Globalization and the Process of
Transformation in Language of
Korean Students in America
Hi-Sun Kim
University of Chicago
AATK 2012
Introduction
• Globalization and multilingualism in the 21st
century
• Languages of Korean International (KI)
students
• Languages of Korean American (KA) students
Research Questions
• What kinds of new language profiles and
identities are constructed by the forces of
globalization in KI and KA students in American
universities?
• How do such identity constructions in turn
influence their motivation in language practices
and learning?
• What are the implications for Korean language
teaching in the US and how will this new
generation of KA and KI students, who are the
products of new globalized economy, impact the
Korean studies program?
Korean International Students
• 유학생 versus 조기유학생
• 2005-2006 (KEDI, 2007; Shin, 2010)
– 69.5% increase of elementary students
– 38.6% increase of middle school students
– 15.5% increase of high school students
• RQ:
– Degrees of bilingualism for Korean & English?
– Process of their new construction of language profile?
– Value or advancement of Korean language & culture?
Korean American Students
• Immigrant language profile: shift to dominant
language (e.g. English)
• Heritage language loss; attrition; assimilation
• Degree of bilinugalism & Bilingual profiles
(Monstrul, 2009):
Simultaneous/Sequential/Late child L2 learners
• RQ:
– Change in value of heritage language (i.e., Korean)?
– Shift in motivation to advance in heritage language
due to the globalized economy?
The Study
Questionnaire Survey
• Demographic information & place of education
from K-12
• L1 and extent of Korean language exposure
• Korean language usage with family, peers, etc.
• Self evaluation/ confidence level in translation
• Expectation to use Korean & English in future
• Korean language identity, value, and their
motivation for Korean language advancement
Participants
• 54 students (KI=37; KA=17/ M=29; F=25)
• Age range 18-32
• Popular majors:
– KI: 51% Economics
– KA: Biology (3 out of 17)
– Other majors: math, history, public policy, political
science, fine arts, music, human development,
statistics, industrial design, architecture,
philosophy
Background Information
N
Age
Gender
Class
Nationality
(mean)
Place of
Age of
Birth
Arrival
(mean)
KI
37
20.7
M=24
1st=15
Korean
Korea
F=13
2nd=9
(100%)
(100%)
12.9
3rd=4
4th-8
KA
17
21.6
M=5
1st=6
US=15
Korea=3
F=12
2nd=0
(88.2%)
(17.6%)
3rd=2
Both=2
US=14
4th=2
(12%)
(82.4%)
Grad=7
9.8
Education Pattern
KI
Korea
KA
Eng
Both
Other
Korea
Country
Pre-
Both
Other
0
0
0
Country
2
0
2
5
12
Primary (88%)
(5%)
(0%)
(5%)
(29%)
(71%)
Primary 26
6
3
2
2
13
2
(72%)
(16%)
(8%)
(5%)
(12%)
(76%)
(12%)
24
7
4
2
2
15
0
0
(67%)
(19%)
(11%)
(5%)
(12%)
(88%)
11
22
1
13
2
15
0
0
(31%)
(59%)
(3%)
(35%)
(12%)
(88%)
Middle
High
School
32
Eng
Lived with Native Speaker
KI
Grand-
Grand-
father
mother
18
(49%)
KA 9
(53%)
Mother
Father
Sibling
Relatives Spouse
17
35
35
31
14
1
(46%)
(95%)
(95%)
(84%)
(38%)
(3%)
6
16
16
7
4
1
(35%)
(94%)
(94%)
(41%)
(24%)
(6%)
L1 Age 0-5
English
Korean
Both
KI
0
37 (100%)
0
KA
2 (12%)
13 (76%)
2 (12%)
Exposure of
Korean Language & Culture
KI
Exposure
Residence
Korean language at
growing up
(more than 3 months)
University
4.9
37 (100%)
2 (12%)
9 (53%)
12 (71%)
KA 4.3
Mean: 4.6 months
Speaking to and spoken to from
KI
Speak to
KA
Spoken to
Speak to
Spoken to
Korean friends 4.6
4.6
2.6
2.6
Significant
2.1
2.1
0.9
0.8
Grandparents
4.4
4.4
3.1
3.2
Mother
4.8
4.8
3.6
4.0
Father
4.8
4.9
3.5
3.5
Siblings &
4.4
4.5
1.9
2.1
4.4
4.5
3.5
3.5
Others
Cousins
Relatives
(Uncles/Aunts)
Other Usage and Exposure
KI
KA
Korean TV/movies
3.8
3.1
Read in Korean
3.9
2.6
Write/Email Text in Korean
3.8
2.5
Listen to Korean music
3.2
2.8
I am confident communicating in:
KI
KA
Korean
4.8
3.5
English
4.5
4.8
I am confident translating
reading materials…
KI
KA
From Korean to English
4.3
3
From English to Korean
4.1
2.9
I am confident in the following
Korean language skills:
KI
KA
Speaking
4.7
3.5
Listening
4.9
4.1
Reading
4.7
3.5
Writing
4.4
3.1
Grammar
4.5
2.7
Honorific use
4.6
3.4
Speech level
4.7
3.5
In the future, I expect to use
KI
Korean
At home with 4.8
KA
English
Korean
English
3.4
4.2
3.9
family
With friends
4.5
4
3.1
4.8
At work
3.4
4.4
2.6
4.6
Are you interested in
improving your Korean language?
KI
KA
Yes
26 (70%)
16 (94%)
Reading
7 (19%)
10 (59%)
Writing
19 (51%)
12 (71%)
Speaking
10 (27%)
12 (71%)
Listening
3 (8%)
7 (41%)
Vocabulary/Hanja
18 (49%)
14 (82%)
Are you interested in expanding your
knowledge in other content areas?
KI
KA
Yes
30 (81%)
15 (88%)
Literature
22 (59%)
9 (53%)
History
21 (57%)
11 (65%)
Popular culture
15 (41%)
6 (35%)
Economics
19 (51%)
6 (35%)
Politics
17 (46%)
11 (65%)
Sociology
12 (32%)
3 (18%)
Art
18 (49%)
7 (41%)
Linguistics
15 (41%))
5 (29%)
Law
14 (38%)
4 (24%)
If Korea and the US played the World Cup finals,
which team would you support?
KI
KA
Korea
37 (100%)
13 (76%)
US
0
0
Both
0
1 (6%)
Neither
0
1 (6%)
Discussion
Globalization and
Korean International Students
• Monica Heller (2010):
“It is not the globalization alone that is so new, but
rather the emergence of the globalized new
economy, which has new conditions for the
production of language practices and forms and
new challenges to current ways of thinking about
language.” (p. 349)
Globalization and
Korean International Students
• Acquisition of American (or British) English
• Shift from hakwon to immersion (조기유학)
• 86% of KI students have experienced or started an
English immersion education in primary, middle, or
high school
• Possess a rather balanced bilingual identity (e.g. high
confidence in both languages reported)
• Expects to use English at work and Korean at home &
with peers
• Fluency not enough, but fluency with authentic or
native-like English pronunciation and proficiency
Globalization and
Korean International Students
• 조기유학 = key to entering and competing in
the new global market
• “Authentic” English as marker of elite status in
the new economic order in Korea (Shin, 2010)
• Process of constructing a balanced KoreanEnglish bilingual is not only economically
driven, but also socially driven.
Globalization and
Korean American Students
• Globalization = Americanization and
McDonaldization (Crystal, 2004; Bhatt 2001;
Phillipson, 2003, etc.)
• Exclusive reliance on English as a growing
disadvantage in US and Uk (Djite, 2008) &
multilingual education has social market
benefit (Skutnabb-Kangas & Phillipson, 2010)
• Then, KA/HL speakers should have an
advantage
Globalization and
Korean American Students
• Kim (2002): Language usage, exposure,
motivation, and attitude of Korean HL learners at
UHM
– L1 (2002) 34% (E) - 34% (K) – 29% (Both)
– L1 (2011) 12% (E) – 77% (K) – 12% (Both)
– Slightly more Korean language usage with similar
patterns (e.g. more Korean usage with mother than
father)
– Rates Korean as difficult with most confidence in
listening and least confident in writing
– Hence, global new economy does NOT seem to have
any significant change in motivation
Globalization and
Korean American Students
• With US ranking high in the global hierarchies,
the study reveals KA students have different
experiences of globalization by comparison
with KI students, which is low (unchanged)
motivation to invest in their HL language.
• However, overall increase on awareness of
language as a resource
Globalization and
Korean Language Program
• Globalization in the 21st century has brought
new definition to KI and KA students
• KI students (compared to NS) possess gaps in
knowledge of content areas (e.g., literature,
history, etc.)
• KA students possess gaps in metalinguistic
knowledge
CONCLUSION:
Globalization and Korean Language Program
• Strong implications for Korean programs to
incorporate metalinguistic based courses for
KA students and content-based advanced level
courses for KI students
• Korean language programs should meet
demands of constructing new levels of
Korean-English bilingualism for KI and KA
students in order for them to successfully
compete in the new global economy