대중문화에서 재현된 영어시험과 수험자 분석: 문화연구, 정체성, 기호학의 접점으로부터

Abstract

This paper is intended to explore the meaningfulness of interdisciplinary approaches to cultural studies, identities, and semiotics in the field of language education and applied linguistics in Korea. The ‘cultural turn’, which notes representation issues in mass culture, identity construction, and semiotics, are reviewed and intertwined to lead to the question of how high-stakes test takers are described in the mass media. 10 printed advertisements in which test takers are modeled to prepare for NEAT (National English Ability Test) and TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) were analyzed through syntagmatic and paradigmatic analysis, as well as through the Barthes’ signification analysis. Results obtained from semiotic analysis revealed that NEAT and TOEIC learners were often described in a stereotypical manner, positioned as taken-for-granted, competitive, emotional test-takers in conventional teach-to-the-test culture. The (distorted) representation of test takers discussed in this study, however, needs to be researched in different media settings, since the values of test prep appeared multiple, conflicting, and even entertaining in the present study, especially in the recent coverages. Meanings surrounding TOEIC learners, for example, could be interpreted as both forced and voluntary, competitive and friendly. It was found that the research tradition built on cultural studies, along with semiotic approaches, has great potential to critically understand a better meaning-making signification in the field of language education industry.