that most of the English for Tourism curricula did not include ICC curriculum elements especially the geo-political context and developmental factors. The majority of the participants agreed that ICC is very important and attitudinal dimension of ICC is the most important. Considering about required skills and dispositions, it was clear that the majority of students, employers, and tour guides agreed that tolerance of ambiguity was very important while the lecturer thought that empathy was the most important disposition and the ICC academics revealed that flexibility was as important as ability to adapt to new situations. Furthermore, the ICC academics agreed that skills of discovery and interaction was very important and the activities in class which help to promote them should be problem base, the materials used in classes should be authentic, and the activities should let the students explore about cultural differences. In fact, the tasks and activities which were employed in present English for Tourism courses in five universities put the weight on attitudinal dimension. Finally, it can be conclude that the ICC curricula in five universities in Southern Thailand need to focus more on skills dimension and knowledge dimension. The result of this study can minimize the scope of ICC in pedagogy relates to tourism domain and can be adapted in other ICC researches

Reconceptualising English language learning pedagogies for a South Korean context

South Korea’s high expenditure on English education, as well as its low performance on English language competency testing, creates a serious problem for a country working to emerge from global isolation. Attitudes developed through historical and social enculturation shape the language learning styles of South Koreans, and hence heavily influence Korean learner practices in terms of gaining expertise in the English language. This Project develops tertiary students’ language learning through moving the learners from traditional to more learner-centred pedagogies in the form of online learning materials. This curriculum approach works directly with the enculturation dimensions of Korean language learning, interrogating links between language and identity

English Language Teacher Self-Efficacy Beliefs

This dissertation investigates English language teacher self-efficacy beliefs. Based in Bandura’s (1997) sociocognitive perspective, teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, their beliefs about their capabilities to enact various teaching tasks, have been shown to be impactful on numerous aspects of teachers’ professional lives. Research in both general education and language teacher education has shown that more efficacious teachers are often more motivated, exert a greater effort when teaching, have a higher morale, and can even positively impact their students. Drawing on survey data from N = 571 participants across a variety of English language teaching contexts, this thesis takes an integrated article format and addresses unresolved issues in English language teacher self-efficacy research. Chapters 1 and 2 outline the thesis and provide background literature and the thesis’ theoretical perspective. Chapter 3 consists of the first research portion of this thesis and outlines the creation of a new English language teacher self-efficacy scale. Initial items are drawn from various TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) standards documents and then subjected to exploratory factor analysis. The final scale, consisting of 26 items across 6 unique factors, serves as the research instrument for the remainder of the dissertation. Chapter 4 investigates the self-efficacy beliefs of English language teachers in North America (Canada and the United States). It looks at what their levels of self-efficacy are, and also if/how teachers’ classroom proficiency, general language proficiency, experience, language teacher education (LTE) qualifications, and linguistic identity impact this self-efficacy. Utilizing a series of simultaneous multiple regression analyses, results show that teachers’ classroom proficiency is the most significant predictor of teachers’ self-efficacy, but general English proficiency, teaching experience and linguistic identity are also significantly impactful as well. Chapter 5 takes a similar methodological approach and investigates the self-efficacy beliefs of non-native English speaking teachers (NNESTs) across a variety of EFL contexts. The results again show the importance of teachers’ self-perceived classroom proficiency as this significantly predicted teachers’ self-efficacy across all of the factors. The dissertation ends with Chapter 6 that serves as a final discussion for the entire thesis followed by this study’s limitations and potential future directions

Culture teaching in EFL through computer/critical thinking

The purpose of this project is to develop computer-assisted language learning (CALL) lesson plans using the Internet and to offer an example for academic senior high school teachers in South Korea of exemplary treatment of cultural topics that promote critical thinking and incorporate crosscultural understanding based on cooperative learning