Publications [#305264] of Hae-Young Kim

Papers Published

1. Lee, JS; Kim, H-Y, Heritage language learners’ attitudes, motivations and instructional needs: The case of post-secondary Korean language learners, in Teaching Chinese, Japanese and Korean Heritage Students: Curriculum Needs, Materials and Assessment, edited by Kondo-Brown, K; Brown, JD (2008), pp. 159-185, Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates .
   (last updated on 2024/04/24)

   Abstract:
   This study examines college-level Korean language learners’ language attitudes, motivational orientations, and self-efficacy as heritage language learners. Through surveys and interviews with 111 students, we found that 1) learners’ attitudes toward the status or utility of Korean in the wider sociopolitical context of the US was not favorable; however, in light of their personal contexts, they saw the learning of Korean to be a main signifier of their ethnic identity; (2) motivations to learn Korean were closely tied with affirmation of their ethnic identity and need to keep connected with their family and ethnic community, which remained constant across proficiency levels; (3) learners desired more formalized and innovative approaches to increase conversational fluency and cultural literacy; and (4) their motivation was significantly affected by low self-efficacy due to the sociopsychological burden the learners felt to have to acquire native-like proficiency in the language because it is the language that represents their identity to others. We conclude that the curricula for heritage learners need to expand sociocultural components to address students’ integrative orientation, and provide more specific and concrete learning goals to augment students’ self-efficacy.