Globalization and native English speakers in English Programme in Korea (EPIK)

Abstract

This study demonstrates how English Programme in Korea (EPIK) is an example of Korea's active response to the globalization process through which Korea not only accommodates external demands but also strategically pursues national interests through equipping its citizens with a command of English. EPIK, affiliated with the Korean Ministry of Education, was established in 1995 in order to hire native speakers of English as teachers, with the mandate to improve the English speaking abilities of students and teachers in Korea and to reform English teaching methodologies. After presenting an overview of EPIK, this study highlights that the South Korean government has responded to and actively participated in the global spread of English by adopting and implementing the EPIK programme. Furthermore, the ideology of the native English speaker as the ideal teacher, readily adopted by the Korean government and people, does not grant native English teachers legitimacy as teachers in their everyday interactions with Korean teachers of English and Korean students. This study demonstrates that the dichotomy of the native speaker of English as a superior teacher, and the non-native speaker of English as an inferior teacher, is too simplistic to explain real-life experiences of EPIK teachers.