Introduction
The number of Korean students studying abroad has dropped drastically in the last decade. In 2014, 10,907 students ranging from age six to 18 went abroad, just over one-third of the total in 2006 when the number hit its highest peak at 29,511 (Korea Herald, Reference Herald2015). There are a number of reasons for this apparent trend. First, study abroad students have a hard time adjusting themselves to life in the host country, and it is also common for them to experience readjustment difficulties when returning to Korea. Second, parents believe that children can learn ‘authentic’ English in Korea: various English immersion programmes are now available for young learners. Third, studying abroad no longer guarantees children's future success. Returnees are not preferred in the job market due to their in-between identity.
Regardless of the current trend in Korean English language teaching (ELT), the number of students who choose an English as a second language (ESL) country in Southeast Asia as a study abroad destination has increased during the past few years. For example, a total of 3,238 Korean students aged six to 18 stayed in the Philippines for schooling in 2011, but the number soared to 7,073 in 2014 (Korea Herald, Reference Herald2014). Malaysia and Singapore have also become increasingly popular study abroad destinations for Korean families (Kang, Reference Kang, Lo, Abelmann, Kwon and Okazaki2015; Yonhap News, 2007). Why do Korean parents choose these countries? The first reason is found in the low cost of living and education. In addition, these countries are geographically close to Korea. Finally, Korean parents expect their children to learn Chinese as well as English.
It is known that the Korean parents with the highest incomes send their children to English as a native language (ENL) countries, whereas middle-class parents prefer Southeast Asian ESL countries due to the low cost of living and education (Hankookilbo, 2008). However, Korean students’ educational migration to Southeast Asian ESL countries has lately been occurring frequently among high-income families. Unlike for middle-class families, financial affordability is not the main concern for wealthy families when choosing study abroad destinations. This study was conducted among high-income Korean parents with children who are studying or have studied in Southeast Asian ESL countries, with the objective of finding out their perceptions and expectations of Southeast Asian ESL countries as study abroad destinations.
Methodology
Participants
A total of ten Korean parents whose children are studying or have studied in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines participated in this study. The parents all hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and their ages range from 43 to 52 (mean = 46.6 years). Their mean annual household income is $110,000. Given that the yearly income for a Korean middle-class family of four ranges from $20,000 to $60,000 (Economic Review, 2015), these families belong to the high-income group. The duration of the children's study abroad periods varied from one to nine years (mean = four years). The types of schools the children attended were local schools, British or American international schools, and Korean international schools, where a Korean international school is a school run by Koreans and exclusively targeting Korean students. Three families sent their children alone to the host country; other children travelled and stayed with at least one family member – most often the mother.
Data Collection and Analysis
Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. We created a set of open questions as a guide, but did not limit the participants to the guide. An individual interview with each participant was conducted between March and June of 2016. Each interview took approximately 90 minutes. For ten minutes before the interview, we gathered background information from the participant and gave a brief explanation of the study. After the interview, we used text messages, Skype, and telephone conversations for clarification and further questions. All data was transcribed verbatim, and participants’ names were changed in order to protect their anonymity.
Three stages were implemented to effectively capture common themes among the study participants’ responses: meaning comprehension, theme identification, and confirmation. In the initial stage, we individually read all transcripts to understand the whole story of each participant's narrative. We underlined examples that seemed to be related to the aim of the study and wrote comments in the margin. In the second stage, we reread each interview together to check whether the story we had understood was correct. We then categorized themes and subthemes from each interview, focusing on the underlined examples and margin notes. In the final stage, we reexamined the themes and subthemes and provided a name for each theme. We then selected the excerpts that best exemplified each theme.
Findings
Three major themes emerged from the interview data, each with two or three subthemes. This section presents our findings – the recurrent themes – along with illustrative excerpts from the participants.
Ambivalent attitudes toward ESL varieties of English
- Positive attitudes
All participants were aware that the Englishes spoken in Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines are different from those of the Inner Circle. Seven of the ten parents said that the ESL Englishes are as good as native varieties of English. They criticized Koreans who focus too much on pronunciation. Mijin, who worked for a global textile company for years and as a result travelled to many countries, said:
I encountered people from many countries. I realized they all had different accents. We put too much emphasis on pronunciation. I don't have any prejudice toward Singlish. I think Singaporeans are native speakers of English, because English is their official language. Singaporeans are very fluent in English and consider English their own language.
Mijin had come to accept world Englishes after encounters with various speakers of English. She viewed Singapore as one of the most proficient English-speaking countries in the world, and considered Singaporeans to be native speakers of English.
Yubin thought that any variety of English was good, if it was mutually intelligible with other varieties:
American English pronunciation is difficult to follow, and many British accents sound rough and harsh. I think as long as no communication breakdown occurs, any English is good; in that sense, ESL Englishes can be easier for non-native speakers to understand. Native-like pronunciation is an unrealistic goal.
Yubin seemed to prefer ESL Englishes to British and American English, seeing the former as easier for non-native speakers to learn and understand. She added that pronunciation should not be prioritized in ELT.
- Negative attitudes
The other three participants focused on what they perceived as limitations of ESL Englishes. June commented:
English is not completely dominant in Singapore and Singaporean English is different from native varieties of English. First, it has its own unique accent, which is different from any ENL English. There are noticeable grammatical differences from British and American English. Although many Singaporeans don't view English as a foreign language, not all Singaporeans speak good English. Some people still use their own languages, rejecting the use of English entirely.
June regarded Singaporean English as a non-standard variety because of its phonological and grammatical differences from ENL varieties of English. According to her, although Singapore can be categorized as an English-speaking country, it is evident that its traditional linguistic landscape is not based on English and not all Singaporeans use English.
Bokki and her two children spent four years in Singapore. They then moved to Malaysia, where they have been living for five years. Bokki pointed out the influence of Chinese on Singaporean English:
Chinese has had a great impact on Singaporean English. For example, ‘la’ is added to sentence endings. It's better to learn English from native speakers. That's why I'm sending my children to British international schools here in Malaysia. They spoke English with a strong Singaporean accent when we moved to Malaysia, but it has been corrected since they started attending international schools.
Bokki noted that her children had acquired Singaporean English because they went to local schools in Singapore. She believed that native speakers of English make better English language teachers, and cited this as a further reason for choosing international schools for her children when they moved to Malaysia.
- Double standards
None of the parents considered ESL varieties of English appropriate for their children. Even the parents who showed positive attitudes toward ESL Englishes believed they were not good teaching models. Mijin, who claimed that she had no prejudice toward Singaporean English, was anxious about her children's pronunciation:
I love the Singaporean accent because it's easy for me to understand, but American English is better than Singaporean English for my children. I was worried when I heard my children speaking English with a Singaporean accent. I thought their accent could be corrected if they were trained by native English-speaking teachers. On returning to Korea, I had them tutored by American teachers and they soon started to speak with an American accent.
In this quotation, Mijin shows ambivalent attitudes toward Singaporean English. She is not proficient in English herself, and for her, Singapore would be a good place to learn it. However, she did not want her children to learn Singaporean English. She believed that pronunciation ‘could be corrected,’ and after returning to Korea she tried to remove the Singaporean accent from her children's speech through tutoring by American teachers.
Interestingly, small-sized international schools recruiting only Korean students tend to employ at least one American teacher, presumably in response to these parental concerns. As Podo commented:
I was anxious about my children developing a local accent, and other parents were also concerned about the same thing. Some of them requested that the school employ a native English speaker to teach English. Thus, the school hired an American teacher who mainly corrected students’ pronunciation errors. When they choose a school, Korean parents check whether there is a native English speaker teaching English.
The above quotation reveals Korean parents’ preference in the selection of English teachers for their children. They prefer native speakers of English; accordingly, their preferred teaching models are ENL varieties of English. In addition, the availability of an ENL teacher is often a decisive factor for Korean parents when choosing a school for their children.
Language simply as a tool
- Language first, culture later
Contrary to the general notion that language and culture are closely related, the parents in this study tended to dissociate language from culture. Podo, for example, wanted her daughters to learn only language in the Philippines and believed that they could learn culture later in the Inner Circle:
Learning culture was not my primary concern. I wanted them to focus exclusively on the English language. I thought they would be able to learn culture later: language first, culture later. In other words: language in the Philippines, culture in the UK or the US.
Similar comments were made by Hoon:
Malaysian English reflects its speakers’ creativity drawn from their own culture. My children will not live in Malaysia forever, so they don't have to learn Malaysian culture. Instead, they need to acquire British and American culture. I believe it's possible for them to learn British and American culture afterward.
Hoon argued that Malaysian English has been inevitably influenced by local culture. The primary goal in taking his children to Malaysia was learning English, and what ‘learning English’ meant to him was learning the English language, not the local culture. He was content for his children not to learn the local culture because he did not consider it to be the target culture. Instead, he implied that the authentic cultures associated with English were British and American, which could be acquired at a later time, separate from the language.
- English speakers with a Korean identity
The parents interviewed for the current study wanted their children to familiarize themselves with British and American culture, but they simultaneously emphasized the importance of maintaining Korean culture. This is in relation to one of the recent social phenomena that has affected Korean ELT – that Korean society requires speakers of English who fully understand Korean culture. Noju said:
Korean society doesn't want returnees who don't know Korean culture. Many companies have complained about returnees’ lack of understanding of Korean culture. They need employees who speak English well but who also know Korean culture well. As it stands, I want my children to maintain their Korean culture.
Similar concerns were voiced by Rin:
Study abroad has both advantages and disadvantages. Unlike in the past, Korean society now focuses more on the disadvantages. Study abroad students often face discrimination because of their cultural identity. It's getting harder for returnees to gain admission to good universities and be hired by good companies. In this sense, a long-term overseas stay is risky. There's no good reason for me to choose a long-term study abroad period.
Rin was afraid that her daughter would lose her Korean cultural identity; this was one of the main factors in her choosing a short-term programme. Meanwhile, Mijin stayed in Singapore for extended periods of time with her children, and her husband then insisted that they return to Korea because he had witnessed the rapid changes in the job market and did not want his children to have difficulties finding jobs. In general, those who study overseas have been characterized by an in-between identity which causes problems in the process of readjustment to Korean society. The participants were very conscious of how returnees are treated in Korean society, and identified this as one of the main reasons why they wanted their children to maintain their Korean identities.
Ease of adjustment
- Little emotional struggle
The parents in the study thought that their children's cultural adjustment process would be easier in Southeast Asian ESL countries than in ENL countries. Sol sent her first son to Canada but chose the Philippines for her second son. As she explained:
Dowon [Sol's first son] had to change his homestay three times, because he had problems with his host families. He struggled to adjust to the new environment. Things allowed here were not allowed there. Cultural differences made him feel ostracized from his host families. Canada is an individualist society, and Canadians don't pay attention to children as much as Koreans do.
Dowon was passive in expressing his thoughts and emotions because he was brought up in Korean culture where silence is valued over talk. However, his host parents misunderstood his silence as being down to a bad attitude. Sol said that Dowon had many difficulties with a Western culture where individualism is emphasized. Dowon, who was raised in a society that values the group over individuals, appeared dependent and less autonomous. Therefore, Sol decided to send her second son, Jiwon, to a small school in the Philippines. She expected that Jiwon would not experience the same cultural struggle because, as Asian countries, Korea and the Philippines share cultural similarities. The school that Jiwon attended was founded solely for Korean students, Korean food was served for every meal, and teachers slept in the same room as students at night to prevent any possible incidents occurring in the room. Sol said, ‘Dowon never misses Canada, but Jiwon would love to go back to the Philippines.’
- Undemanding academic adjustment
All participants’ children made a smooth transition to their new academic environment. Noju explained the reason for this: ‘The transition was easy because Southeast Asian ESL countries provide a familiar learning environment.’ Many features of the educational systems in these countries are like those in Korea. The parents preferred the Korean style of teaching and learning, and believed it to be better for their children. Noju elaborated on his reasons:
Singapore's school system is similar to Korea's and what Singaporean teachers do in the classroom is almost the same as what Korean teachers do. They are strict in education management and they focus on students’ academic achievement. This helps Korean students to easily adapt to school in Singapore and on return to Korea.
The parents believed that these countries’ private educational systems, which are like Korea's system, also helped their children to adjust academically. Various types of private academies, personal tutors in all school subjects, and similar pedagogical approaches all reassured the parents. Dami said:
Lynn [Dami's daughter] went to an institute to learn Mandarin after school, and then she studied English at a different institute. She was tutored in English grammar twice a week. She was tutored in maths, piano, and violin, too. There was a wide range of choices offered.
In addition, tuition for private academies and tutor fees were so cheap that the parents could easily send their children to private academies and hire well-qualified tutors for their after-school study.
The parents assumed that their children would experience a relatively easier process of academic readjustment when returning to Korea, compared to children from ENL countries. The parents who wanted their children to get into a Korean university were very concerned about their children's academic readjustment. Hoon observed:
I wanted my children to go to a Korean university. I was afraid that study abroad would result in poor academic performance when they came back to Korea. Back then, broadcast news reported returnees’ maladjustment in schools, especially returnees from ENL countries. I chose Malaysia because the education system there was much more like that in Korea than were the systems in ENL countries. We spent four years in Malaysia, and when we came back to Korea my children had little difficulty readjusting themselves to Korean schools.
Hoon attributed part of his children's successful academic readjustment to Malaysia's educational environment, which is like that of Korea. He implied that his children's readjustment might have been far more difficult if an ENL country had been chosen as the study abroad destination.
Discussion and conclusions
The most striking observation to emerge from the interviews described above is that there is an inconsistency in parents’ views about ESL Englishes. On the one hand, most of the participants considered ESL varieties of English to be legitimate, and further argued that they could be better teaching models for learners of English. They criticized those in Korea who place undue emphasis on pronunciation, and focused instead on the importance of mutual understanding in communication. However, they had a different set of principles for the same issue when it came to their children's English education. For example, they transferred their children from local schools to international schools taught by native speakers or had their children tutored by native speakers after returning to Korea. Although the parents appeared willing to accept ESL Englishes in principle, many eventually rejected them as being unsuitable for their own children. Surprisingly, they believed that their children could learn the ENL pronunciation even after they had acquired ESL varieties of English. If they had not had such a belief, they might not have chosen Southeast Asian ESL countries as study abroad destinations.
It is nowadays generally agreed that language learners cannot be successful in learning the target language without the learning of the target culture in which the language occurs. However, the study participants consistently dissociated language from culture. The purpose of their children's study abroad did not lie in learning the target culture, but in learning the target language. Their belief that language can be learned without learning culture demonstrates that they approach language learning with instrumental motivation, rather than with integrative motivation. Integratively-motivated learners show ‘a sincere and personal interest in the people and culture represented by the other group’ (Gardner & Lambert, Reference Gardner and Lambert1972: 132), whereas learners with an instrumental motivation acquire a new language for practical reasons, such as getting a good job or passing an examination. Given that integrative motivation is generally considered more important for successful language learning, the parents’ approach to language learning is of some concern. Their own language learning experience could explain their attitudes toward language and culture. In their generation, Korean ELT focused exclusively on grammar and translation, with culture being ignored, and they learned English without learning the cultural framework in which it exists.
Another interpretation for their dissociation of language from culture is that the parents did not regard ESL cultures as target cultures. For them, the target culture in ELT was British or American. They wanted their children to learn language first in ESL countries and culture later in ENL countries. Learning ESL cultures was not a necessary process at all. Furthermore, the parents did not want to have their children fully immersed in the target culture. They wanted their children to maintain a Korean identity, requiring them to keep some degree of distance from the target culture. The need to speak English is greater than ever in Korea, but Korean society seeks English speakers who have a firm Korean identity. If study abroad students claim to have an in-between, multicultural identity, they will undoubtedly experience discrimination. The parents in this study intended to meet the needs of Korean society and to protect their children from such social discrimination.
The ELT industry is very profitable for Inner Circle countries. According to the British Council (2006), the UK is the leading destination for English language training, followed by the US. The total economic impact of the ELT sector was estimated at £10 billion for the UK (Graddol, Reference Graddol2006). Although Inner Circle countries are the main beneficiaries of the ELT industry, Southeast Asian ESL countries now seem to be getting a growing share of these profits. The participants in this study bought English language knowledge, and the Southeast Asian ESL countries earned money by selling their linguistic assets. That is, if Korea is a buyer of the products of English language learning, the ESL countries are the vendors. Claiming that English was their language, Southeast Asian ESL countries have jumped into the global ELT market. In offering what ENL countries could not – for example, a similar education system to Korea, small-sized international schools solely for Korean students, Korean-style private academies, and well-qualified but affordable tutors – they are becoming increasingly attractive ELT providers for neighbouring Asian countries such as Korea. It will be interesting to see whether and how this trend continues to develop in the next few years.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund.
HOHSUNG CHOE is a Professor in the Department of TESOL & English Linguistics and the Director of the Foreign Language Education Centre at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea. He teaches various courses in foreign and second language education from undergraduate to the doctoral level. He received both an MS and PhD in Language Education from Indiana University Bloomington. His research interests include world Englishes, L2 teacher/learner identity, L2 writing, and narrative inquiry. Email: choe@hufs.ac.kr
EUNMI SON is a PhD candidate in the English Linguistics department at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) in Seoul, Korea. She has taught EFL–related classes including English conversation and teaching methods to school teachers. Currently, she is writing a dissertation on the formation of native English-speaking teachers’ professional identities in the Korean ELT context. She holds an MA in English education from HUFS and a BSc in psychology from the University of Surrey. Email: eunmi@hufs.ac.kr
