Challenges of Teaching LCTLs

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Describe if and how your experiences of learning other languages have influenced the way you teach Korean today.

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Reflections - So-Eun describes the importance of being exposed to the language outside of the classroom and she provides examples of how she tries to provide such opportunities for her students. What kinds of experiences have been helpful to you as a learner of the language you teach? What kinds of opportunities do you encourage your students to participate in outside of the classroom?

Do you find yourself adjusting your interactions to meet the linguistic, cultural, and pedagogical needs of both heritage and domestic language students in your Korean courses?

When I interact with, um, Heritage Language students, uh, Heritage Language learners, I always use Korean. cause, um, they, they’re, they have really good speaki- uh, listening skills. But, um, sometimes they don’t understand me. Cause um, when their parents talk to them in Korean, it’s like a little baby talk so they really understand well baby talk but other talk they just like, “Uh, what she’s talking about?” So when, whenever they doesn’t seem to understand me, I switch to English and just right away I switch to Korean again. And when I interact to, interact with, um, true beginners, I use English, but it’s not English-English, it’s like, more like Konglish. Yeah. So structure, basic structure is Korean, but I use a lot of English words in it. So, let’s say, [ need to add what this is – ask Soeun] something like that, so there’s some chance they don’t know what Monday is in Korean, I just put that word in English in my, in my question and then let them understand. But um, and I put ma-, if they don’t understand me still I put more words in, more and more words in English so it becomes really weird sentence. ((laughing)). But I still saying it. But still they are like, “um”, and then I switch to English and go back to, like, Konglish again. So yeah, that’s sort of my, yeah, strategies to interact with two people.

Reflections - So-Eun explains that she speaks differently with heritage and domestic language learners. What kinds of strategies does she use? How useful do you feel these are? Do you find yourself speaking differently to your students? If so, how? If not, why not?

Describe any other interpersonal or instructional practices that you use to create effectual learning communities in your Korean courses.

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Reflections - So-Eun describes some ways in which she tries to create a friendly atmosphere in her classroom. In your opinion, how important is creating such an atmosphere in the language classroom? What are some strategies that you use to do so?

So-Eun describes how she tends to us Korean when speaking to heritage language students but English when speaking to domestic students.

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Reflections - Do you subconsciously use different languages when speaking to your heritage language or domestic students? If so, why might you do this? And what sort of impact might it have on your relationship with your students?

So-Eun leads individual students in a translation exercise in the textbook.

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Reflections - Notice how So-Eun uses English when she calls on heritage language students but English when she calls on domestic students. Do you think this is an effective strategy?

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