DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Aug 1, 2014
This study attempts to report the results of the current state of Korean language teachers in U.S... more This study attempts to report the results of the current state of Korean language teachers in U.S. higher education from a governance perspective, and discusses the findings in the broad context of Korean language teaching. Two sets of data collected from the members of the American Association of Teachers of Korean in 2006 and 2012 through detailed survey questionnaires are compared with respect to the teachers' personal profile and status (e.g., gender, age, current position, frequency of renewal, year of Korean language teaching, highest degree earned, field of specialization, current salary range) and their perceived job satisfaction (e.g., satisfaction for instructional duties, other non-instructional aspects, workload, working environment, job security, salary, and status of the Korean program). The findings suggest that Korean language teachers appear to be generally satisfied with their job overall, more so in the category of instructional duties but less satisfied with their workload, salary, and the status of the Korean program in their respective schools.
Wang Hye-Sook. 2009. 2. 28. Learning while Laughing: Integrating Language
and Culture through Hu... more Wang Hye-Sook. 2009. 2. 28. Learning while Laughing: Integrating Language
and Culture through Humor. Bilingual Research 39, 171-211. This paper
examines the use of humor in Korean language education. While various
materials such as movies, TV dramas, proverbs, folk tales and the like have
been widely used in Korean language education over the past decade or so, the
application of humor in the classroom has not received due attention from
educators and researchers to date. Although some teachers must have been using
humor to varying degrees in their classes, the field lacks more formal discussion
of the use of humor in Korean language education in general. The present paper
discusses ways to use humor, the benefits and pitfalls of using humor in
language classes, guidelines and principles of choosing humor, challenges of
using humor, and actual examples that could be considered for use in the
classroom. Humor can be, if properly used, an effective tool for integrating
language and culture education
The main goals of this paper are to reflect upon the current practices of the advanced level Kore... more The main goals of this paper are to reflect upon the current practices of the advanced level Korean language teaching in American colleges and universities and to propose a curricular model for fourth and fifth year courses. Following a review of relevant literature and the status quo of advanced level teaching, a course proposal was made with a brief description of theoretical framework. The proposed course is built upon the Content-based Instruction (commonly known as CBI or CBLT) model as a main principle and genre-based approach. It was made based on the mega-theme of 'conflict' as a keyword or important concept to comprehend various aspects of Korean culture and society. This year-long course is designed to ensure coherence of themes covered and in-depth understanding of core issues of Korean culture and society. Advantages of this model as well as challenges and practical tips associated with implementing this model are also discussed.
This study investigates Korean language learners' understanding of the honorifics system base... more This study investigates Korean language learners' understanding of the honorifics system based on 223 responses collected from learners studying in Korea. Due to its complexity, this system has posed many challenges not only for leaners to master it but also for teachers to effectively instruct it. Three factors—native language, length of residence, and proficiency level—that might affect learning of this system are examined to better understand where learners experience difficulty. The results of descriptive statistics show that first, the higher level the respondents were at, the higher level of understanding of the system they demonstrated; second, native speakers of Japanese performed better than native speakers of English and other languages, but only by a narrow margin in each case; third, learners who had been residing in Korea for more than six months performed better than those for less than six months, indicating that six months of residence was a borderline factor. In...
Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 2020
The aim of this study is to examine current testing practices in Korean language classrooms in U.... more The aim of this study is to examine current testing practices in Korean language classrooms in U.S. colleges and universities. Twelve final examinations of beginning and intermediate level classes are analyzed following Bachman & Palmer's 'task characteristics' as an analytical tool. The results show that first, the majority of tests includes listening, reading, and writing, while a few tests focus exclusively on grammar and vocabulary. Second, the relative proportion of the four skills varies notably from school to school and varies less between levels. Third, the sequence of parts/tasks is very similar in all tests regardless of program or level. Fourth, selected response and limited production are the most popular response types in the grammar/vocabulary section of all the samples. There are virtually no extended response questions. Fifth, the length of input in reading and listening passages varies notably from program to program, although the results are hard to gen...
According to recent Modern Language Association (MLA) reports (2015, 2019), student enrollment in... more According to recent Modern Language Association (MLA) reports (2015, 2019), student enrollment in Korean language classes shows the fastest growth among all foreign languages offered at US higher education institutions for the past decade. It is believed that such remarkable growth in the interest in the Korean language is to some extent indebted to the popularity of Korean popular culture, which is called Hallyu or “Korean Wave.” The present study examines the role of Hallyu in Korean language learning, focusing on the gender and ethnicity factors of learners. A survey of 180 US college learners of Korean was analyzed using descriptive statistics, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The results indicated that both gender and ethnicity were found to be significant factors. That is, female nonheritage students' L2 Korean motivation was more strongly driven by their interest in Korean popular culture than that of male or heritage studen...
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Aug 1, 2014
This study attempts to report the results of the current state of Korean language teachers in U.S... more This study attempts to report the results of the current state of Korean language teachers in U.S. higher education from a governance perspective, and discusses the findings in the broad context of Korean language teaching. Two sets of data collected from the members of the American Association of Teachers of Korean in 2006 and 2012 through detailed survey questionnaires are compared with respect to the teachers' personal profile and status (e.g., gender, age, current position, frequency of renewal, year of Korean language teaching, highest degree earned, field of specialization, current salary range) and their perceived job satisfaction (e.g., satisfaction for instructional duties, other non-instructional aspects, workload, working environment, job security, salary, and status of the Korean program). The findings suggest that Korean language teachers appear to be generally satisfied with their job overall, more so in the category of instructional duties but less satisfied with their workload, salary, and the status of the Korean program in their respective schools.
Wang Hye-Sook. 2009. 2. 28. Learning while Laughing: Integrating Language
and Culture through Hu... more Wang Hye-Sook. 2009. 2. 28. Learning while Laughing: Integrating Language
and Culture through Humor. Bilingual Research 39, 171-211. This paper
examines the use of humor in Korean language education. While various
materials such as movies, TV dramas, proverbs, folk tales and the like have
been widely used in Korean language education over the past decade or so, the
application of humor in the classroom has not received due attention from
educators and researchers to date. Although some teachers must have been using
humor to varying degrees in their classes, the field lacks more formal discussion
of the use of humor in Korean language education in general. The present paper
discusses ways to use humor, the benefits and pitfalls of using humor in
language classes, guidelines and principles of choosing humor, challenges of
using humor, and actual examples that could be considered for use in the
classroom. Humor can be, if properly used, an effective tool for integrating
language and culture education
The main goals of this paper are to reflect upon the current practices of the advanced level Kore... more The main goals of this paper are to reflect upon the current practices of the advanced level Korean language teaching in American colleges and universities and to propose a curricular model for fourth and fifth year courses. Following a review of relevant literature and the status quo of advanced level teaching, a course proposal was made with a brief description of theoretical framework. The proposed course is built upon the Content-based Instruction (commonly known as CBI or CBLT) model as a main principle and genre-based approach. It was made based on the mega-theme of 'conflict' as a keyword or important concept to comprehend various aspects of Korean culture and society. This year-long course is designed to ensure coherence of themes covered and in-depth understanding of core issues of Korean culture and society. Advantages of this model as well as challenges and practical tips associated with implementing this model are also discussed.
This study investigates Korean language learners' understanding of the honorifics system base... more This study investigates Korean language learners' understanding of the honorifics system based on 223 responses collected from learners studying in Korea. Due to its complexity, this system has posed many challenges not only for leaners to master it but also for teachers to effectively instruct it. Three factors—native language, length of residence, and proficiency level—that might affect learning of this system are examined to better understand where learners experience difficulty. The results of descriptive statistics show that first, the higher level the respondents were at, the higher level of understanding of the system they demonstrated; second, native speakers of Japanese performed better than native speakers of English and other languages, but only by a narrow margin in each case; third, learners who had been residing in Korea for more than six months performed better than those for less than six months, indicating that six months of residence was a borderline factor. In...
Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 2020
The aim of this study is to examine current testing practices in Korean language classrooms in U.... more The aim of this study is to examine current testing practices in Korean language classrooms in U.S. colleges and universities. Twelve final examinations of beginning and intermediate level classes are analyzed following Bachman & Palmer's 'task characteristics' as an analytical tool. The results show that first, the majority of tests includes listening, reading, and writing, while a few tests focus exclusively on grammar and vocabulary. Second, the relative proportion of the four skills varies notably from school to school and varies less between levels. Third, the sequence of parts/tasks is very similar in all tests regardless of program or level. Fourth, selected response and limited production are the most popular response types in the grammar/vocabulary section of all the samples. There are virtually no extended response questions. Fifth, the length of input in reading and listening passages varies notably from program to program, although the results are hard to gen...
According to recent Modern Language Association (MLA) reports (2015, 2019), student enrollment in... more According to recent Modern Language Association (MLA) reports (2015, 2019), student enrollment in Korean language classes shows the fastest growth among all foreign languages offered at US higher education institutions for the past decade. It is believed that such remarkable growth in the interest in the Korean language is to some extent indebted to the popularity of Korean popular culture, which is called Hallyu or “Korean Wave.” The present study examines the role of Hallyu in Korean language learning, focusing on the gender and ethnicity factors of learners. A survey of 180 US college learners of Korean was analyzed using descriptive statistics, two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The results indicated that both gender and ethnicity were found to be significant factors. That is, female nonheritage students' L2 Korean motivation was more strongly driven by their interest in Korean popular culture than that of male or heritage studen...
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Papers by Hye-Sook Wang
and Culture through Humor. Bilingual Research 39, 171-211. This paper
examines the use of humor in Korean language education. While various
materials such as movies, TV dramas, proverbs, folk tales and the like have
been widely used in Korean language education over the past decade or so, the
application of humor in the classroom has not received due attention from
educators and researchers to date. Although some teachers must have been using
humor to varying degrees in their classes, the field lacks more formal discussion
of the use of humor in Korean language education in general. The present paper
discusses ways to use humor, the benefits and pitfalls of using humor in
language classes, guidelines and principles of choosing humor, challenges of
using humor, and actual examples that could be considered for use in the
classroom. Humor can be, if properly used, an effective tool for integrating
language and culture education
and Culture through Humor. Bilingual Research 39, 171-211. This paper
examines the use of humor in Korean language education. While various
materials such as movies, TV dramas, proverbs, folk tales and the like have
been widely used in Korean language education over the past decade or so, the
application of humor in the classroom has not received due attention from
educators and researchers to date. Although some teachers must have been using
humor to varying degrees in their classes, the field lacks more formal discussion
of the use of humor in Korean language education in general. The present paper
discusses ways to use humor, the benefits and pitfalls of using humor in
language classes, guidelines and principles of choosing humor, challenges of
using humor, and actual examples that could be considered for use in the
classroom. Humor can be, if properly used, an effective tool for integrating
language and culture education