Tracing Transnational Identities of North Korean Refugee English Learners in South Korea DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Seo Hyun Park Graduate Program in Education The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Leslie C. Moore, Advisor Dr. Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm Dr. Alan Hirvela Copyrighted by Seo Hyun Park 2014 Abstract This ethnographic study focuses on (1) how adult North Korean refugees come to understand the practice of English language learning in South Korea and, in the context of this dynamic understanding, (2) how their identity work develops in the course of migration, resettlement, and language learning experiences. The study draws on varied data collected over the course of a year, including interviews, observations of the learners inside and outside of the classroom, and artifacts. Unlike newcomers to the Anglosphere, immigrants new to the English as a foreign language context may not be aware of the need of English in the host society before or right after migration. The North Korean refugee population is an example of such border- crossers, whose sending and receiving countries are outside of the Anglosphere and who slowly discern the new or increased need to learn English. Contrasting North Korea‘s top-down management of English education to South Korea‘s family-driven ―English frenzy,‖ the study demonstrates that the current North Korean refugee population overlaps little with those in North Korea who are granted access to English education. Even after their entry to the South, the majority of adult refugees are excluded from access to English learning opportunities due to South Koreans‘ double standard toward English as critical for themselves but optional for the newcomers. ii Other challenges arising from the refugees‘ decision to learn English from the beginning level are discussed, including their interrupted education, imagined community and its disjuncture from reality, familylessness, dilemma between hiding and promoting North-Koreanness, and pre-investment period in language learning owing to traumatic memories. This dissertation contributes to sociocultural approaches to second language education, research on transnationalism and refugee resettlement, and studies of the interplay between language learning and identity transformation. iii For Noel iv Acknowledgments There are a number of special people to whom I owe appreciation and gratitude. I must first thank the students, teachers, and administration at the British Council Korea for inviting me into their school and classrooms and for sharing their concerns and time with me for an entire year. I understand the risks they took in giving me permission to work with their English for the Future students and thank them for their trust in and empathy with my research project. In particular, I gratefully acknowledge the seven North Korean refugee students for letting me into their lives with sincerity and kindness. These participants are dear friends of mine by now and have taught me a great deal about what it means to live, struggle, and survive in the face of unimaginable obstacles and hardships. Without their willingness to share with me their experiences and feelings, this project would never have come to life. Profound thanks are owed to Dr. Leslie C. Moore for making the journey through the doctoral process enjoyable and successful. She has always read and listened to my work patiently and provided me with exhaustive comments. Her invaluable personal and professional advice for the past five years will remain with me as a life-long treasure. I am also tremendously appreciative of the intellect and genuine care from my committee members, Drs. Carmen Taleghani-Nikazm and Alan Hirvela. Their comments on many parts of this study were very helpful. Beyond them, I am indebted to Dr. Marcia Farr for v her detailed feedback and expansive knowledge of the literature on my dissertation proposal. All four committee members have helped shape the person I have become. My extended thanks go to my mentors at Korea University: Drs. Shinsook Lee, Oak Song, and Jangro Lee. They encouraged me to pursue doctoral study in the States and up to now have motivated me to reach my professional goals with timely advice and prayer as amazing role models. I also wish to thank my good friends, Edmund and Jana Hodges- Kluck, for their excellent feedback, fresh insight, and an ―outsider‖ perspective for my dissertation. Most of all, I give loving thanks to my parents for believing in me and in my dreams. They have inspired me to ―rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn,‖ and this guidance certainly influenced the kind of study that I chose to do. Also, my sister deserves my gratitude for her unconditional love and energy, despite the far distance barrier. I am especially grateful to my husband and best friend Young Sang Kim, who encouraged me to look beyond the dissertation with unwavering love, wisdom, and sacrifice. Last but not least, my eternal love goes to Noel C. Kim, whose prenatal nickname was ―Candi‖ because he came to us while I was working on my doctoral candidacy exam in 2011. vi Vita 2006................................................................B.A. English Language and Literature, Korea University 2009................................................................M.Ed. English Education, Korea University 2009 to present ..............................................Ph.D. Candidate College of Education and Human Ecology The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Education Areas of Emphases: Sociolinguistics Foreign, Second, and Multilingual Language Education Cognate Areas: Conversation Analysis, Ethnographic Study, Qualitative Research vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments................................................................................................................v Vita and Fields of Study ................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xii List of Excerpts ................................................................................................................ xiii Chapters: 1. Situating the study............................................................................................................1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................1 Modernizing Kachruvian circles of English speakers ......................................................3 Diversity and transnationalism within the EFL context .................................................12 Significance of North Korean refugees as a subject of inquiry......................................15 Theoretical framework, assumptions, and definitions ...................................................19 Research questions .........................................................................................................24 Structure of the dissertation............................................................................................25 2. Researching, analyzing, and constructing the data ........................................................27 Introduction ....................................................................................................................27 Research concerns in ethnography of communication ...................................................28 The British Council Korea and its social actors .............................................................34 Gaining access to the British Council Korea ............................................................34 The EFL program .....................................................................................................41 Study participants .....................................................................................................48 viii Situating myself as the researcher ..................................................................................57 Performing an ethnographic study at the British Council Korea ...................................59 Interviews .................................................................................................................59 Observing classroom interaction ..............................................................................64 Observing interaction outside of the classroom .......................................................69 Artifacts ....................................................................................................................70 Data analysis ..................................................................................................................71 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................74