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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

Korean Language Education for Specific Purposes

The International Association for Korean Language Education (IAKLE) held its 18th conference on August 9-10, with support from the Korea Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Korea Research Foundation, the National Academy of the Korean Language, and the University of Seoul.



The conference focused on a theme of “The Current State and Tasks of Korean Language Education for Specific Purposes.” Recently, learners of Korean have become ever more diverse, as evidenced by a majority of the foreign students, who have come to Korea to learn the Korean language, which have expressed an intention to continue their studies in Korea. Meanwhile, the number of foreigners residing in Korea has since exceeded the 1-million mark. Therefore, the conference theme was timely and relevant, in line with the sharply growing demand for Korean language education tailored to learners with various purposes. Due to intensified interest and research of existing Korean language education, noteworthy achievements have been realized in the instruction of Korean language for general purposes. Based on this academic development of Korean language instruction, it is now necessary to conduct an in-depth study of more refined methods, in light of the broadened diversity of Korean learners and their varied learning purposes.

Focus on Learning Purposes
The conference included the participation of distinguished scholars of relevant fields, from home and abroad. This included some 40 scholars of Korean language education from 17 countries, and about 80 scholars from Korea, such as Seoul National University Professor and keynote speaker Min Hyun-sik, who acted as special speakers, paper presenters, discussants, and moderators. Among the foreign participants, Shenandoah University Professor Ashley Hastings, a widely recognized authority on TESOL, presented a special lecture on “Specific Purpose, Specific Focus: Effective Language Program Design.” In his presentation, Professor Hastings emphasized that effective language education would be possible when language teachers focused on the learning purposes of individual learners while designing the language instruction programs. His lecture helped the participants to better appreciate the importance of “specific purposes” in the instructional process, along with the need for specialized research in this regard. In addition, Sheffield University Professor James Grayson, of the United Kingdom, addressed the subject of “The current status and tasks of Korean language learning for the purpose of further study abroad.”
The session on “Korean language educationrelated issues for specific purposes” featured five subject areas, including Korean language education for further study at home and abroad, employment opportunities, Koreans living abroad, and foreigners in Korea with Korean spouses.
During the discussion session on the “development direction of Korean language education for specific purposes,” Korean language specialists from Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and Central Asia, introduced the status of Korean language education for specific purposes in their respective regions. As was mentioned by Professor Ashley Hastings in his special lecture, it was suggested that Korean language education for specific purposes should encompass a variety of situations of Korean language education, from around the world, rather than focusing on the circumstances of Korean language education in Korea alone.
To follow up on the general sessions, there were ten additional programs featuring eight papers on the basic issues and another 32 papers on the findings of individual research initiatives. Moreover, researchers responsible for the development of Korean language education for specific purposes offered practical suggestions based on their personal experiences. The open discussion provided the participants with a meaningful opportunity to describe their particular problems related to Korean language education and listen to the comments of relevant scholars.
Of note, the conference was attended by Korean language educators from Central Asia and China, who were in Korea to participate in a special training program sponsored by the Korea Foundation. They attracted the keen attention of the conference participants with their detailed explanations of the status of Korean language education for specific purposes in their home countries.
With the recent increase in the number of foreign students pursuing Korean studies in Korea, there has emerged a need for specialized research on Korean language education, in regard to specific purposes. In addition, the need for specialized Korean language education for foreigners who seek employment at Korean businesses, and for multiethnic families in Korea, has recently been identified as a key matter of concern for Korea’s society. As such, the most fruitful result of the 18th IAKLE Conference was its thoughtful investigation of the various issues and challenges of Korean language education for specific purposes.

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