An Inquiry into Korean Students’ Learning Experiences Related to the ESL Curriculum in the United States

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

 Abstract

An Inquiry into Korean Students’ Learning Experiences Related to the ESL Curriculum in the United States

Jeong, Kyeong-Ouk
(Pai Chai University)

The number of Korean students who are studying in English speaking countries is increasing and the expenditure invested for studying English abroad is enormous. However, the quality of some ESL programs is not always satisfactory. Recently, there has been a lot of criticism that ESL programs are often not beneficial to language minority students. Some ESL programs cannot provide appropriate instruction and assistance. As a result, it becomes much harder for students to compete with their American peers. In this paper, the researcher scrutinizes some issues related to ESL programs in the United States and Korean students’ ESL experience in American schools. It is examined how the students undergo identity crisis and how they are disadvantaged due to curricular materials irrelevant to their academic needs and interests. Then, this paper proposes some suggestions that can benefit Korean ESL students in their struggles to learn English in America. The researcher hopes this study can help ESL teachers treat their students with more insight about their cultural backgrounds and literacy experiences. The researcher also hopes that this study can help Korean professionals in English education offer more appropriate and reliable advice for their students studying abroad to improve English.

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