This paper systematically analyzed research trends of North Korean defectors’ English education in South Korea using the scoping literature review method. From 2001 to 2022, research on this topic was categorized into three phases: 1) Phase 1 (2000-2011), 2) Phase 2 (2012-2019), and 3) Phase 3 (2020-Present). Each phase was analyzed using school levels, themes, and research methods. Approximately a quarter of previous research investigated alternative schools for North Korean defectors, with students having difficulties with their limited English learning experiences. Research themes mainly concentrated on learner factors (48 papers), followed by educational contexts and teaching methods (21 papers). Most studies on appropriate teaching methods for North Korean defectors adopted qualitative methods focusing on a small number of participants. Regarding research methods, studies adopting qualitative methods accounted for 48.0%, whereas studies using quantitative ones accounted for 10.4%, reflecting the limited research opportunities to collect a large set of data from various North Korean participants in South Korea.

This paper investigates Korean EFL students’ learning (de)motivation factors according to the level of students’ English learning motivation. A total of 41 undergraduate students reflected on their past ten years of English learning experiences and submitted autobiographic essays with ‘motigraph,’ marking their annual changes of English learning motivation from 0 to 10. The data were analyzed with Grounded Theory. The findings revealed that the factors that increased or decreased English learning motivation were different according to students’ level of motivation. Students with low-level motivation were influenced by their teacher or parents, while those with high-level motivation were influenced by their past L2 learning experiences perceived positively by themselves. In both groups, the factors of emotional experiences caused by negative L2 learning experiences were the main reasons for demotivation. This paper emphasizes the importance of subjective appraisal in maintaining students’ L2 learning motivation and recovering from the state of demotivation.

This study investigates the historical development of English education in South Korea regarding the fourth and fifth National Curriculum Period. By analyzing the newspaper articles in five major newspapers in Korea, we focused on the characteristics of English education in each period. The research questions are: 1) what are the characteristics of the fourth National Curriculum? 2) what are the characteristics of the fifth National Curriculum?, and 3) what is the implication of these previous curricula on the current English education in South Korea? During the fourth National Curriculum Period, after the successful hosting of the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, the importance of communication skills in English spread throughout the country. Accordingly, the need for early English education emerged. In the fifth curriculum, various social factors, including the liberalization of overseas travel, led positive washback effects on English education. In elementary schools, English instructions were conducted as a special activity. In secondary schools, various changes in the educational environment were involved, including the introduction of listening tests and recruitment of native English teachers, which still affects English education in 2020. This paper concludes with educational implications and future research directions.

This paper explores the historical development of English education in Korea regarding the second and third National Curriculum period. By using the historical research method which analyzes newspaper articles in four major newspapers in Korea, we compared the similarities and differences between these two periods. The research questions are: 1) what are the characteristics of the second National Curriculum? 2) what are the characteristics of the third National Curriculum?, and 3) what is the implication of these previous curricula on the current English education in Korea? It was found that the second National Curriculum Period showed steady development in English education in terms of its emphasis on oral skills instead of the traditional emphasis on reading and grammar skills. However, the lack of coherence among various English textbooks, the lack of English teachers fluent in English, and the exam-oriented social atmosphere were the significant challenges in fully implementing the second National Curriculum. The third National Curriculum Period overlaps with the Yushin Regime propagated by the late President Park Junghee. During this period, a systematic effort to introduce communicative language teaching continued, whereas the exam-orientation persisted which made the English class employ teacher-centered grammar-translation methods. This paper concludes with educational suggestions and future research directions.