Ji-Yeon O. Jo, Ph.D.University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

CLAC 2008

Critical reflections on integrating language and culture at a post-

secondary institution: Implementations and Implications of

teaching Korean.

Status of Korean language programs in U.S. and at UNC-Chapel Hill

Contemporary Contexts of foreign language/culture education

Approaches of foreign language/culture education

Integrating culture and language in Korean language classes

Challenges and potentials of creating CLAC in Korean

Overview

Spoken by about 70 million people in the Korean peninsula and also by a sizable population outside of Korea (Song, 2005; Lee & Ramsey, 2000)

Korean writing system is invented in 1443 and considered as one of the most scientific writing system in the world

Economic power of Korea is 11th in the world

Over 4000 years of rich historyDynamic contemporary life

Korea(n)

147+ colleges and universities offer Korean language program (CARLA)

In 2006, 6908 undergraduate students and 237 graduate students were enrolled in Korean programs in 125 U.S. colleges and universities (MLA Enrollment Data, 2006)

88 colleges are members of AATK, but only 30 of these schools offer Korean culture courses (www.aatk.org)

Korean at higher education

First Korean language class: Fall, 2006Currently offering KOR 101, 102, 203,

204, & 305Enrollment: 49(2006-2007), 87 (2007-

2008), 63 (Fall, 2008)Foreign Language RequirementInterdisciplinary major in Asian Studies

(four courses in Korean and eight interdisciplinary courses)

Korean Language Program at UNC

Geopolitical contextFL LearnersGoals and meanings of FL educationFL EducatorsUnderstanding Cultures

Contemporary Contexts of FL education

Geographical and political divisionsGlobal

Economic globalizationInternational politics and conflictsNational boundaries

NationalNational solidarity & unityIntra-national politics and economy

Local

Geopolitical Context

Immigration, transnational migration, and sojourning experiences

“transnational migrants must learn to inhabit and maintain at least two identities and speak at least two cultural languages in order to navigate between the contexts they are living” (Hall, 1991)

Multiplicity and hybridity of learner identities Identity is socially constructed and always in the process of becoming (Hall,

1990) Negotiate between the universal and the particular, create transitional

cultural ‘borderlands’, and combine a sense of belonging with a sense of detachment (Giroux, 1992)

Critical intercultural speaker “Someone who is committed to turn intercultural encounters into

intercultural relationships whereby s/he deliberately exposes herself/himself to networks of meanings and forces and reflects critically upon them” (Guilherme, 2002)

FL Learners

May 2007 MLA report on FL and Higher Education

To produce “educated speakers who have deep translingual and transcultural competence.”

FL learners role : “informed and capable interlocutors with educated native speakers in the target language.”

Goals and meanings of FL education in the era of globalization

FL educators have to be aware of that personhood, identity, culture, language, and power are intertwined (Hinkel ed. 2005, p. 891) and the relationship between these are complex, dynamic and constantly evolving.

Language teachers as teachers of culture (Byram & Risager, 1999)

Teachers as cultural workers (Freire, 2005) : Teachers need to critically reflect on the meaning of teaching and learning, continuously examining their positionality, their own beliefs and value and make these explicit to the learners, and create dialogic space between the learner and teacher.

FL Educators

Manuela Guilherme (2002)Teachers as 1) reflective practitioner

Understanding of other culture may start from reflection of themselves (their identities and culture)

2) dialogic facilitatorLanguage and culture teaching is dialogic process

thatemphasizes a teacher-student relationship of mutualrespect, freedom of expression, and dialogic sharing (Byram & Feng, 2005, p. 916)

3) transformative intellectualsLearner and teacher agencies (Toohey, 2007,

p.232)Transmissive vs. TransformativeTeaching is never an ‘apolitical’ practice.

Common fallacies in integrating culture and language

Facts-oriented culture teaching can be damaging to students understanding of the particular culture since it ignores the fact that culture is “a socially constructed product.” (Kramsch, 1993, p.205 in Byram & Feng, 2005).

The facts-oriented cultural representation and integration easily essentialize a culture, reproduce cultural stereotypes, and creating “others”. Thus it hinders sincere appreciation and understanding of a culture.

Representation of culture in FL teaching

Multiplicity and intersectionality of culturePresent diversity and differences within a

culture: Investigate different perspectives that can be found in the culture and compare them with diversity within the students own culture.

Furthermore students and teachers need to recognize intersectionality of culture

Developing translingual and transcultural competence with critical cultural awarenessManuela Guilherme (2002)A Multiple-Perspective ApproachAn Interdisciplinary ApproachA Critical Approach

Approaches of Foreign Language and Culture education

StudentsKorean heritage studentsNon-heritage studentsMixed-heritage studentsAdopted students

Korean as a foreign language/culture education at UNC

Reasons for learning KoreanTo communicate with family members and

relativesTo communicate with Korean friendsTo use Korean in careerTo appreciate and understand Korean pop

culture better: Korean Wave ‘Hallyu’

Intermediate KoreanStorytelling: Korean (and other) folktalesInterview project: Interview a person who is

currently working in the area where you would like to pursue your future career

Individual/Group Project: Culture Project

Elementary KoreanEveryday approach: Cultural implications

that are embedded in words and expressions (i.e. language and gender, age, social status, educational level, relationship, etc).

Integrating language and culture

Final Skit ProjectStudents work in a group of 4-5Group discussions: 20 -40 mins/wk in class and

outside of class meetingsWrite a proposal: title, theme, content,

supplementary materials and resourcesDevelop skit: create contexts and dialogues for

the skitPracticePresentReflect

Advanced KoreanOne-Day reporter: Current issues and news

Critical examinations of news articles: the way lexical items, grammatical status of words, and syntactical choices construct meanings help students read the newspaper critically and unravel the ideological interests that motivate language in these news (Canagarajah, 2005, p.934)

Short Project (Music): Present their favorite singer and song

Short Project (Advertisement): Critically examine advertisements and TV commercials to understand socio-cultural contexts of Korea

Final Project

Over-stretched faculty time and workloadResource: Funding, Support Network, Materials,

CommunityLack of faculty who specializes in Korea-related

issues to create a separate CLAC courseLack of professional developmentStructural Huddle

Lecture/recitation division Limited contact hours Lower/Upper class power structure:

Instructor/Class assignment

Challenges of creating CALC in Korean

Small program sizeNew program

Flexibility in designing and implementing new approaches in language teaching

Potentials of creating CLAC courses in Korean

Byram, M. & Feng, A. (2005). Teaching and researching intercultural competence. In E. Hinkel (ed.) Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers: Mahwah, NJ

 Canagarajah, S. (2005). Critical pedagogy in L2 learning and teaching. In E. Hinkel (ed.) Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers: Mahwah, NJ

 Guilherme, M. (2002). Critical Citizens for an Intercultural World: Foreign Language Education as Cultural Politics

Hinkel, E. (ed.) (2005). Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers: Mahwah, NJ

Modern Language Association Enrollment Data (2006) retrieved from http://www.mla.org/pdf/enrollment/korean_2006.pdf

CARLA : http://www.carla.umn.edu/ AATK: http://www.aatk.org

References