Abstract
There are growing populations of Korean children who studied abroad in the English as a second language (ESL) context and had to return to Korea for various reasons before reaching college age. These returnees are concerned about how to maintain (or improve) their English proficiency in the EFL (English as a foreign language) context. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate two Korean-English bilinguals who recently returned to Korea after learning English in the US for more than four years. The research questions were as follows: 1) How do Korean returnees perceive the change of learning status as Korean-English bilinguals in the US and Korea, and 2) What motivated Korean returnees to sustain their English proficiency while acquiring academic literacy in Korean? By using the case study method, an extensive and in-depth description of two Korean returnees’ English language learning experiences was provided. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observation. The analysis showed that the switch from ESL to EFL learning environments, which includes the change of language, culture, and social contexts, influenced how Korean returnees maintain/improve their English proficiency, specifically with their language learning strategies (LLS).
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Special Issue 1: EMI in Chinese higher education; Guest Editor: McKinley, Rose and Curdt-Christiansen
- Editorial
- EMI in Chinese higher education: the Muddy water of ‘Englishisation’
- Review Article
- English medium of instruction in Chinese higher education: a systematic mapping review of empirical research
- Research Articles
- How to kill two birds with one stone: EMI teachers’ needs in higher education in China
- The incentivisation of English medium instruction in Chinese universities: policy misfires and misalignments
- Motivations to enrol in EMI programmes in China: an exploratory study
- A translanguaging and trans-semiotizing perspective on subject teachers’ linguistic and pedagogical practices in EMI programme
- Commentary
- English as a medium of instruction in Chinese higher education: looking back and looking forward
- Special Issue 2: The dynamics of Korean transnational families, language practices, and social belongings; Guest Editor: Hakyoon Lee
- Editorial
- Editorial: The dynamics of Korean transnational families, language practices, and social belongings
- Articles
- National belonging and citizenship in an era of globalization and transnational migration: Korean migrant youth in the United States
- Korean immigrant teenagers’ literacy practices and identity negotiation through smartphone use
- Language and identity of a Korean transnational youth in the U.S.
- Adolescent Korean returnees’ perceptions of the change of language learning contexts as bilingual learners
- From trilingualism to triliteracy: a trilingual child learning to write simultaneously in Korean, Farsi, and English
- Migrant mothers’ heritage language education in South Korea: complex and agentive navigation of capital and language ideologies
- Designing new Korean mothers, daughters-in-law, and wives: an analysis of Korean textbooks for newly arrived marriage migrants in South Korea
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Special Issue 1: EMI in Chinese higher education; Guest Editor: McKinley, Rose and Curdt-Christiansen
- Editorial
- EMI in Chinese higher education: the Muddy water of ‘Englishisation’
- Review Article
- English medium of instruction in Chinese higher education: a systematic mapping review of empirical research
- Research Articles
- How to kill two birds with one stone: EMI teachers’ needs in higher education in China
- The incentivisation of English medium instruction in Chinese universities: policy misfires and misalignments
- Motivations to enrol in EMI programmes in China: an exploratory study
- A translanguaging and trans-semiotizing perspective on subject teachers’ linguistic and pedagogical practices in EMI programme
- Commentary
- English as a medium of instruction in Chinese higher education: looking back and looking forward
- Special Issue 2: The dynamics of Korean transnational families, language practices, and social belongings; Guest Editor: Hakyoon Lee
- Editorial
- Editorial: The dynamics of Korean transnational families, language practices, and social belongings
- Articles
- National belonging and citizenship in an era of globalization and transnational migration: Korean migrant youth in the United States
- Korean immigrant teenagers’ literacy practices and identity negotiation through smartphone use
- Language and identity of a Korean transnational youth in the U.S.
- Adolescent Korean returnees’ perceptions of the change of language learning contexts as bilingual learners
- From trilingualism to triliteracy: a trilingual child learning to write simultaneously in Korean, Farsi, and English
- Migrant mothers’ heritage language education in South Korea: complex and agentive navigation of capital and language ideologies
- Designing new Korean mothers, daughters-in-law, and wives: an analysis of Korean textbooks for newly arrived marriage migrants in South Korea