ERIC Number: EJ1028423
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-8458
EISSN: N/A
Korean American College Students' Language Practices and Identity Positioning: "Not Korean, but Not American"
Kang, Hyun-Sook
Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v12 n4 p248-261 2013
This article explores the intersection between language practices and ethnic identity for 8 second-generation Korean American learners who were participating in a Korean-as-a-foreign-language (KFL) class at a U.S. university. This study aims to examine the fluid nature of ethnic identity by examining how Korean heritage learners negotiate, construct, and position themselves in the landscape of American-ness and Korean-ness, through language practices. The data are drawn from observations, semistructured interviews, and audio-recorded classroom interaction during one academic year in a college-level KFL class. Findings show that the heritage learners employ the two available codes for different communicative purposes: English is used as a primary communication tool, and Korean is associated with their childhood memories, food, and kinship. Furthermore, their use of linguistic devices, such as pronouns, indexes their ever-changing relational positioning of themselves in a third culture, where they have taken on aspects from both.
Descriptors: Korean Americans, Korean, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, Heritage Education, Undergraduate Students, Audio Equipment, Self Concept, Language Usage, English (Second Language), Observation, Semi Structured Interviews, Cultural Background, Form Classes (Languages), Communicative Competence (Languages)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A