Education Commons^™

Damunwha Students’ Funds Of Knowledge In English: A Qualitative Case Study In The South Korean Context, Miso Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study explores the interface between multicultural, or Damunwha, students’ households and English learning in the Korean context. Korea is a relatively homogeneous nation in terms of its ethnic and cultural diversity. In this context, students whose parent(s) are not Korean are labeled as Damunwha students. Despite their minority position, the students have accumulated multilingual and multicultural funds of knowledge, the experience and culture unique to their households. Their use of funds of knowledge in English learning was analyzed from an ecological perspective, which emphasizes learners’ active agency in learning. Two junior-high school students from international marriage families and two …

The Effect Of Parents' Child-Rearing Attitudes On High School Students' English Learning Motivation And Achievement, Eun-Kyung Park, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

Elderly Korean Learners' Participation In English Learning Through Lifelong Education: Focusing On Motivation And Demotivation, Tae-Young Kim, Yoon-Kyoung Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

This study explores motivational and demotivational factors in English learning among elderly learners attending a lifelong education institute located in Seoul, South Korea. A total of 420 elderly learners with limited English learning experience responded to a questionnaire with 47 five-point Likert-type items. In order to investigate what factors encourage and discourage elderly learners in their participation in English learning, we conducted factor analysis, which indicated five motivational and three demotivational constructs. The motivational factor of self-actualization proved the most influential, while pressure from the Graduation Equivalency Examination was the most demotivating. It was found that the motivational factors demonstrated …

A Critical Study Of Language Minority Students' Participation In Language Communities In The Korean Context, Miso Kim, Tae-Young Kim

Dr. Tae-Young Kim (김태영, 金兌英)

In South Korea, Damunwha students (students from multicultural family backgrounds) have difficulties at school because of others’ derogatory perception of them and the different linguistic and cultural settings. In light of this issue, this paper addresses the Damunwha students’ identities and participation within the language communities from a community of practice perspective and a critical pedagogy perspective. Four students (two from international marriage families and two from immigrant workers’ families), their teachers, and their supervisors participated in the study from March to April 2013. The findings suggest that Damunwha students’ participation in Korean society depends on their resources, others’ perception …