Language Socialization in Korean-as-a-Foreign-Language Classrooms

Abstract

Within the language socialization framework, the second language (L2) classroom would constitute a powerful context of secondary socialization, particularly when it exists outside the learners' culture of origin. In this paper, first year Korean-as-a-Foreign-Language (KFL) classrooms are viewed as L2 socializing environments in which students are not only learning the target language, but are also being socialized into particular Korean sociocultural interactive norms. The study analyzes teacher–student interaction in two American college-level KFL classes in light of language socialization perspectives. The analysis illustrates that teacher–student interactions are consistent with hierarchism (Byon, 2004; Sohn, 1986), which is one of the major cognitive value orientations of Korean culture. The result contrasts with English-as-a-Second-Language settings (Poole, 1992) in which English teachers try to minimize the status differences between themselves and students.