Four Korean teacher learners’ academic experiences in an Australian TESOL programme and disclosure of their multiple identities

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore four Korean teacher learners’ academic experiences in an Australian Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) master’s programme. By investigating the ways they encounter the overseas teacher education programme and how to interact with different meanings, this study reveals Korean teacher learners’ multiple selves and several meaning systems embedded in them. The understandings from the case provide some implications for curriculum internationalisation in higher education as well as TESOL. Design/methodology/approach Interviews, a focus group discussion and metaphors were used as data, and from these narratives, the participants’ experience was categorised into the programme’s aspects of the methods, contents and applicability, materials and usefulness, assessment criteria and feedback and communication and support. Each interview was undertaken in a library for around one and a half hours. At the end of the interviews, participants were required to produce a metaphor of desirable teacher/lecturer roles. For triangulation, a focus group discussion was conducted for approximately two hours, in which three participants could represent social worlds, evaluate them and establish themselves as members of particular groups. All the questions were semi-structured and about teaching and learning experiences in Korea and Australia and ideas of lecturers’ roles, practices and desirable pedagogy. Findings From the analysis of the participants’ experiences in these, it was revealed that their identity was tangled with that of the (English) teacher, consumer, (international) student and non-native speaker. The meaning systems of these identities were based on the mixture of the Korean traditional and Western or modern educational values: positive attitude towards communicative language teaching and its contexutalisation, pursuit of practical knowledge and pragmatic ideas, favour for discussions and getting confirmation from authorities and being positioned in the weak and using different communication rules, etc. Research limitations/implications From the insights from this case, the lecturers and programme coordinators in intercultural TESOL courses will gain some ideas for a curriculum responsive to international needs. While it cannot be denied that the small scale of the study has limitations for generalisation, this research will be one of the required literatures which examines East Asians or Koreans in Western academic institutions, given that this qualitative study complements the findings of the quantitative studies by specifically disclosing the ways Korean teacher learners’ identity and the meaning systems of desirable pedagogies. Practical implications For the curriculum internationalisation in TESOL and several higher education (HE) courses, the lecturers’ and the institutions’ awareness of cultural differences and reducing stereotyping, language support and being explicit about new rules in the new game and communication for support and respectful and professional encounters are essential, alongside the learners’ voluntary endeavour for academic adaptation in their overseas learning. Social implications The effort to understand each other in education is a good start for intercultural communication, that is, curriculum internationalisation in TESOL as well as higher education. Originality/value Different from other studies in similar areas, this study discloses the multiple selves/identities and meaning systems of the teacher learners in TESOL, by maximising the benefits of a qualitative study. The understandings from this approach help the researcher draw out practical implications for curriculum internationalisation in TESOL and HE.

Constructing a conceptual framework for professional identity development in international social work students: A meta-ethnographic review

“…The relationship between international students and academic staff was seen to either enhance or hinder the students' PID. Nurturing academic staff were likely to encourage international students to thrive with learning opportunities (Han, 2016). However, inadequate support to international students or lack of cultural awareness in the course content was obstructive to international students' PID (Interiano and Lim, 2018;Park et al, 2018).…”

“…While international students may feel pressured to adapt to the dominant culture in the host countries, the lack of reciprocity from their faculty or the dominate groups was noticed by some participants. For example, some participants spoke about the Western dominance in their courses or their lecturers' lack of cultural awareness (Han, 2016;Interiano and Lim, 2018). Consequently, international students found themselves having to fully assimilate into the host country's dominant culture and values in order to survive or succeed (Interiano and Lim, 2018).…”

“…Language affects students' classroom participation, academic engagement/ performance, perceived status within the profession (Cho, 2013;Han, 2016;Interiano and Lim, 2018;Kong, 2014;Park et al, 2018;Zacharias, 2010). Difficulties resulting from language barriers may be removed or less significant as international students' language skills and confidence improve over time (Kong, 2014;Zacharias, 2010).…”

“…Student cohort profile, teaching pedagogy and academic/peer support can influence international students' classroom participation and experiences (Cho, 2013;Han, 2016;Interiano and Lim, 2018;Park et al, 2018;Zacharias, 2010).…”

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“…Values can change in response to environmental possibilities (Littrell, 2005;Han, 2016). Social change in countries such as China and Korea, for example, including globalisation and neoliberalism, and their enthusiasm for high education are resulting in changes to ideas of good education and desirable teacher and student roles and identities.…”