Focusing on Learners of Korean Language as a Second Language

Abstract

Now it is generally recognized that education about Korean cultural factors is required in Korean Language education as foreign language. This means not cramming Korean culture to foreigners but role of communication to make them understand Korean culture and adjust well to life in Korea. In particular, language culture education emphasizes to grow communicative ability, and the application of literatures enables to understand and respond to knowledge about society and culture where the language is used, and discourses and behaviors fit to the criteria of the language community. Literature shows an individual s way to behave in some situations by contextualizing it, and provides useful insights about relations, emotions, attitudes, and the like. The method to suggest through contexts in cultural education, can raise cultural ability to be familiar with the targeted culture and to utilize the culture in linguistic activities beyond knowledge about the culture. Especially, Korean illustrated books among literature genres, contain various sub-cultures which are not seen easily in daily lives as well as the entire culture such as language, religion, and ethnicity with the stories including special situational contexts in visual images. Characteristics of Korean language culture seen in illustrated books include naming culture, honorific expressions, high context culture, appropriate speech-acts of asking and refusing, etc. High context culture can compose an intact discourse or phrase even a necessary element is omitted, and in some cases, when an element is omitted, it may be more naturalistic. In high context culture, in order to figure out the core contents of communications, it is necessary to be interested in the situation more than the message. Especially, in relations with family or friends, they already know the other party s message even though he or she does not mention it, they would reduce words with more limited language, and depend on the scenes or the situations more. Foreign learners would be able to understand and be familiar with Korean s language culture through learning from illustrated books. Honorific expression, one of characteristics of Korean language, shows Korean people s emotions. Korean s honorific expression is used to express for respecting the other party properly fit to the context of its usage. Based on illustrated books, to contemplate Korean s ways to think, to tell about the reason why Korean honorific expression is various and complex, and to learn various usage of we and diverse greetings by Korean would play a meaningful role for their adjust to life in Korea. If the culture of naming is learnt in the contextual situation of illustrated book, it is easy to understand and effective for foreign learners to remember it. Culture is not just confirmed when meanings in dictionaries in the language used in literature texts, it is necessary to instruct them to understand the contexts of language culture and basic culture mixed in a literature work. Foreigners aim to acquire culture is to adjust well to life in Korea, and its most basic requirement depends on acquiring language culture.