In a bilingual community, people often switch from one language to another in their daily conversations and the use of code-switching often reflects the social or cultural identities of the speakers. The switch to a particular language in the bilingual discourse can also be employed as an effective vehicle to signal ethnic identity. This paper…

This study investigates how the dominant language of Korean heritage speakers (English) influences Korean (minority language) in the domain of binding interpretations by comparing the performance of Korean immigrants in English dominant context with that of incomplete learners of Korean and L2 learners of Korean. Four groups (10 Korean immigrants,…

The current study, by focusing on a group of university-level learners of Korean in the United States, explores the various ways in which Korean American students position themselves in and around the language and ethnicity. Over the course of 3 years, data for this study were collected through several methods, such as formal and informal…

This article is the culmination of the Cultural and Linguistic Autobiography (CLA) writing project, which details narrative descriptions of adult English language learners' (ELLs') cultural and linguistic experiences and how those experiences may have influenced the ways in which these learners constructed and reconstructed their identities.…

Koreans have been successful in nesting their educational achievement into places like China and the United States, where they have earned the title of "model minority". This research is a comparison of the manner in which the model minority stereotype is handled by Korean Chinese and Korean Americans. The gathered data leads us to argue…

Due to their unique profile as childhood bilinguals whose first language (L1) became weaker than their second language (L2), heritage speakers can shed light on three key issues in bilingualism--timing, input, and cross-linguistic interaction. The heritage speakers of focus in this dissertation are Korean second generation immigrants mainly…

This study examined school factors related to the learning style preferences of gifted Korean American students. The "Learning Styles Inventory-III" ("LSI"; Renzulli, Rizza, & Smith, 2002) and the "Ethnic Orientation Scale" ("EOS") were administered to 407 Korean American students in 30 schools. A…

The ethnographic research reported in this article documents how a group of non-Korean families, whose children are participating in a Korean bilingual school in Northeast China, construct their motivations and strategies of learning Korean language. The main motivation of expectancy of further education opportunities and success in future career…

This study focuses on the recent social phenomenon of the "kirogi," which means wild goose in Korean. This word also refers to a multinational household in which the mother has moved overseas for the children's education while the father lives alone in Korea to support his family economically. I investigate the narratives of kirogi…

A fairly common understanding among teachers is that the study of the arts opens up the study of cultures. Appreciating the artistic expressions of a culture enhances student understanding of that culture and its people. Beyond appreciation, when students make artworks, they create meaning and explore their perceptions of various cultural roles.…

This qualitative study examined the current schooling experiences of eight Korean high school students in the United States. By comparing and contrasting recent immigrant adolescents and 1.5/2nd generation students, the purpose of this study was to explore how their identities as Koreans or Korean Americans were formed and shifted while they…

This study explores factors that influence the general well-being (anxiety, depression, positive well-being, self-control, vitality, and general health) of low-income Korean immigrant elders by interviewing 206 older adults living in Los Angeles County and Orange County, California. Ordinary least squares regression results reveal that lack of…

Based on a qualitative study on young Korean immigrant children's interpretation of American popular culture, this paper reflects on the researchers' role by examining the research challenges faced. Prior to discussing the research obstacles in conducting the study, we begin with briefly describing its methodology and design. Next, we discuss the…

This study examined and compared the educational perspectives of Korean parents of elementary school students and their teachers. 430 parents and 143 teachers in the New York metropolitan area participated in the survey and 16 teachers, administrators, and parents were interviewed. The findings indicated that the teachers not only misunderstood…

This article explores how young Korean immigrant girls (age five to eight) living in the United States interpreted American popular culture by discussing their interpretations of Disney animated films. In particular, it scrutinizes these girls' understanding of the idea of monarchy--in this case, the process of and the qualification for a…