Korean language education in the United States

Last updated

Korean language education in the United States includes learning at U.S. colleges and universities, schools, and institutions.

Contents

According to a study conducted by Live the Language School (LTL), an Asian language education institution, Korean language is the second most desired language by Americans with an average monthly Google search volume of more than 130,000. [1] Korean language is one of the only three in the United States university foreign language enrollment rate to rise from 2016 to 2021. The number of Korean language learners increased from 13.9K in 2016 to 19.3K in 2021. [2]

History

The number of students studying Korean languages at colleges and universities in the United States was 26 in 1958, 182 in 1963, and 87 in 1974. During South Korea's economic development boom, the number surged from 365 to 2,375 between 1980 and 1990. In the 1990s, the number of learners exceeded 5,000. There were 8,449 Korean language learners at United States colleges and universities in 2009, 13,912 in 2016, and more of 20,000 in 2021. [3]

Current status

According to a 2019 report by the Modern Language Society, Korean is the 11th most studied language in U.S. colleges. [4]

Yeonhee Yoon, a Korean language and culture professor and the Korean language program coordinator at the University of Notre Dame, says: [4]

“If people know the Korean language and culture, they can get a job in South Korea at a leading globalized company, such as Samsung, Hyundai or LG......They can also get government jobs in the United States because Korean is one of the United States’ strategic languages.”

See also

Related Research Articles

Language education – the process and practice of teaching a second or foreign language – is primarily a branch of applied linguistics, but can be an interdisciplinary field. There are four main learning categories for language education: communicative competencies, proficiencies, cross-cultural experiences, and multiple literacies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International student</span> Foreigner temporarily re-located for the purpose of tertiary study

International students, or foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their tertiary education in a country other than their own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English as a second or foreign language</span> Use of English by speakers with different native languages

English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages, often with students whose native language is not English and are learning to speak and write English, commonly among students. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a foreign language (EFL), English as a second language (ESL), English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), or English as a new language (ENL), which refers to the practice of studying English in a country where it is not the dominant language. These programs, especially ESL, are usually an academic subject, course, or program designed to teach English to students who are not yet proficient in the language. While some people only refer to learning in an English-speaking country, learning this language can also entail learning in a non-English speaking or non-native nation.

Ajou University is a private research university located in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was founded in 1973 by Park Changwon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hankuk University of Foreign Studies</span> Private university in South Korea

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies is a private research university based in Seoul, in South Korea. The university currently teaches 45 foreign languages. In addition, it contains studies in humanities, law, political science, social sciences, business, medical science, natural sciences, and engineering.

A foreign language is a language that is not an official language of, nor typically spoken in, a specific country. Native speakers from that country usually need to acquire it through conscious learning, such as through language lessons at school, self-teaching, or attending language courses. A foreign language might be learned as a second language; however, there is a distinction between the two terms. A second language refers to a language that plays a significant role in the region where the speaker lives, whether for communication, education, business, or governance. Consequently, a second language is not necessarily a foreign language.

A language school is a school where one studies a foreign language. Classes at a language school are usually geared towards, for example, communicative competence in a foreign language. Language learning in such schools typically supplements formal education or existing knowledge of a foreign language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chonnam National University</span> University in Gwangju, South Korea

Chonnam National University is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities located in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, South Korea. In March 2006, Yeosu National University merged with Chonnam National University to become a satellite campus. CNU ranked the 10th nationwide and the 420th worldwide in world university rankings in the CWUR. It was also the 1st among the nine Korean national flagship universities in "Asia’s Top 75 Most Innovative Universities" in 2017 Reuters. CNU has also expanded its global reach by establishing partnerships with 499 Universities in 62 countries as of 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in South Korea</span> Overview of education in South Korea

Education in South Korea is provided by both public schools and private schools. Both types of schools receive funding from the government, although the amount that the private schools receive is less than the amount of the state schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in North Korea</span> Overview of education in North Korea

Education in North Korea is universal and state-funded schooling by the government. As of 2021, UNESCO Institute for Statistics does not report any data for North Korea's literacy rates. Some children go through one year of kindergarten, four years of primary education, six years of secondary education, and then on to university.

Some students from the United States pursue educational opportunities outside the United States. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students.

International education refers to a dynamic concept that involves a journey or movement of people, minds, or ideas across political and cultural frontiers. It is facilitated by the globalization phenomenon, which increasingly erases the constraints of geography on economic, social, and cultural arrangements. The concept involves a broad range of learning, for example, formal education and informal learning. It could also involve a reorientation of academic outlook such as the pursuit of "worldmindedness" as a goal so that a school or its academic focus is considered international. For example, the National Association of State Universities prescribes the adoption of "proper education" that reflects the full range of international, social, political, cultural, and economic dialogue. International educators are responsible for "designing, managing, and facilitating programs and activities that help participants to appropriately, effectively, and ethically engage in interactions with culturally diverse people and ideas."

An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body and staff, multilingual instruction, curricula oriented towards global perspectives and subjects, and the promotion of concepts such as world citizenship, pluralism, and intercultural understanding. Many international schools adopt a curriculum from programs and organizations such as International Baccalaureate, Edexcel, Cambridge Assessment International Education, International Primary Curriculum, or Advanced Placement.

In the United States, higher education is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. It is also referred to as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 on the International ISCED 2011 scale. It is delivered at 3,931 Title IV degree-granting institutions, known as colleges or universities. These may be public or private universities, research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or for-profit colleges. US higher education is loosely regulated by the government and by several third-party organizations.

Education in the Philippines is compulsory at the basic education level, composed of kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school. The educational system is managed by three government agencies by level of education: the Department of Education (DepEd) for basic education; the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) for higher education; and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for technical and vocational education. Public education is funded by the national government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konkuk University</span> University in South Korea

Konkuk University is a South Korean private university founded in 1946 and it is one of the top universities in South Korea. The university was founded based on three virtues: sincerity, fidelity, and righteousness.

Higher education in China is the largest in the world. By the end of 2021, there were over 3,000 colleges and universities, with over 44.3 million students enrolled in mainland China and 240 million Chinese citizens having received high education. The system includes Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral degrees, as well as non-degree programs, and is also open to foreign students.

FutureLearn is a British digital education platform founded in December 2012. The company was acquired by Global University Systems in December 2022 and previously jointly owned by The Open University and SEEK Ltd. It is a massive open online course (MOOC), microcredential and degree learning platform.

Teaching English as a second (TESL) orforeign language (TEFL) and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are terms that refer to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. The terms TEFL, TESL, and TESOL distinguish between a class's location and student population, and have become problematic due to their lack of clarity. TEFL refers to English-language programs conducted in countries where English is not the primary language, and may be taught at a language school or by a tutor. For some jobs, the minimum TEFL requirement is a 100-hour course; the 120-hour course is recommended, however, since it may lead to higher-paid teaching positions. TEFL teachers may be native or non-native speakers of English.

Globalization has had major effects on the spread and ascribed value of multilingualism. Multilingualism is considered the use of more than one language by an individual or community of speakers. Globalization is commonly defined as the international movement toward economic, trade, technological, and communications integration and concerns itself with interdependence and interconnectedness. As a result of the interconnectedness brought on by globalization, languages are being transferred between communities, cultures, and economies at an increasingly fast pace. Therefore, though globalization is widely seen as an economic process, it has resulted in linguistic shifts on a global scale, including the recategorization of privileged languages, the commodification of multilingualism, the Englishization of the globalized workplace, and varied experiences of multilingualism along gendered lines.

References

  1. "Korean ranks 2nd-most-coveted Asian language in US amid global popularity of K-pop". December 22, 2023.
  2. "College students bid adieu to foreign language classes". Axios. November 15, 2023.
  3. "Korean learning boom at US universities". Asia News Network . December 13, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "How to Learn Korean: A U.S. News Guide". US News . October 23, 2020.