This ethnographic study examines how students learn
English through classroom experiences that challenge
their current confucian cultural practices. In
particular, I examine how learning language through
activities affects students learning English as a
foreign language (EFL) in a Korean university. It is
based on the assumption, that learners have
knowledge and use what they know to learn when
presented with conflicting cultural models of
learning. Because of globalization of English
instruction, traditional Confucian values now co-
exist in many Asian university EFL classrooms. My
theoretical framework to explore these issues in
Korea includes an examination of English language
education policies through effect of globalization
in Korean education, Confucianism and Vygotskian
theories on language learners.
English through classroom experiences that challenge
their current confucian cultural practices. In
particular, I examine how learning language through
activities affects students learning English as a
foreign language (EFL) in a Korean university. It is
based on the assumption, that learners have
knowledge and use what they know to learn when
presented with conflicting cultural models of
learning. Because of globalization of English
instruction, traditional Confucian values now co-
exist in many Asian university EFL classrooms. My
theoretical framework to explore these issues in
Korea includes an examination of English language
education policies through effect of globalization
in Korean education, Confucianism and Vygotskian
theories on language learners.