“It’s not real culture anyway”: Language ideologies of local and expatriate English teachers in rural South Korea

Abstract

In South Korea (Korea), Park (2004) identifies three dominant English language ideologies: necessity (English as essential to compete in neoliberal markets), externalization (English as antithetical to Korean identity), and self-deprecation (English as unobtainable by Korean speakers). While studies have explored these ideologies among Korean English teachers in cosmopolitan settings like Seoul, few studies consider how teachers in rural areas negotiate these language ideologies. This study compares ideological stances from both expatriate guest English teachers (GETs) and local Korean English teachers (LETs). Participants working in the rural province of Jeollanamdo conducted semi-structured interviews about their perspectives and experiences regarding English education in Korea. Interviews underwent thematic analysis where initial codes identified Park’s three ideologies, and further coding produced subthemes through stance analysis. Findings indicate a diverse mix of stances between LETs and GETs that both affirm and resist dominant English language ideologies. LETs and GETs with experience working in both rural islands and coastal cities also report variation in students’ motivation and stress toward English education. By examining variation in teachers’ stancetaking toward dominant English language ideologies, this study challenges Bourdieu’s (1991) notion of a unified linguistic ideological marketplace.