A Comparison of English-mediated Instruction in Korean and Nordic Higher Education

Lee,Given 한국외국어교육학회 2018 한국외국어교육학회 학술대회 자료집 Vol.2018 No.-

English-mediated instruction (EMI) is a teaching approach in which the course content of any given subject (e.g., engineering or medicine) is delivered exclusively in English. AS often as not, English is not the first language (L1) of the majority of instructor and student populations (Airey & Linder, 2006). The hallmark of EMI is to help English as a foreign language (EFL) students to simultaneously master both content knowledge and English skills so that they can function more successfully in the global market (Coleman, 2006). Influenced by the globalization and internationalization of higher education, English has become the dominant language of science and scholarship (Ammon, 2001; Wilson, 2002). One evidence of such phenomena is a dramatic increase of EMI courses across many EFL countries, such as East Asia (e.g., Korea, China, and Japan) and several Nordic countries (e.g., Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden), which have strong academic reputations and high levels of English proficiency. A global expansion of EMI courses is an inevitable phenomenon (Airey et al., 2017). In response to the expansion of EMI courses, somewhat different reactions have arisen among EMI professors in Korea and Nordic higher education contexts. This article presents a comparative analysis of English-mediated instruction (EMI) between Korean and Nordic higher education contexts. In the first section, a rationale for this article is provided. After a brief description of the research method in the second part, the third section analyzes background information on the motivation for the implementation of EMI policy, linguistic environments, and philosophy of teaching and learning between two contexts. Based on the research literature as well as the researcher’s insight from her involvement in EMI workshops, teaching consultations, and analyses of Korean professors’ EMI lessons, the next section offers pedagogical implications for more effective implementation of EMI in EFL universities like the ones in Korea. The final section discusses the value of this study and directions for further research.

Incorporating Cultural Narratives as an Instructional Strategy in EFL Teacher Education

( Given Lee ) 글로벌영어교육학회(구 호남영어교육학회) 2017 Studies in English education Vol.22 No.3

Even though Korean society is rapidly becoming multicultural and multilingual, EFL teacher education tends to teach language skills and pedagogical knowledge without sufficiently addressing multicultural issues. This study explored the potential of incorporating cultural narratives (CNs) as an instructional strategy in EFL teacher education to foster Korean EFL teachers` cultural sensitivity and competency. The primary data came from two surveys with 12 secondary school English teachers and a focus group interview with six of them. The teachers all participated in a six-month in-service English teacher education program and took the researcher`s cultural course. The researcher, who taught English in secondary schools in Korea as well as who had diverse cross-cultural experiences, incorporated not only her own CNs but also various types of multicultural stories in the curriculum. The study revealed that the teachers perceived the CNs presented in class as meaningful and useful in promoting their cultural sensitivity and competency. The researcher concludes that CNs could play an important role as an instructional strategy in EFL teacher education.

Pedagogic challenges of English-Mediated Instruction in the Korean EFL Context

Given Lee,Christiaan Prinsloo 아시아영어교육학회 2018 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.15 No.1

A Case Study Approach

Given Lee 한국응용언어학회 2018 응용 언어학 Vol.34 No.4

By employing a case study approach, this article investigates the characteristics of successful English-mediated instruction (EMI) lessons delivered by non-native professors of English at Korean universities. The data was derived from various sources and perspectives: the researcher’s analysis of three video-recorded EMI lessons, EMI professors’ responses to surveys administered before and after a lesson, and students’ response to a survey conducted after the class. Three themes were identified across the samples: A methodological balance between lecturing and student activity, effective delivery of the lessons, and professors’ interest in their students’ intellectual growth and emotional well-being. Contrary to the common belief that EFL professors’ and students’ limited linguistic ability might constrain effective delivery of EMI lessons, their English proficiency did not seem to pose any major pedagogic hurdles; instead, the success or failure of an EMI lesson appears to be more closely related to a professor’s teaching methodological knowledge and scaffolding as well as his or her interest in each student’s intellectual growth and emotional well-being. The article concludes with pedagogical implications on effective implementation of EMI in EFL Korean universities.

Effects of Learner Autonomy on Performance and Learner Perceptions in EFL College Classes

Given Lee 한국외국어교육학회 2019 Foreign languages education Vol.26 No.4

In a teaching environment where all instructors have to teach the same class materials within limited time, from which they have to create the same test items, it is very difficult to create some space that could foster learner autonomy (LA). The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of LA on college students’ academic achievements, task perceptions, and classroom engagement at a Korean university. The study was undertaken in four sections of the same beginner level college English course over the course of a semester. A total of 84 students enrolled in the college English class participated in the study, of which 41 students were assigned to the control group and 43 students to the experimental group. The students’ learning outcomes between the control and experimental groups, their responses to the LA task, and the instructor’s observations of the students’ learning process were analyzed. The study revealed that the students in the experimental group produced significantly higher scores in their exams than those in the control group. Also, compared to its counterpart, the experimental group appeared to engage in the learning process more actively. Educational implications for promoting LA in EFL college classes are discussed.

A Critical Comparison of English-mediated Instruction in Korean and Nordic Higher Education

Given Lee 한국외국어교육학회 2018 Foreign languages education Vol.25 No.3

English has become an important language of science and scholarship due to the globalization and internationalization of higher education. As a result, there has been a rapid increase in English-mediated instruction (EMI) courses across English as a foreign language (EFL) countries. In an expansion of EMI courses, different reactions have arisen among professors between Korean and Nordic higher education contexts. Utilizing both literature search on EMI as well as insights from the researcher’s involvement in EMI projects, this article presents a comparative analysis of EMI between Korean and Nordic universities with the hope that it will contribute to more effective implementation of EMI within EFL universities such as the ones in Korea. The analysis demonstrates that although there are similar concerns about the expansion and implementation of EMI, the two contexts have fundamental differences, including the motivation for the introduction of EMI, linguistic environments, and philosophy of teaching and learning. These factors are intertwined and influence the implementation of EMI in each context. Therefore, in order to implement EMI more successfully in Korean universities, understanding the differences underlying the two contexts is required.

Effects of Two Types of Indirect Written Corrective Feedback on the Acquisition of English Articles

Mijeong Song,Given Lee 한국외국어교육학회 2017 Foreign languages education Vol.24 No.3

The study investigates the relative effects of two types of indirect written corrective feedback (CF) on the acquisition of English articles. Thirty-five high intermediate Korean EFL college students who were enrolled in three composition classes participated in this study. After the instruction on the English article usage, three classes (Class A, Class B, and Class C) received different types of feedback on their blog writings over the course of a semester. Both Class A and Class B received indirect feedback in the form of underlining errors. In the following class, Class A received correct forms with metalinguistic information for the errors revised incorrectly, but Class B did not have such opportunities. The Class C received no feedback. The results showed that only Class A, which received indirect feedback plus correct forms with metalinguistic information, made a statistically significant gain from the 3 sessions of feedback treatment. Pedagogical implications were provided on the basis of the findings.