An Analysis of Student Evaluations of Native and Non Native Korean Foreign Language Teachers

In an effort to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of native and non-native teaching assistants and part-time teachers (both referred to as TAs in this article), students completed 632 evaluations of Ko-rean Language TAs from 2005 to 2008, and these evaluations were compiled for an analysis of variants (ANOVA). The evaluations were categorized into three groups of TAs: native Korean-speaking female, native Korean-speaking male, and non-native male; non-native females would have been included in the study, but there were not enough non-native female teachers to have a reliable sample. In an effort to encourage more self-examined teaching practices, this study addresses the greatest strengths and weaknesses of each group. Results revealed several significant differences between the ratings of the groups: native female TAs rated lowest overall, and non-native male TAs rated highest overall. The most prominent differences be-tween groups occurred in ratings of amount students learned, TAs’ preparedness, TAs’ active involvement in students’ learning, TAs’ enthusiasm, and TAs’ tardiness. This study reviews students’ written comments on the evaluations and proposes possible causes of these findings, concluding that differences in ratings are based on both teaching patterns associated with each group of TAs and student re-sponse bias that favors non-native male speakers. Teaching patterns include a tendency for native (Korean) female TAs to teach using a lecture format and non-native male TAs to teach using a discussion format; for native TAs to have difficulty adapting to the language level of the students; and for a more visible enthusiasm for Korean culture held by non-native TAs. Causes for bias may include “other-ing” females and natives, TA selection procedures, and trends in evaluating TAs based on language level

Chinese 101, a prerequisite to Math 100? A look at undergraduate students\u27 beliefs about their role in communication with international teaching assistants

The purpose of this study was to look at the beliefs of native-English speaking undergraduate students towards their role in communication with their international teaching assistant (ITA) in the classroom or in office hours. The theoretical framework came from Sandra Savignon\u27s definition of communication which states that communication is a two-way interaction. The data came from four focus group discussions in which undergraduate students were questioned about and discussed their ideas concerning communicating with ITAs. Data also came from an exit survey that was distributed at the conclusion of each focus group. Results of the focus group discussions indicated that students are so displeased with their international teaching assistants that they prefer to drop out of the class instead of trying to communicate with an international teacher. They felt that ITAs are unapproachable, strict, stick too closely to the book, and have little awareness of and sensitivity for the demands placed on undergraduate students. Throughout the discussion of ITA-student communication, students made it clear that it was not their job to put extra effort into communicating with an ITA and were generally unwilling to do so. Results of the exit survey substantiated the focus group findings and indicated that a majority of the students, if given the option, would prefer to never have another international TA. Based on these findings, the study concludes with a model for the pedagogical and linguistic instruction of ITAs as well as for the preparation of undergraduate students to communicate effectively with their international instructor

Korean Language Studies: Motivation and Attrition

The purposes of this study were to determine attrition rates of students learning Korean in university courses, their motivations to study the target language, why many drop out, and what educators can do to address and decrease high rates of attrition. A survey was administered to 129 students enrolled in lower-level (101–202) Korean language classes during the years 2005–2010 at a large, private university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Self-identifying heritage students comprised 45.7% of those who completed the survey. Surveys were administered to students via email and returned in the same manner; as such, they represent a response and convenience sample. Five of the 12 survey questions utilized a 5-point Likert scale. The overall attrition rate from class to class during this time period was 85%. Students identified that the most motivating factors in their decision to take Korean were “It’s an important language,” “Future career benefits,” and “I have Korean heritage.” More students desired to learn only basic words and phrases than any one other proficiency category. The most common reason for quitting Korean was that it didn’t fit students’ schedules. Likewise, students indicated that had a following course been offered at a different time or if a language lab offering tutoring were made available, they might have been influenced to continue taking Korean. Surveys also addressed language-learning anxiety. Based on the results gathered, this study makes suggestions for improving Korean language instruction in order to reduce student attrition

Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Korean as a Foreign Language in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine foreign language reading anxiety among college students who were studying Korean. It utilized three measures; (a) two anxiety scales, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS), (b) a background information questionnaire, and (c) reading performance scores. Results of the study showed that there was a significant discrepancy between foreign language reading anxiety among course levels, individual variables such as gender, course level, experience with Korea, etc. were predictors of foreign language reading anxiety, that reading anxiety and performance are positively correlated, and it reveals the major sources of foreign language reading anxiety among students learning Korean