Korean American College Students’ Language Practices and Identity Positioning

“Not Korean, but not American”

Bibliographic Data

ID12762601
AuthorsHyun‐sook Kang (0000-0001-8340-3718, Illinois State University, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume12
Issue4
Pages248-261
Publication date2013-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language Identity & Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1532-7701 • E-ISSN: 1534-8458
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/15348458.2013.818473
OpenAlexW2049461335
LanguageEN
Citations received19
References cited32

This article explores the intersection between language practices and ethnic identity for 8 second-generation Korean American learners who were participating in a Korean-as-a-foreign-language (KFL) class at a U.S. university. This study aims to examine the fluid nature of ethnic identity by examining how Korean heritage learners negotiate, construct, and position themselves in the landscape of American-ness and Korean-ness, through language practices. The data are drawn from observations, semistructured interviews, and audio-recorded classroom interaction during one academic year in a college-level KFL class. Findings show that the heritage learners employ the two available codes for different communicative purposes: English is used as a primary communication tool, and Korean is associated with their childhood memories, food, and kinship. Furthermore, their use of linguistic devices, such as pronouns, indexes their ever-changing relational positioning of themselves in a third culture, where they have taken on aspects from both

Class (philosophy · Construct (python library · Ethnic group · Heritage language · Identity (music · Kinship · Linguistics · Negotiation · Pedagogy · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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