Abigail Symes

Instructional Unit Narrative

KU TESOL Practicum in South Korea
28 June 2015
Dr. Cho and Dr. Peter

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Section One
The implications of English as an international language have
been explained through extensive research discourses and have
outlined the principles and practices of English as a global language
with diverse sociolinguistic affects. The English as an international
language (EIL) discourses have been conceptualized in our experience
here in South Korea through numerous classroom, cultural, social, and
pedagogical practices. The multifaceted EIL principles and practices
are represented by the following four implications: first, the importance
of the ability to teach rhetorical sensitivity for success in adjusting
language to succeed in the changing Englishes of globalization,
second, the international role of English in the Korean educational
system and the sociolinguistic effects of language in the modern
transnational South Korea, third, the stigmas and identities that are
assigned to the non-native English-speaking language teachers and
the native English-speaking language teachers, and lastly, the
importance of reflective teaching in an English as a foreign language
(EFL) context through social and cultural representations of EIL.
In the context of EIL, when teaching English it is important to
instill language awareness, rhetorical sensitivity, and negotiation
strategies in the students. The globalization of English enables the
language to differ in communicative contexts, norms, and
expectations. If a student is able to implement their procedural

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knowledge they will be observant of standard varieties and adjust their
language use appropriately. A student who is not equipped with
procedural knowledge and rhetorical sensitivity will attempt to
communicate in a uniform manner, causing a lack of language
diversity. One issue with this creative pedagogy is the level of
proficiency that is required to employ such process-oriented
instruction. Students must be able to understand the basics of the
English language before they can negotiate the language in various
global contexts. The globalization of the English language requires the
innovative ability to modify ones language use in order to prepare for
language diversity (Canagarajah, 2014).
The globalization of the English language has impacted the
structure of the Korean educational system. For decades South Korea
has put a heavy emphasis on education as a means for achieving. In
the twentieth century the traditional class system collapsed due to
Japanese occupation and caused a more severe need for education due
to the modern belief that any Korean may achieve upward social
mobility. Education is perceived to be the most prevailing method to do
so. The current emphasis on the English language stems from Korean
government policy changes and social transformations starting in the
1990s. These changes have caused students to obtain English
language competency skills by any means possible. There is a rise in
popularity of students attending study-abroad programs in English

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speaking countries at an early age to obtain communicative English
skills. This trend has various sociolinguistic and psychosocial effects on
the children when they return to South Korea (Park, 2009).
The need for multilingualism creates a drive for globalization to
maintain competitive in the Korean educational system. The English
language is seen as a powerful commodity to be obtained when paired
with self-development. The emphasis on neoliberal personhood
influences many Korean families to travel with their children at a young
age to study abroad and give their children an elite advantage in their
language competence. EIL has strong influence on Korean
sociolinguistic culture. Many believe to obtain complete language
competency it must be simultaneous with native pronunciation, which
is believed to only be obtained overseas. Language is viewed as part of
ones identity and to gain language advantage many Korean students
separate themselves from their home culture by studying abroad. This
phenomenon causes students to return to South Korea and valorize the
global culture and feel a sense of disconnect with their native culture
and self-identity (Park and Lo, 2012).
The desire to acquire native pronunciation and communicative
abilities has transcended into the hiring of English-speaking language
teachers in schools. Many schools in South Korea render bilingual
Korean teachers linguistic competency as less valuable than native
English-speaking language teachers. The idea of the native identity is

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unattainable for many and has a lack of support for what identifies one
as a native speaker. There are many stigmas for both native and nonnative language teachers in the field of applied linguistics. It is
important to not overgeneralize the native or non-native Englishspeaking teachers as individual homogenous groups when it pertains
to their effectiveness in the classroom. These overgeneralizations do
not take into account the proficiency or education level of the language
teacher. It is imperative that English-speaking teachers are not
assessed by the perceptions of their strengths and weaknesses, but
rather by their teaching performances (Moussu and Llurda, 2008).
Due to the modern emphasis of EIL there is a higher need for
teachers of English as a foreign/second language globally. In order to
increase the quality of English language education, research based
pedagogy is needed to foster a pragmatic and reflective approach to
EFL education. Two of the most important factors to EFL teacher
training are practical classroom experience and self-reflection. Gaining
classroom experience includes observing more proficient teachers by
means of scaffolding ones own knowledge. The process of critical selfreflection is vital in becoming a successful EFL teacher. This includes
investigating and questioning ones teaching practices, principles, and
routines to have a better understanding of how to become a successful
EFL teacher in the EIL context (Cahn, 2014).

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The globalization of the English language has caused various
international sociolinguistic implications. These implications are
apparent in the South Korean educational system and in the EFL
teacher context. The principles and practices of EIL have been shaped
by the following four contexts: first, the capability to teach rhetorical
sensitivity to enable students to flourish in the changing globalization
of the English language, second, the role of English on the Korean
education system and the various sociolinguistic implications in
transnational South Korea, third, the native speaker identity in
regards to English-speaking language teachers in schools, and lastly,
the significance of quality English language teacher education through
a pragmatic and reflective approach.

Section Two
The research that was completed for the narrative provides
justification for the EFL unit that is to follow. The intended students for
this unit plan are first and second year students at Kyunghwa Girls
High School in South Korea in the English conversational class. This
high school is a Christian, private school. The lesson will be completed
in a structured English immersion setting that is taught solely in
English for English learners that range from low intermediate to high
intermediate fluency based off the English proficiency standards. There
are twelve classes of first year students and twelve classes of second

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year students at the Girls High School. Each class has an average of 35
students and a Korean co-teacher to facilitate understanding and
discipline.
Content-based instruction was used to instruct the English
conversation class. Content-based instruction enables teachers to
develop language and content learning simultaneously. The content
objectives for the unit include being able: to orally demonstrate
knowledge of vocabulary words regarding the Olympics by completing
various verbal linguistic activities, apply their comprehension of the
vocabulary words regarding the Olympics by completing various
written linguistic activities, and identify, classify, and write wh-
questions regarding the movie, Frozen. The language objectives for the
unit include being able to: form wh- questions that follow the correct
grammatical structure, comprehend vocabulary words pertaining to the
Olympics and utilize them in realistic situations, and acquire a more
expansive list of vocabulary words that relate to and describe the
Olympics.

These content and language objectives were chosen based

off the observations completed the first two weeks at Kyunghwa Girls
High School. During our first two weeks we completed observations
logs while watching the class be taught by their conversational English
teacher. We recorded the type of language the teacher and students
used with each other. In addition, we documented common errors that
occurred in their language and logged the frequency of those errors.

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Based off my observations during the first two weeks I noticed a need
for instruction on wh- question structure and vocabulary words in
realistic situations. Throughout our observations I detected the need
for cross-cultural connections to maintain the students interest and
understanding of the language objectives. To conclude, I chose two
contents for my lesson that were culturally relevant to support the
students interests while teaching important language objectives.

References

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Canagarajah, S. (2014). In Search of a New Paradigm for Teaching
English as an International Language. TESOL J TESOL Journal, 767-785.
Retrieved June 28, 2015.
Canh, L. (2014). Great Expectations: The TESOL Practicum as a
Professional Learning Experience. TESOL J TESOL Journal, 199-224.
Retrieved June 28, 2015.
Moussu, L., & Llurda, E. (2008). Non-native English-speaking English
language teachers: History and research. Language Teaching LTA.
Retrieved June 28, 2015.
Park, J. (2009). English fever in South Korea: Its history and
symptoms. English Today ENG, 50-50. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
Park, J., & Lo, A. (2012). Transnational South Korea as a site for a
sociolinguistics of globalization: Markets, timescales, neoliberalism1.
Journal of Sociolinguistics, 147-164. Retrieved June 28, 2015.