Teacher: So-Eun

Teacher: So-Eun’s Experiences Teaching Domestic and Heritage Language Students

So-Eun grew up in Korea where she studied English in school. In high school, her family moved to Indonesia where she learned Indonesian and attended an English speaking international school. She returned to Korea to complete an undergraduate degree in English Education and studied Chinese. She came to the USA six years ago to complete a Masters degree in teaching English as a second language. She has been teaching university level Korean for 3 years while completing a PhD in Applied Linguistics. The Korean language program at Penn State is quite small so she had to create much of the curriculum herself and has had many of the same students in Korean I, II, and III.

Describe your experiences working with heritage language learners in your Korean courses.

They are interesting. ((laughs)) They are really interesting. Uh, when I was, I, I:I, my Ma:ster paper was about, uh, young heritage language learners and when I was writing it, I thought I under- understood a bit about them, but for t:wo years I kept realizing how littl:e I know about them, I understand them. So they are really, really interesting and I we- I just sometimes feel like I can’t say there is like heritage students’ group and true beginnings, beginners’ group. It’s more than, it seems, there seems to be more than two groups. S:o (1), um, there are really, really, I mean, heritage language learners are very different in terms of their ability of, ability of language (1), and, um, a:nd cultural knowledge and their attitudes even. So it’s really, sometimes it’s really hard to treat them, like, equal:ly or treat them like, um, they are belong to a certain group or belong to a certain category. I just can’t do that. So (1) even in the same level, like Heritage Student A could know this rule already and, but um, Heritage Student B doesn’t know, and Heritage Student C do know but not saying it right. But, um, he or she believe he or she saying it right and they don’t want to change it. And Heritage Student D, he just doesn’t want to do anything in class ‘cause his mom told me he has to be in class, that’s why he’s in here. And he was like, “Mm, ok whatever.” And it’s very different. But, um, true beginners there are some, there are, they are I don’t want to say easy, but a little bit easier than Heritage Language Learners. They have some motivations to learn Korean and they like Korean, that’s why they’re taking it. But unlike them, Heritage Learners are, like, u:m, their attitudes are not like true beginners. Sometimes they look down on Korean language and look down on Korean culture. A:nd, and um, a:nd, so they don’t like sometimes Korean people, I guess.

KJ: Why do you think so? Wh-

‘Cause, um, I, I interview students when they, whenever they want to—I interview students when they want to, whenever they want to take Korean classes at Penn State, I have to interview them and I have to, through the interview process I have to screen their level and let them in, uh, proper courses. So, and I:I interview one student and he didn’t know anything about Korea (1) and he thought um—

KJ: But he was Korean?

Yeah, he was Korean-American. And he thought we are still riding a bicycle in ((laughter)) capital cities and he, because, um, it’s not, it’s not, it’s a little, it’s like a story but, um, (2) h::e’s (1) twenty something years old. He should know better, right? If, um, he’s, if he said, um, “I’m Korean,” he should know better. But, um, his attitude is not like, “I want to know more about my country.” He was more like (1), “I don’t care.” And, um, do you know FO- what FOB means, possibly? Fresh off the boat? Yeah, FOB. And twinkie. Twinkie is like, do you know the twinkie, right? So we see like the banana like for second genera- yeah, when we call second generation that something’s banana, right? But um, usually, I think, this generation call them twinkie. Because outside is yellow but inside is white. So there are like two different kids of Korean: twinkie and FOB. ((laughs)) And I interview one, you know, the second genera- the, the Korean-American kid and he said, um, “I::I don’t want to learn Korean, but I don’t want to hang out with FOB.” (2) So I was like, “Oh my god, I’m FOB. I’m a FOB. ((laughing)) Your teacher is a FOB.” ((laughing)) And, yeah, and there was a attitudes I don’t know where they are from but it’s really complicated it’s really, it’s very, very complicated. And, a:nd, sometimes those attitudes affect their learning. Yeah, so, so, in this sense I’m saying they’re re:ally, really interesting individually very different, (1) very different.