This study examines the beliefs and practices regarding performance assessment among Korean English teachers in secondary schools. A survey was conducted with 109 teachers using a 52-item online questionnaire to investigate the extent to which teachers’ beliefs align with their instructional practices and to categorize them based on these criteria. Although teachers acknowledge the pedagogical advantages of performance assessment, a significant gap exists between their beliefs and actual implementation, primarily due to the considerable time required for its execution. Teachers with longer tenure and higher qualifications demonstrated a more positive and effective application of performance assessment. The findings highlight the necessity for targeted professional development to enhance teachers’ use of performance assessment strategies, especially for those who are skeptical about their effectiveness. Such initiatives are essential for bridging the gap between beliefs and practices, fostering an environment that promotes the effective use of performance assessment, and ultimately improving teaching quality and student learning outcomes in Korean English education.
This paper evaluates the use of Factor Analysis (FA) in English education research in Korea and suggests improvements in methodology. A detailed coding protocol was used to review 179 FA cases from 12 major English education journals (2014-2023). The review identified several key issues, including small sample sizes and lenient criteria for sample size selection, insufficient reporting on data appropriateness and normality, confusion between principal component analysis and FA, overreliance on the Eigenvalue > 1 criterion for determining the number of factors, inappropriate factor rotation methods, inconsistency between factor rotation and extraction methods, inadequate reporting on factor loadings and cross loadings criteria, and excessive reliance on SPSS as a statistical tool for FA. This study provides specific guidelines for applying FA appropriately and reporting results accurately.
This paper aims to investigate how and to what extent ‘critical’ global citizenship is reflected in middle school English textbooks in Korea. Framed within Freire’s concept of critical literacy, the study is concerned with analyzing the written texts in two English textbooks, with a focus on the issue of representations. Using critical content analysis, the research centers on unpacking how race, racism, or racialization, especially in the United States, is represented, and to what extent these representations may be associated with global citizenship education in English language learning. The major findings indicate a notable absence of sufficient sociohistorical and cultural contexts of race in the United States as presented in the concerned English textbooks. Based on the analysis, this paper calls for an expansion of the dimensions of critical global citizenship in English language learning settings, aiming to provide students with broader opportunities to question colonial discourse and challenge issues related to power and systemic oppression.
This study analyzes students’ use of ChatGPT prompts to explore its potential as a supplementary feedback tool in English writing classes. Thirty-one pre-service teachers participated and were divided into high, middle, and low groups based on their self-evaluation, standardized test scores, and essay scores prior to receiving ChatGPT feedback. The data sources included their two essays, ChatGPT prompts, questionnaires, and transcripts from the second writing conference. The ChatGPT prompts and questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the writing conference transcripts were examined to understand the participants’ use of prompts. The results showed participants used prompts 40 times in the first assignment and 175 times in the second assignment. The average prompt usage increased from 1.5 times in the first assignment to 6.7 times in the second assignment. In terms of students’ levels, the high group used more prompts (5.58 times) than the middle (5 times) and the low groups (1.75 times). Notably, students who used ChatGPT commands five times or more were mostly from the high and middle groups. Differences in prompt usage patterns were also identified, with the high and middle groups engaging in more continuous and interactive conversations with ChatGPT. Students expressed satisfaction with ChatGPT’s feedback, particularly in vocabulary selection, grammar correction, and sentence generation.
This study aims to investigate the effects of using AI chatbots in Korean English education from a macro perspective. For this purpose, 19 experimental studies are selected to conduct a meta-analysis, synthesizing the results of 51 individual study cases. The results of this study are as follows: First, it is found that the overall effect size of using chatbots is more than medium size meaning that a chatbot is an effective tool to learn English. Second, in the aspects of linguistic competence and affective categories, each shows over medium sizes like the overall effect size. In details of the dependent variables, vocabulary and speaking in linguistic competence and motivation in affective categories, large effect sizes are shown. Third, the effect sizes are getting larger, as the younger the students are, the longer the experiment period lasts, and the more purpose-built the chatbot is. But the differences in the effect sizes in terms of these moderators (e.g., school level, experiment period, and chatbot type) are not significant. Lastly, it is suggested that follow-up studies are needed to collect a sufficient number of experimental study cases and subdivide the variables for performing a more detailed meta-anlysis.
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.
As Korea has recently become a multicultural society, English teachers acknowledge the need to address anti-racism in the classroom. However, how to raise students’ racial awareness and ways to incorporate racial issues into English language instruction have not been sufficiently studied in the Korean teacher education context. The aims of this study were to provide pre-service English teachers with a guide to implementing antiracist pedagogy in their language teaching and assessing its impact on their racial literacy development and to examine how pre-service English teachers’ racial literacy can be developed through multiple self-reflective practices and microteaching experiences in their teacher education programs. This paper first introduces an anti-racist curriculum for pre-service English teachers intended to raise their multicultural awareness, and then provides multiple educational resources and teaching strategies to help them become culturally responsive language teachers. The paper concludes with some pedagogical implications regarding the necessity of including culturally responsive teaching in teacher education programs.
This study explores the ways in which sociocultural perspectives on English language education can contribute to teacher education the era of artificial intelligence (AI). Three key words that represent the relationship between sociocultural perspectives and English teacher education—context, interaction, and social practice—can each be linked to the key concepts of criticality, multimodality, and action research. Teachers of English need to be ready for the forthcoming changes in the AI era, for which they must be equipped with a critical ability to focus on issues and needs in the Korean context. This ability can be applied in teaching students various types of interactions, especially those involving the use of computers, and will create opportunities for teachers to conduct research of their own and cultivate a professional teacher identity. This study concludes by recommending substantial changes in the current pre-service and in-service English teacher education programs in accordance with these key concepts.
본 연구는 첫째, 중국의 온라인 교육 시장 진출 모색을 위해 중국내 온라인 영어 교육 플랫폼 현황을 살펴보고, 둘째, 시진핑 정부의 ‘쌍감’ 정책 중 사교육 정책 시행 배경과 내용 및 추가 관련 정책을 면밀히 검토해 보았으며, 셋째, 관련 정책 시행 후 온라인 영어 교육 기업에 어떤 영향과 변화가 있었는지 구체적으로 분석해 보았다. 분석의 결과 정책 시행 후 중국 온라인 교육서비스 기업들은 운영에 있어 중국 당국 의 엄격한 통제를 받았으나, 이것이 기업에게 부정적인 영향만 준 것은 아니며 더욱 세분화된 시장 안에서 다양한 대상과 규정에 맞는 콘텐츠로 운영한다면 기회의 요인 이 될 수 있을 것임이 확인되었다. 본 연구의 분석 내용과 시사점들은 향후 우리나 라 온라인 교육 서비스 기업의 중국 진출 및 경쟁에 있어 일조할 수 있을 것으로 기 대된다.
Based on the multilingual perspective that emphasizes that non-native variants of English need to be recognized as having values equivalent to the native speakers’ English, this study aimed at discovering elementary school teachers’ perceptions and beliefs of native-speakerism, multilingualism, and monolingualism in English education, and the contradictions and questions they had as they reflected on the language ideologies. Nine elementary teachers participated in the study, and two written reflections on language ideologies and two follow-up group interviews were used as the data source. The findings were as follows. First, the teachers confirmed, consolidated, or realized how native speakerism and monolingualism were deeply rooted in English teaching and learning. However, they showed that they had agency in their own teaching, and also showed changes in their perception through reflecting on their experiences. Last, the teachers had questions and contradictions about implementing a multilingual approach in teaching English, which provides the issues and challenges to be solved for the transformation of English education in the multilingual world. This study has implications for primary English education.
The purpose of this study was to predict educational transformation in the post pandemic era and address a new agenda for participants in both education and academia of Korean EFL. First of all, this article calls attention to rapid societal changes due to technology for the last few decades, particularly in facets of language use, knowledge building, and learning paradigm. Second, this study attempted to articulate unprecedented challenges of English education in Korea for adapting to educational reform in the digital society: 1) defining digital literacy from the second language (L2) perspective, 2) relocating English curriculum within digital learning ecology, and 3) achieving normalization of Korean school English curriculum. For successful transition, this paper finally suggests that a united voice is needed from participants and that new governance should be established in English education to connect educators, researchers, and policy makers to each other empowered by major academic associations such as KATE.
This study investigated the effects of self and peer evaluations and learners’ involvement on the development of assessment criteria in higher education English literature classes. A total of 40 college students participated in the study, extracting five main criteria with 10 sub-standards to assess their group assignments and conduct self- and peer evaluation on their presentations. The results of the learners’ selfand peer assessments were compared with instructor’s assessments and their final grades using one-way ANOVA and correlation analysis. The study also examined the correlation among the assessment criteria to find which factors affected learning outcomes. The study concluded that their participation in the development of assessment criteria positively, affected their critical thinking ability and the selection of subjects for the group presentations. Logicality of writing also affected the outcomes of final assessments. The study concluded that self- and peer assessments can be highly effective in learning processes when learners actively participate in setting the assessment criteria.
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.
The number of multicultural families has been increasing in Korea recently, and it is reported that students from multicultural family experience multiple struggles in English learning. With an awareness of mothers’ role in child’s education, this study aims to investigate multicultural family mothers’ perception of English education and the extent of those mothers’ involvement in their child’s English learning. For the purpose of this investigation, the present study collected survey data from 115 multicultural family mothers with varying national backgrounds, and interviews were conducted with 10 mothers. The results of this study reveal that the multicultural family mothers were well aware of the importance of English skills and knowledge with a belief in the practical value of English as a gatekeeper to materialistic, symbolic resources. However, the mothers were not that actively involved in child's English learning for several reasons, including their limited English proficiency and economic burden. Based on the findings, the present study offers practical suggestions for assisting multicultural family children’s English education and their social integration.
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.