North American Academics in East Asia: Life in the English-speaking Enclave

Abstract

While the hiring of international faculty is increasing among competitive universities, some universities face a major challenge in doing so: their foreign hires do not speak the primary language of instruction of that university. This study examines the host country language skills of expatriate academics in two countries: Korea and Japan. Specifically, this study investigates (a) the study effort invested and (b) the language proficiency achieved by native English-speaking professors on tenure track positions. Expatriate faculty had several predictors of their language learning success. Specifically, the well-known factors facilitating language learning played important roles. The findings are discussed within the framework of sociocultural adjustment and career prospects that exist for expatriate professors in Korean and Japanese higher education.