This study explores the development of professionalism in using Educational Technology (EdTech) among Korean elementary English teachers amid the increasing integration of technology in English education. Employing the Grounded Theory methodology, the study involved in-depth interviews with nine Korean elementary English teachers experienced in using EdTech. It aims to identify their EdTech experiences, the elements constituting EdTech professionalism, and its developmental process. The study reveals that teachers’ EdTech professionalism encompasses a proactive approach towards technology, continuous professional growth based on practice and reflection, and adaptation of teaching methods in response to evolving technologies and learner needs. It highlights the importance of teachers’ self-directed approach, collaboration with other teachers, and the integration of pedagogical, content, and technological knowledge into their English teaching. The findings have implications for teacher education and the advancement of EdTech-utilized English education, suggesting new processes and directions for developing elementary English teachers’ professionalism in the rapidly evolving landscape of educational technology.

The present study aimed to explore how pre-service teacher’s individual regulatory focus orientation, currently emerging as an interesting learner variable for language learning, could influence their Englishspeaking abilities. English teaching demonstration videos of 67 pre-service teachers were analyzed in terms of pronunciation, accuracy, and fluency. The regulatory focus orientations of participants were evaluated using a questionnaire. The results of data analysis, using multiple regression analysis, indicated that promotion-focus orientation was a significant positive predictor for pronunciation, fluency (words per minute, ratio of dysfluency), and accuracy (lexical errors, ratio of error-free AS-units). On the other hand, prevention-focus orientation did not emerge as a statistically significant factor affecting accuracy. However, it was observed to have a negative influence on both pronunciation and fluency. In light of the research findings that highlight the favorable impact of a promotion-focus orientation, suggestions were made for future teacher training programs aimed at enhancing the English proficiency of pre-service teachers.

This study compares AI PengTalk’s assessments of Korean children’s pronunciation with the assessments of Korean teachers. Sixty Korean sixth-graders participated as assessees, and four Korean elementary teachers participated as assessors. Both PengTalk and the teachers rated the children’s production of 10 English sentences on a five-point scale. They focused on segmentals, stress-rhythm, intonation, and speech rate. The findings were as follows: Firstly, PengTalk evaluated the children’s pronunciation in the four elements significantly lower than the teachers across all English proficiency levels. Secondly, teachers’ ratings of the students aligned more closely with their pre-evaluated English proficiency levels than the AI PengTalk’s assessments. The teachers rated students at the upper level significantly higher than those at the intermediate level, who were, in turn, assessed significantly higher than those at the lower level in all four elements. Furthermore, AI PengTalk and the teachers differed in the mean order of the four elements, particularly in segmentals. Based on the results of this study, suggestions were made for the development and implementation of AI-based English programs.

Cho, Eun & Oh, Sun-Young. (2023). “Representation of Native English Teachers and Korean English Teachers in Korean English Newspapers: A Corpus-based Critical Discourse Analysis”. The Sociolinguistic Journal of Korea, 31(2). 95-123. Native-speakerism, a pervasive issue in the field of English Language Teaching, is observed globally and prevalent in Korea. This ideology negatively affects both Native English Teachers (NETs) and Non-native English teachers like Korean English Teachers (KETs) for some reasons. This study utilizes corpus-based critical discourse analysis to examine the linguistic patterns and referential expressions used in Korean English newspapers to represent NETs and KETs. The analysis reveals significant disparities in their positions and authority within Korean English classrooms. Specifically, NETs are labeled as “assistants,” implying a subordinate role with limited authority, while KETs are referred to as “co-teachers,” signifying a more secure status. Moreover, the study highlights the challenges faced by KETs in demonstrating their English proficiency and sheds light on the discrimination faced by NETs who possess commodified linguistic capital and are of Caucasian descent. These findings emphasize the importance of raising awareness of native-speakerism in Korean newspapers.

Adopting a conversation analytic framework, this paper examined the delay and potential indeterminacy of teacher’s repetition as an other-initiated repair (OIR) strategy, which took place at the third turn of the Initiation-Response-Evaluation (IRE) sequence in one-on-one tutoring sessions. Tutor-tutee interactions for a Korean secondary student were transcribed and analyzed along with notes used in the class. Data showed that when repetition was used as an OIR strategy, it was delayed and inaccurate. The learner was sometimes unsure whether the teacher’s repetition constituted a repair initiation regarding her prior turn. Furthermore, the learner could not successfully recognize which part of the repeated phrase should be repaired. Prior studies have confirmed that repetition can promote learners’ interactions rather than simply highlighting error while also giving learners an opportunity to correct their errors themselves. However, the analysis in this paper suggests a potential risk associated with using repetition as an OIR strategy at feedback turn in instructional discourse.

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 was aimed at finding pedagogical answers to the question of ‘what are the qualities of native English speakers at a Korean middle school’. In this study, research results were derived using phenomenological methods from seven native English teachers at a middle school. The results of the study are as follows; 1) native English teachers should teach English effectively, 2) native English teachers should be able to adapt to their positions in Korea, 3) native teachers are ‘new information providers’ and ‘introducers of new cultures’. Korean society has focused on the external conditions and specifications of native speakers. However, it is now necessary to clearly define the qualities that native teachers should have and use them for recruitment and education of native teachers. Also, native teachers who want to work in Korea need to be trained according to the cultural and educational situation in Korea. Through this study,it is critical to consider measures to improve the legal status of native English teachers.

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.

This study is to explore and analyze three current English teachers’ thoughts and attitudes on their TEE practices in elementary English classroom settings. Adopting a qualitative approach, data were collected through interviews, teachers’ journals, and informal communications from the three elementary school English teachers. The analysis of data revealed three main themes: 1) thoughts on effective TEE classes, 2) factors affecting TEE classes, 3) the difficulties of conducting TEE classes. The participants presented their views on effective TEE classes. They also expressed their opinion on the timing and usage of TEE. The teachers said TEE classes are influenced by teachers’ English communication ability and willingness to use English as the instructional language, students’ English proficiency and the class atmosphere. Finally, the participants said that TEE classes were difficult due to the same factors influencing TEE class effectiveness. This study has implications for the direction of TEE implementation in elementary education.

The study investigated ten Korean secondary English teachers’ views on to what extent core competencies were reflected in textbooks using 18 Likert-type statements. This study also examined their views on how well cultural contents and activities met curricular objectives of teaching culture through open-ended questions and interviews. Results showed that the three items on civic competence had lower means except for the one on ethical use of information collected in class. Teachers replied that tasks for each grade were deficient in helping students feel proud of their own culture and developing positive attitudes toward other cultures. They thought that current cultural contents lacked diversity despite positive improvements in including other cultures over the years and possibility of meeting curricular goals. Consequently, they made various efforts to offer appropriate culture teaching using additional materials and/or activities with diverse teaching strategies and techniques. Some implications are drawn from these results for better culture teaching.

Considering critical roles of teachers in education, an increasing number of studies have investigated language teacher identity. Although many studies have reported nonnative English-speaking teachers’ identity, few studies have explored native English-speaking teachers’ (NESTs’) professional identity. Taking poststructural approaches towards identity, the present study investigated how two NESTs working in Korean universities perceived themselves professionally and how their identities were realized in class. Data were collected through interviews, class observations, and material collections. Findings showed that the NESTs constructed multiple identities differently shaped by various factors, such as previous experiences and college majors. One NEST had identities of a role model for foreign language learning and a caretaker, while the other showed weak identities as a teacher with identities of a writer and a babysitter. Despite such differences, the NESTs commonly manifested an overarching identity as a guide who desired to create safe and comfortable learning environments. These findings confirm close connections between teachers’ professional identity and practices.

This study attempted to investigate the factors affecting the organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) of English teachers in Turkish state high schools within the framework of job satisfaction, emotional commitment, and demographic factors. The data, which were collected through a questionnaire given to 269 English teachers, were analyzed through descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression. The findings indicated that the English teachers’ job satisfaction, emotional commitment, and OCB levels were above average. Moreover, job satisfaction and emotional commitment predicted OCB. No significant relationship was observed between demographic factors and OCB. The results showed a positive correlation between demographic factors and job satisfaction, and between demographic factors and emotional commitment. The findings suggest that OCB can play a pivotal role to increase the performance of English teachers, consequently leading to better language education. The study suggests that the non-methodological factors in English language teachers’ behaviors and performance need to be studied to increase their performance.

This paper explores initiators of humor and the differing characteristics of humor these initiators use in elementary-level English classrooms in Korea. Forty-nine videotaped ordinary classes and interviews with four teachers were investigated. Teachers tended to make learners the subjects of humor, with this type of humor attracting students to participate in learning. Furthermore, teachers encouraged learners to pay more attention to the form of English language features by humorously revealing mispronunciations or expressions that learners could easily make mistakes with. Additionally, among learners, the primary users of humor were middle- to lower-level students. Teachers needed to build a safe environment for English underachievers who unintentionally made humorous mistakes so that they would not be mocked. Also, certain boys intentionally tried humor to get attention. It is noteworthy that teachers and learners jointly constructed humor by supporting each other. This conjoint humor reaffirms the importance of teachers’ reactions and attitudes towards pupils. By listening attentively and accepting learners’ remarks, teachers could make humorous, meaningful interactions. The current paper projects some pedagogical implications concerning how to use or deal with humor for foreign language teachers.

The benefit of language play for language learning is not recognized in English education. Based on the idea that teachers’ perception of teaching and learning affects their teaching practices, this study sought to examine teachers’ perception of language play in the English classroom. The specific purposes of the study were to discover commonalities and differences in elementary teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ perception of language play and to provide suggestions for including language play in teacher education and classroom instruction. Separate group interviews were conducted with 7 in-service and 9 pre-service teachers at the elementary level, in which the participants shared their responses to 3 language play texts that highlight rhyme, rhythm, and nonsense compound words. The topical analysis of the data revealed that both the teachers and pre-service teachers focused on understanding the words in the texts and did not recognize their playful aspects. However, the in-service teachers interpreted the texts more actively than the pre-service teachers and shared ideas for using language play texts in the English classroom. Based on the findings, the paper emphasizes that pre-service English teacher education needs to include language play as one of curricular contents, which should continue into teacher education.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived benefits of telecollaboration for Korean pre-service teachers of English. This study connected Korean pre-service teachers to American pre-service teachers. In a one-to-one relationship, each pair exchanged their weekly writings about the assigned topics over six weeks and shared their ideas. To explore the perceived benefits that the Korean pre-service teachers of English perceived and provide a rich description, this study focused on the five Korean pre-service teachers’ thoughts reflected in their reflective papers, their writings in the Google Sites, and the final reflection paper. Data were analyzed based on a qualitative approach using the content analysis. The results showed that the Korean pre-service teachers perceived that the online interactions with the target language speakers promoted their intercultural and linguistic competences as well as some affective domains such as confidence and motivation levels. Building upon the findings, this study provides significant pedagogical implications for instructional practices for the educators and researchers.

The purpose of this study was to explore how English teachers perceive the appropriateness of the quantity and level of content in the 2015 Revised National English Curriculum. In order to evaluate the appropriateness of the modified curriculum, a survey questionnaire was administered to English teachers at elementary and middle schools across Korea. Teachers and university professors were also consulted for guidance regarding the appropriate quantity and level of content. According to the survey results, both elementary and middle school teachers believe that the quantity and level of content are mostly appropriate for students. However, responses related to the appropriateness of achievement standards for reading and writing were less positive than those for listening and speaking for children in elementary school grades 5 and 6 and middle school grades 1 to 3. In general, methods of optimizing reading and writing content in the English curriculum are discussed.

The purpose of this research study is to identify the perceptions of both primary ELL(English Language Learner)s and English teachers on MMP(Multimodal Media Production)-embedded English instruction at a primary English class. In order to answer this question, 182 primary ELLs and 2 English teachers participated in this research. A questionnaire survey was administered to the focal participants and an open-ended interview was conducted with the teachers. The results show that overall perceptions on MMP were comparably high among ELLs, and there was significant difference between genders, grades and English levels in terms of learning interest. The teachers’ interview revealed that MMP would trigger deeper understanding of the lesson and ELLs’ voluntary active class participation by heightening motivation, self-confidence and interest in learning English. In sum, the implementation of MMP-embedded English instruction has positive pedagogical effects for young ELLs since it may promote essential literacy skills in the 21st century as well as help in affective domains.

This study aimed to investigate how two novice teachers in elementary schools conceptualized and developed their practical knowledge about English teaching. They provided their narratives about their teaching six times over the spring semester of 2019. Their narratives were recorded and transcribed. Two researchers examined the transcription to investigate what prior knowledge they had and how they developed their practical knowledge. It was found that their practical knowledge had constantly changed and developed. When they started teaching English, they had their own knowledge on English teaching, which seemed to come from their previous English learning experience and from their study on teaching English. As they applied these knowledge to their own teaching situations, they encountered many problems. The main situations that shaped their practical knowledge were 1) students' level of achievement, 2) level differences among students, 3) teacher status (classroom teacher or English specialist teacher), and 4) colleagues. While coping with those problems, they added new practical knowledge or modified the knowledge they had. The findings provided several implications on pre-service and novice teacher training.

This study focused on challenges faced by early childhood English teachers in Korea against the backdrop of the local rise of English education for young learners. A mixed-method was used to collect data, including open-ended survey questionnaires and interviews. Six teachers from 250 early childhood English teachers were selected for this study based on the length of teaching experience. A number of challenges emerged from the analysis of the survey, including classroom management, mixed-level class, motivation, teaching methodology, parents involvement, restrained English education in the context of Korea, the teacher’s level of English, lack of assessment and materials which fit early childhood language learners, and balancing between interest and learning. Nine distinct themes were found based on calculated frequency. They were cross-tabulated by two groups of teachers depending on whether teachers had less or more than three years of teaching experience. Results showed challenges and difficulties faced by teachers with lengthy teaching experience. Findings of this study suggest a way to build teacher education programs to support the challenges identified by teachers.