Maintaining Korean heritage language in a Midwest public elementary school

Hee Young Choi (hchoi28@illinois.edu)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

I. Introduction

1. Purpose of the Study• To examine Korean elementary students’

perspectives and attitudes to: - KLS (Korean Language School)- Korean class in Pine Grove Elementary school

2. Background• Traditional studies on HL (Heritage Language)

maintenance • Increasing new group of students: ESA (Early

Study Abroad)/Migrating Korean students- 110,000 Korean students in the U.S.(U.S. ICE, 2009) - About 30,000 K-12 Korean ESA students in 2006 (KEDI, 2006)

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

2002 2005 2006

K-5MiddleHigh

Korean Students Early Study Abroad

Excluded: immigration, accompanying with dispatched parents (Dong-A Ilbo, Sep. 23, 2007)

3. Problem Statement

• Dominant discourse of English-only context

• Linguistic cost

- Short term: Elementary students

- Long term: Secondary school students

Vicious Chain

Paren ts' P ressu re

B ack to U S

L o w A ch ievem ent

L 1 L o ss

E ng lish O N ly

B I C S

Lack o f C A LP

Lon gin g fo r U S sch oo l

R etu rn to K orea

Tem porary R esid en ts

R eadj u stm en t H ardsh ip

4. Keys to maintain Korean HL

• L1 program in public school

• Collaborative effort between local KLS and

public schools

• Educating Korean parents and public school

teachers

II. Literature Review

1. HLL (Heritage Language Learner) • Traditional definition: “someone who is raised in a

home where a non-English language is spoken” (Valdés, 2001, p. 38)

• Lee & Shin (2008): growing pool of Korean heritage language speakers - Broad range of proficiency from high to none in Korean oral or literacy skills: Temporary residents from Korea (ESA students)

"Responsibility for maintenance and development of the native language is usually left to the family, and public school support for the development of Korean at the K-12 level is still rare.“ (Lee & Shin, 2008, p. 8)

III. Method

1. Qualitative Research & Case Study • Denzin & Lincoln (2005)

- Meanings in the natural setting• Stake (2005)

- Questions of what specially can be learned from the single case

2. Data Collection• KLS: 4 months observation, interview

with principal, a teacher, and six 3rd grade students

• L1 program of Pine Grove Elementary school: 4 months observation of Korean class and ESL class focusing on three 1st grade girl students, interview with those focal students, L1 program director, and Korean  and ESL teachers

IV. Findings

<Champaign-Urbana Korean Language School> 

• Affiliated by a Korean church• Founded in 1979 w/ only 10-15 elementary school

students• Currently, in 2008, more than 100 students

- Pre K to 3rd G.

1. Students’ Attitudes• Low motivation: “No need to learn Korean”

“This is not a school. This is a church, Ajeosi (uncle).”

“Regular school is very interesting but Korean school is boring.”

2. Parents’ Attitudes• English Only, Only EnglishResearcher: What do you expect

Hyunsu to accomplish through the staying in the U.S.?

Hyunsu’s mother: I had to use averagely $200-300 per month to teach English in Korea. So, this is a good opportunity to learn English. I want her to master not only English speaking but also reading and writing fluently.

Researcher: Do you prepare something

for her for returning to Korea? Hyunsu’s mother: I don’t know yet but

some parents who came here for a year concentrate on English learning for the first half year. Then a few months before returning to Korea they emphasize for their children to study math because math is difficult in Korea.

<KHL (Korean Heritage Language) Program of Pine Grove Elementary>

• Midwest• Twin Cities w/ a big university• The only HL program in two school districts• 11 Heritage Languages: Indonesian, French,

Lao, Turkish, Korean, Japanese, Swahili, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic, and Russian

• Continuing bilingual competence- Immigrant family students- University affiliated students

• Respected minority language and culture

- Positive self-esteem - Opening up to learning

Categories Korean Language School

(Community School)

PG Korean HL Program

(Public School)

Class Hours 3 hours/ W ( S aturday) 30 m in/ D ( Everyday)

Size 80- 100 ( T - 5) 15 ( K - 5)

Teachers Vo lunteers Recruited from Com m unity

Environment Church facilities

Equipped teaching m aterials

S m all and cram ped

Textbook only

Students' attitude

D iverse spectrum

( “I t's not a schoo l, a church)

S erious because it's a schoo l program

Parents' perspectives

Better than nothing S atisfying

1. KLS vs. KHL Program

2. Students’ L1, L2 Participation/Development• Socio-cultural Aspect

- KHL class: Comfort zone“When I came to the Korean class, I was happy because I could talk, shout, or even express my anger. However, in the ESL or regular class, I just kept silent because I didn’t know how to do that in English!” (Sunju)

• Competition vs. Cooperation• Creating different relationship among

students: Power shift- K: Hawon > Sunju > Euri- E: Euri > Sunju > Hawon

(Euri: born in the U.S. Sunju: 1.5 years in the U.S.

Hawon: 3 months in the U.S)

3. Linguistic Aspect• L1-L2 interdependence

- Cross-transfer

- Helping conceptualization• Coordinated instruction with regular class

curriculum: ESL class

Findings

4. Thinking Readjustment in Korea

- Mrs. Hong: Concerned Because their way of thinking has been

changed a lot, they could have hard time when they try to adjust to Korean school. … Another big headache is “Wangtta” -outcast- at Korean school. They could be isolated by the classmates because of their lack of Korean language ability.

Correlated w/ mainstream class

No connection w/ mainstream class

I nteractionOne- way

CooperationCompetition

1hr 20min/ D30min/ D

Content- based Approach

ESL

Reading & Writing

K HL

Correlated w/ mainstream class

No connection w/ mainstream class

I nteractionOne- way

CooperationCompetition

1hr 20min/ D30min/ D

Content- based Approach

ESL

Reading & Writing

K HL

KHL vs. ESL

4. Challenges • Recruiting qualified language teacher• Negotiating w/ different grades & language

levels • Coordinating w/ regular class curriculum • Educating parents

V. Discussion/Implication

• Parents Views on Bilingualism and the Impact of the Views

• Low motivation and resistance to learn Korean at KLS (3rd graders)

• Strong motivation & positive environment to learn HL at Pine Grove Elementary

• Learning how to respect heritage language and culture

VI. Conclusion

• L1 program in public school

• Collaborative effort between local KLS and

public schools

• Educating Korean parents and public

school teachers

Thank You