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네이버 공유 카카오 공유 트위터 공유 페이스북 공유

American Association of Teachers of Korean

In 2009, the 14th Annual Conference and Workshop of The American Association of Teachers of Korean was held at the University of Washington, in Seattle (June 25-27).

The American Association of Teachers of Korean(AATK) was founded in 1994 in an effort to promote the teaching and learning of the Korean language, culture, and literature, and to encourage research in second-language education, applied linguistics, and language pedagogy, as well as to provide a forum to share such research findings. In the pursuit of its goals, the AATK has become an incubator for innovative pedagogical concepts and practices. The theme for the 2009 conference was “Curriculum Development” (Linking ‘Theory’ and ‘Practice’), while the workshop focused on “Exploring Innovative Instructional Design,” in an attempt to simultaneously address theoretical ives and to promote practical purposes. This year’s gathering featured two plenary speeches, four workshop panels, eight demonstrations of instructional materials, and 38 conference presentations. The AATK conference has also served as a venue to acquire information about various government-sponsored projects and to get updates on recent academic research in Korea.



Holding the 2009 AATK conference at the University of Washington was especially meaningful since this year marks the centennial for several departments of UW, including the Department of Asian Languages and Literature, and the Jackson School of International Studies, which houses the Center for Korean Studies. The Department of Asian Languages and Literature was launched in its current form in 1969, but the many languages it teaches date back to the Sanskrit courses offered in 1909. Although Tibetan and Mongolian are no longer offered, many languages continue the department’s long tradition of literary and textual study, including: Sanskrit (1909), Chinese (1926), Japanese (1928), Korean (1944), Mongolian (early 1950s), Tibetan (1952), Hindi and Tamil (1967), Thai (1967), Vietnamese (1981), Indonesian (1991), and Bengali. The Chinese program includes three full professors, two associate professors, one senior lecturer, and two lecturers. There are two full professors, one associate professor, and three lecturers of Sanskrit and Hindi, while the Japanese program consists of four associate professors, one senior lecturer, and three lecturers.

For the Korean language program, the current staff includes a senior lecturer and a part-time lecturer; however, there is no professor of literature, language pedagogy, or linguistics. This is quite a sorry situation when all things are considered, such as the lengthy history of Korean language instruction; the extensive holdings of its Korean collection, which are comparable to that of Harvard and UC Berkeley; and a proven track record that includes the third-largest non-heritage enrollment in the U.S. and high marks for pedagogy, according to an external reviewer.

No graduate student has been accepted since the unfortunate passing of former Korean literature professor, Scott Swaner; thus, there is no Korean graduate program at this time. Resources are severely limited, forcing a suspension of the Korean major, which has impacted 17 students, although the number of related minors is on the rise. An introductory level Korean class for heritage students has been cancelled for the year. This situation can be described as dire straits, with there being no ability for the program’s potential to be realized on its own and also preventing the language program from contributing to an interdisciplinary curriculum with other faculty, programs, and departments on campus. Of course, the Korean Program at the UW nevertheless presses onward, and the students continue to be enthusiastic about studying Korean.

With support from the Center for Korea Studies and the Department of Asian Languages and Literature, the 14th Annual AATK conference has been deemed a success in various regards. A total of 130 registered members and related individuals attended the conference. And this was all made possible by the tireless efforts of graduate assistants from a range of programs (in particular Hyunjung Ahn and Russell Hugo from Linguistics, and Heeseung Kang from English), the numerous undergraduate volunteers from Korean classes, and the administrative support of university staff behind the scenes.

In addition, the continued generous support of the Korea Foundation for the AATK conference has resulted in its steady membership growth. For the future of AATK, as was discussed during its business meetings, more efforts are needed to reach out to K-12 teachers and DLI teachers. Indeed, the association is for and welcomes everyone with an interest in teaching the Korean language, literature, and culture. There might also be a need for independent fundraising and promotion.

Of note, the linguistic medium for the workshop and conference proceedings may need to be determined. English might be encouraged in order to accommodate non-native Korean teachers and for other non-Korean speakers, who may attend the conference to learn about Korean education. It might simply be a matter of indicating on the program which language will be the presentation medium. As the years go on, more wide-ranging theoretical approaches will hopefully be incorporated into the mainstream practices. Significant allocation of time and funding is expected for the collection and sharing of teaching materials, both online and offline. Not everything has to be published.

Finally, for practical purposes, a designated budget specialist at the host university should be arranged and detailed notes on conference preparatory efforts should be transmitted to the upcoming host university. This will enable the hosting of the AATK conference, a challenging yet satisfying experience, to proceed more smoothly. In closing, we should all note the wonderful contributions of Dr. Young-mee Yu Cho, the 5th President of the AATK, in continuing the hard work of her predecessors and successfully leading the organization to its current state of national prominence. Along with our best wishes for Dr. Cho’s future endeavors and for Dr. Mimi Kim, of Washington University, we eagerly look forward to another meaningful gathering at the 15th AATK Annual Conference and Workshop in St. Louis.

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