BEAL Forum 5. Plenary Session 2. 
Date: Friday, 28 October 2022
Time: 1:00-2:20 pm EDT
Venue: Virtual event via Zoom, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Professor Hana Kang
University of Notre Dame
“The Analysis of Communicative Competence in Korean Textbooks: Intercultural competence approach”
Abstract:Language teachers utilize various resources to help students develop linguistic and Intercultural competence (ICC). However, textbooks are still the primary source for learning and teaching foreign languages. Despite the importance of textbooks in developing ICC, few studies are conducted on this topic, especially in less commonly taught languages such as Korean. This paper adopted ICC model of Deardorff (2006) and Gu & Zhao (2021) and applied three dimensions of ICC, “Attitude (attitude toward different cultures),” “Knowledge (linguistic and cultural knowledge),” and “Skill (ability to apply skills)” to examine the popular Korean textbooks in the United States. This study also includes personal interview data of Korean language learners from various backgrounds and how they understand and utilize the cultural components in the textbooks.
The analysis shows that all the information in the culture sections is related to the topics of each lesson, mainly in the “Knowledge” dimension (a simple explanation of Korea and Korean culture). The interview data revealed that the culture sections in their Korean textbook are good resources for general knowledge. However, learners indicated that textbooks should have more activities based on “Skill” dimensions, such as expressing identity (race and ethnicity), choosing proper speech levels, and using correct honorific forms. This study also shares findings on the differences between Korean heritage and Korean as a foreign language learners in their understanding of Korean speech levels and honorific usage.
Bio: Professor Hana Kang holds a joint appointment from the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) and the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures (CSLC). She teaches Korean language courses as well as linguistic courses. Her research interests include foreign language acquisition, language learner identity, and intercultural competence. She has presented research papers on the learners’ acquisition of different writing systems and the roles of learners’ identity in language learning at various national conferences.
Free and Open to the Public
Organizers:
BEAL Forum 5 Organizing Committee
Faculty Co-Chairs: Mineharu Nakayama, Marjorie K.M. Chan, and Zhiguo Xie
Graduate Student Co-Chairs: Jinwei Ye & Wei William Zhou
Committee Members: Paul Cockrum, Skylor Gomes, Ka Fai Law, Yuki Hattori, Shengxiang Lin, Shun Maruyama, Caroline Norfleet, Saori Wakita, Seojin Yang, Xuan Ye, and Yuhong Zhu
Sponsors:
East Asian Studies Center, Graduate Association of Chinese Linguistics (GACL), Graduate Students of East Asian Languages and Literatures (GREALL), Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (DEALL), Department of Linguistics, and the Buckeye Language Network (BLN).
This event is sponsored in part by a U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant for The Ohio State University East Asian Studies Center, programming fund for GACL from the Council on Student Affairs, and by the James H-Y. Tai Buckeye East Asian Linguistics Fund.