Korea Business Review

Korea Business Review

Edited by: Hyoung-Goo Kang Print ISSN: 2951-3596 Online ISSN: 2951-360X © THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. Frequency: Quarterly (four times per year): February 28, May 31, August 31, and November 30
Cover
Latest Issue Vol. 60, No. 5 2025

Article Info

Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Diversity and the Multilingual Turn in Korean Language Education

Mihyon Jeon KIM DAE HEE

York Univ. 원광대학교

Korea Business Review 60Vol. 5No. pp.133-164 (2025)

DOI: 10.20880/kler.2025.60.5.133

Abstract

This study examines Korean language teachers’ perspectives and experiences with student diversity in Canadian Korean language classrooms, focusing on how these beliefs inform pedagogical practice. As culturally and linguistically diverse learners have become common across Canadian schools, heterogeneous student groups in Korean language programs are now typical. However, limited research has explored how teachers conceptualize diversity within Korean language education or how such understandings shape instruction. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with four teachers working in varied educational contexts, the study investigates how teachers define diversity, perceive its relevance, and translate these perceptions into pedagogical decisions. Findings indicate that all participating teachers have witnessed a substantial rise in classroom diversity in recent years. Overall, they expressed positive attitudes toward this shift, recognizing its pedagogical benefits while also acknowledging the challenges associated with meeting increasingly complex learner needs. Teachers attributed this demographic change largely to the global expansion of Korean popular culture—driven by the Korean Wave—and to the broader elevation of Korea’s international status. The analysis further demonstrates that teachers’ awareness of learners’ ethnic, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds enabled the creation of supportive and responsive learning environments in which instruction could be adapted to accommodate diverse forms of knowledge and experience. Taken together, these findings underscore the critical role of teachers’ attitudes toward diversity in shaping equitable and meaningful Korean language learning experiences. The study highlights the need for continued professional development focused on diversity-responsive pedagogy to better support the evolving learner populations in Korean language classrooms.

Keywords

Korean language educationteacher attitudesstudent diversitymultilingualismpedagogical practiceslanguage ideology

References

  1. [1] [학술지(정기간행물)] Ağırdağ, O./Speaking Turkish in Belgian primary schools: Teacher beliefs versus effective consequences/Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World/2014/70(3)/7~28//
  2. [2] [학술지(정기간행물)] Auerbach, E./Reexamining English only in the ESL classroom/TESOL Quarterly/1993/27(1)/9~32//
  3. [3] [학술지(정기간행물)] /////~//
  4. [4] [인터넷자원] The importance of effective teacher education for diversity: Meeting the challenge/https://www.oecd.org/education/ceri/educatingteachersfordiversitymeetingthechallenge.htm/Burns T.///
  5. [5] [학술지(정기간행물)] Byrnes D. A./Teachers’ attitudes about language diversity/Teaching and Teacher Education/1997/13(6)/637~644//
  6. [6] [단행본] The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL, and Bilingual Education/Canagarajah, S./Routledge/2013/~///Theorizing a competence for translingual practice at the contact zone
  7. [7] [학술지(정기간행물)] Clair N./Mainstream classroom teachers and ESL students/TESOL Quarterly/1995/29/189~196//
  8. [8] [학술지(정기간행물)] Cook, V./Using the first language in the classroom/Canadian Modern Language Review/2001/57(3)/402~423//
  9. [9] [학술지(정기간행물)] Cummins J./Rethinking monolingual instructional strategies in multilingual classrooms/Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique appliquée/2007/10(2)/221~240//
  10. [10] [학술지(정기간행물)] Du Plessis, S./Challenges to preschool teachers in learner’s acquisition of English as language of learning and teaching/South African Journal of Education/2008/28/53~75//
  11. [11] [학술지(정기간행물)] Egbo, B./What should preservice teachers know about race and diversity? Exploring a critical knowledge-base for teaching in 21st century Canadian classrooms/Journal of Contemporary Issues in education/2011/6(2)/~//
  12. [12] [보고서] The Lives of Teachers in Diverse Classrooms/Forghani-Arani N/OECD Education Working Paper/2019/~/
  13. [13] [단행본] Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research and Practice/Gay, G./Teachers College Press/2000/~///
  14. [14] [학술지(정기간행물)] Gkaintartzi A./‘Invisible’ bilingualism–‘Invisible’ language ideologies: Greek teachers’ attitudes towards immigrant pupils’ heritage languages/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2015/18(1)/60~72//
  15. [15] [학술지(정기간행물)] Gu M/Understanding Chinese language teachers’ language ideologies in teaching South Asian students in Hong Kong/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2019/22(8)/1030~1047//
  16. [16] [학술지(정기간행물)] Hall, G./Own-language use in language teaching and learning/Language Teaching/2012/45(3)/271~308//
  17. [17] [단행본] Visible Learning: A Synthesis of 800+ Meta-analyses on Achievement/Hattie, J./Routledge/2009/~///
  18. [18] [학술지(정기간행물)] Henze, R. C./Shaping instruction to promote the success of language minority students: An analysis of four high school classes/Peabody Journal of Education/1993/69(1)/54~81//
  19. [19] [학술지(정기간행물)] Hornberger, N./Bilingual education and English-only: A language-planning framework/The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science/1990/508(1)/12~26//
  20. [20] [학술지(정기간행물)] Horst M./First and second language knowledge in the language classroom/International Journal of Bilingualism/2010/14(3)/331~349//
  21. [21] [학술지(정기간행물)] Karathanos, K./Exploring US mainstream teachers’ perspectives on use of the native language in instruction with English language learner students/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2009/12(6)/615~633//
  22. [22] [학술지(정기간행물)] Kim, S.-K./South Korean elementary school teachers’ experiences of inclusive education concerning students with a multicultural background/International Journal of Inclusive Education/2019/25(12)/1327~1341//
  23. [23] [단행본] Differentiated Coaching: A Framework for Helping Teachers Change/Kise, J./Corwin Press/2006/~///
  24. [24] [학술지(정기간행물)] Kramsch, C./From communicative competence to symbolic competence/Modern Language Journal/2006/90(2)/244~252//
  25. [25] [단행본] Yes, but how do we do it?’ Practicing culturally relevant pedagogy/Ladson-Billings, G./Stylus Publishing, LLC/2006/~///
  26. [26] [학술지(정기간행물)] Leung C./Reconceptualizing the nature of goals and outcomes in language(s) education/The Modern Language Journal/2016/100(S1)/81~95//
  27. [27] [학술지(정기간행물)] Lew, S./Addressing unsolved educational problems about linguistically diverse children: perspectives of early childhood educators in South Korea/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2022/25(4)/1194~1211//
  28. [28] [학술지(정기간행물)] Lucas, T./Reframing the debate: The roles of native languages in English-only programs for language minority students/TESOL Quarterly/1994/28(3)/537~561//
  29. [29] [학술지(정기간행물)] Lukes, M./“I understand English but can’t write it”: The power of native language instruction for adult English learners/International Multilingual Research Journal/2011/5(1)/19~38//
  30. [30] [보고서] Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in US Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2021/Lusin N./Modern Language Association/2023/~/
  31. [31] [보고서] Research into teacher effectiveness: A model of teacher effectiveness/McBer H./Department for Education and Employment/2000/~/
  32. [32] [인터넷자원] The Growing Popularity and Diversification of Hallyu/https://www.mcst.go.kr/english/policy/pressView.jsp?pSeq=511/Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism/20251220/Press Releases/20250408
  33. [33] [학술지(정기간행물)] Mori, M./Conflicting ideologies and language policy in adult ESL: Complexities of language socialization in a majority-L1 classroom/Journal of Language, Identity & Education/2014/13(3)/153~170//
  34. [34] [학술지(정기간행물)] Noh J./A case study on language program run after-school for children of multicultural families: Focused on Gyeonggi-do secondary school/Country Research/2015/64/64~89//
  35. [35] [단행본] Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge/OECD/OECD Publishing/2010/~///
  36. [36] [학술지(정기간행물)] Park, J. C./Exploring how Korean teacher’s attitudes and self-efficacy for using inquiry and language based teaching practices impacts learning for culturally and linguistically diverse students: Implications for science teacher education/Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education/2016/12(7)/1799~1841//
  37. [37] [학술지(정기간행물)] Rowan L./Early career teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to teach “diverse learners": Insights from an Australian research project/Australian Journal of Teacher Education/2017/42(10)/71~92//
  38. [38] [학술지(정기간행물)] Sammons, P./Effective schools, equity and teacher effectiveness: a review of the literature/Profesorado Revista de Curriculum y Formación del Profesorado/2011/15/9~26//
  39. [39] [학술지(정기간행물)] Santoro, N./Interrogating practice in culturally diverse classrooms: what can an analysis of student resistance and teacher response reveal?/European Journal of Teacher Education/2015/38(1)/58~70//
  40. [40] [학술지(정기간행물)] Scarino, A./Language teacher education in diversity–a consideration of the mediating role of languages and cultures in student learning/Language and Education/2022/36(2)/152~169//
  41. [41] [학술지(정기간행물)] Skilton-Sylvester, E./Legal discourse and decisions, teacher policymaking and the multilingual classroom: Constraining and supporting Khmer/English biliteracy in the United States/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2003/6(3-4)/168~184//
  42. [42] [학술지(정기간행물)] Wallen, M./Developing language awareness for teachers of emergent bilingual learners using dialogic inquiry/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2017/20(3)/314~330//
  43. [43] [학술지(정기간행물)] Williams F./Relation between language attitudes and teacher expectancy/American Educational Research Journal/1972/9/263~277//
  44. [44] [학술지(정기간행물)] Wright, W. E./What English only really means: A study of the implementation of California language policy with Cambodian-American students/International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism/2004/7(1)/1~23//
  45. [45] [학술지(정기간행물)] Young, A. S./Unpacking teachers’ language ideologies: Attitudes, beliefs, and practiced language policies in schools in Alsace, France/Language Awareness/2014/23(1-2)/157~171//

Korea Business Review · THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION.

Print ISSN 2951-3596 · Online ISSN 2951-360X

Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContact UsKMA Homepage

TEL : 010-2672-3919 EMAIL : kbr2editor@gmail.com 계좌번호 : 신한 140-009-175743 예금주 : (사)한국경영학회 COPYRIGHT ⓒ 2023 THE KOREAN ACADEMIC SOCIETY OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION. All rights reserved