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.

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.

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.

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 investigates the core competencies required of Korean secondary-school English teachers and how they perceive these competencies in terms of importance, applicability, and teachers’ competency level ahead of implementing the 2015 revised national English curriculum in secondary schools. After the literature research, interviews, and expert review processes, five core competencies were extracted: curriculum and content reorganization competency; learner-centered teaching competency; innovative assessment competency; multicultural (intercultural) education competency; and information literacy and ICT use. From the results of a survey administered to 93 secondary school English teachers, it was found that the perceived competency level was lower than required, but it was higher than applicability. Overall, teachers felt insecure about how to apply the required competencies to their lessons. There was also a difference between middle school teachers and high school teachers in the self-rating results. These results provide implications for teacher preparation and the direction of teacher education toward the successful implementation of the 2015 revised curriculum.

As emphasis has increased on English as an international language and on the globalized image of universities, the number of native English speaker teachers (NETs) has also increased in Korean universities. From the poststructuralist view, teacher identity is constructed through participation in valued activities of the community of practice, and it is not fixed but constantly negotiated through the interaction of the context (Wenger, 1998). While previous studies focused on nonnative English speaker teachers’ identity construction, little attention has been paid to NETs in the EFL context. Considering the need to explore teacher identity from recent theoretical perspectives, the present study investigates how NETs negotiate conflicting identities and construct their teacher identities in the Korean university context. The findings show the NETs constructed multiple identities of an English educator, a collaborative volunteer, a non-tenured instructor, and a cultural and linguistic outsider, and they legitimize their professor identity through their participation in the present and imagined community of competent teachers. The findings support the claim that teacher identity is embedded in the sociocultural context that interacts with the individual agency in making sense of who they are. Implications and suggestions of the study are addressed based on the findings.

The induction experiences of novice teachers are receiving increasing attention within the subject field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).The process of beginning to teach is acknowledged to be complex and often fraught with tensions and anxieties for newly qualified teachers who may experience significant disjunction between the realities of classroom and institutional life and what they have been taught on pre-service training courses. Research has also shown that novice teachers can be helped to make a successful transition from the teacher-training environment to the school through well-designed induction programs which provide structured support and professional development with access to resources beyond the school itself. This article seeks to uncover whether these elements of well-designed induction programs are replicated for teachers of English in the Korean school system. Using data gathered in interviews with recently graduated teachers, the article examines the experiences of teaching in the early years and documents teachers’ own perceptions of their induction into teaching. The article discusses the place of the teachers within the social network of the school and, in so doing, hopes to foreground how individuals come to terms with the new and complex roles inherent in ‘being a teacher’ within this framework. This is a perspective particularly necessary for TEFL as a discipline where methods are so often deemed paramount in learning to teach, rather than an understanding of what it means to be a teacher of English as a foreign language in a particular socio-educational context.

The present study explores the relationship between teacher-efficacy and selected teacher variables, such as teachers’ demographic variables, self-efficacy, English proficiency, and teacher training experiences, of Korean English teachers. The study employed four questionnaires including Sherer et al.’s (1982) General Self-Efficacy Scale, Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy’s (2001) Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale, Chacon’s (2002) Self-Reported English Proficiency Scale, and background information. The participants of the study were 120 Korean English teachers. The main findings of the study indicate that the participants’ standardized English proficiency scores exerted no significant influence on their teacher-efficacy. Yet, the teachers’ self-assessed English proficiency levels accounted for a significant amount of additional variance of their teacher-efficacy after controlling the variance explained by their self-efficacy, suggesting the significant impact of teachers’ positive assessment of their own English proficiency on their teacher-efficacy, regardless of their actual English proficiency. The study results also suggest that teachers’ professional training experiences generally contribute to their teacher-efficacy. Discussions and suggestions for future research are provided.

Since the notion of World Englishes attracted growing attention, the dichotomy between native speakers (NS) and nonnative speakers (NNS) has been challenged. Nonetheless, the belief that NS teachers are superior to NNS teachers still persists. Against this background, this study investigated how Korean college students perceived NNS English instructors and whether students' experiences with NNS teachers and English proficiency level influenced their perception. Data were collected from 472 students enrolled in communication-oriented English courses through questionnaires. Data analysis revealed that Korean college students generally had favorable perceptions of NNS instructors. Moreover, findings revealed that students perceived grammar teaching to be NNS instructors' greatest strength while culture teaching to be their biggest weakness. The study also found that the students who had learned from NNS instructors, had more positive views of NNS than the students who had not had any relevant NNS teaching-learning experiences. Similarly, lower level learners' perception was found to be more positive than higher level learners' perception.

Little research exists on expatriate language teachers’ experiences and attitudes toward their students and teaching contexts, particularly venues with younger learners, in an L2 setting. Thus, this study investigated native English-speaking teachers’ (NESTs) experiences of and attitudes toward teaching and interacting with Korean elementary school children in the Korean elementary school context. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with five NESTs who have worked, and are still working, in various areas of Korea. Findings indicated that the NESTs of the current study were holding relatively positive attitudes toward Korean children as well as teaching them English. The NESTs viewed Korean children as engaging and responsive learners, but stressed the importance of their own roles in creating an environment for the children’s better engagement. The NESTs’ experiences varied whether they had upper and lower grade elementary school children and whether they taught main classes or after-school classes, etc. Finally, the NESTs experienced challenges when dealing with children with extremely different levels of English in one classroom and with managing disorderly behaviors of after-school classes. Based on the findings of the study, practical implications for both NESTs and Korean teachers are provided.

The present study explores how high school English teachers perceive recently proposed or implemented English education policies. Among the policies are performance assessment, the depaπmentalized classroom system (DCS), 20 11 revised national curriculum for English, the two-Ievel (Types A' B) English tests in College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), and National English Ability Test (NEAT). The study examines three aspects ofteacher perception on each p이 icy: knowledge, attitudes, and implementation. A questionnaire was administered, and the responses of 395 high school English teachers were analyzed‘ The res비ts showed that the knowledge aspect scored the highest for all five p이 icies while differences were revealed as to specific aspects of knowledge, attitudes, and implementation across different policies. It was also revealed that the attitude aspect was positively correlated with the implementation aspect and that correlation between attitude and implementation was higher than the 、 correlation between attitude and knowledge. The facto rs identified to be highly correlated with all five policies were teacher’s academic attainment, age, and teaching experience, the number of students per class, and the implementation of English creative school. Implications are suggested for in-service teacher development, English education policy-making, and effective policy implementation.