How can you use pop culture to enhance your language education?

Teaching a foreign language involves more than just providing instruction on grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and diction. Educators have long held that the integration of culture as part of world language instruction is necessary for foreign language teaching to be effective. The World Readiness Standards, developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages/Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (ACTFL/CAEP), set forth five goals for learning foreign languages, known as the five “Cs.” These include Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. Within the five Cs are standards that students must meet in their foreign language education, including one that calls upon the student to interact with cultural competence and understanding while learning the target language. Foreign language educators are finding that an effective way to do this is to use contemporary pop culture that encompasses cultural artifacts, such as music, songs, games, crafts, and other activities, as a teaching tool that provides students with a sense of connection to the language they are learning.

A new interest in K-pop and Korean contemporary culture has led to more students enrolling in Korean language classes.

In recent years, a musical genre known as K-pop, which originated in South Korea, became wildly popular among young people throughout the world and gave rise to interest in other aspects of contemporary Korean culture, such as Korean TV dramas, films, and webtoons. In the United States, this newfound fascination with K-pop and Korean culture precipitated a significant rise in the number of students who enrolled in Korean language classes. Educators who teach Korean had an exciting opportunity to harness this interest in Korean contemporary culture to engage their students and enhance their teaching practices. Yet, some Korean language teachers may lack confidence in embedding Korean pop culture into their teaching practices. Exacerbating their trepidation, many of these teachers had a background teaching in South Korean public schools where, traditionally, teacher-centered instructional methods emphasizing the teacher’s authority in the classroom is the norm. In contrast, schools in the United States are learner centered, where the teacher acts as a facilitator in encouraging independent student learning.

Mason researchers examine methods of incorporating Korean culture into language instruction.

Faculty at George Mason University’s School of Education wanted to know more about how Korean language teachers in the US perceived student-centered learning and the methods by which they incorporated Korean culture, such as children’s songs and K-pop, into their instruction. Mason faculty collaborated with other university researchers in the design of a professional development program that included online and in-person workshops for Korean teachers, many of whom were first-generational Korean immigrants trained in traditional teacher-centered instructional methods. The professional development took place at a public four-year university and included 14 teacher participants who were asked to shift from a teacher-centered method of teaching to an approach that was learner-centered, while incorporating Korean culture as an instructional tool. The teachers engaged in individual study, online discussions, group interviews, and several hour-long “microteaching” demonstrations during which they provided language instruction for elementary and middle school students in a heritage Korean language summer camp.

The learning activities planned by some of the primary school teachers included K-pop and Korean songs. One team of teachers adapted and integrated K-pop into their instruction by revising the lyrics of the original song and replacing it with the target grammatical structure. Teacher participants reported that because the melody was easy to follow, young students enjoyed singing the song without realizing they were studying grammar and even sang the song after the class ended. Other learning activities for primary school students included the use of nursery rhymes, traditional Korean musical instruments, playing traditional Korean games (Jeki Chagi and Konggi Nori) or Korean board games (Yutnori), and class discussions about food. Among secondary school teachers, K-pop, Korean TV dramas, and food were the top choices for integrating culture into the language instruction.

Study results showed that teachers could use songs and K-pop effectively in their language teaching practices.

The study results showed that young learners engaged more actively in classes that included activities such as listening to music, singing, playing games, and in classes where technology was used. This led study co-authors to suggest that activities such as online blog making, mock online K-pop singing contests, and Instagram postings for K-pop stars who were fan favorites of the learners, could be utilized based on ACTFL language learning standards. The researchers explained that these types of activities would allow teachers to incorporate classroom projects based on K-pop into their instruction and that this would facilitate a transition to student-centered learning where students would acquire skills in the use of technology, creativity, and collaboration.

While the microteaching demonstrations showed that teachers could use songs and K-pop effectively in their instruction, the study co-authors noted that some of the participants were still wary about whether these activities would satisfy Korean language curriculum requirements. One of the participants commented, “Teachers must follow the school curriculum and cover all contents of given textbooks each year. In many cases, the content of cultural classes is far from the theme of that given chapter.” Some teacher participants also expressed concern that it would be challenging and time-consuming to adapt certain contemporary Korean cultural artifacts, such as K-pop, so that it would be presented in a form appropriate for young students in primary grades.

Researchers concluded that despite these concerns articulated by the study participants, the teachers were successful in using modern day Korean culture such as K-pop, as a tool that helped them provide their students with effective learner-centered instruction. The study co-authors recommended that further professional development and training programs could be developed to further help teachers with the integration of Korean culture in language instruction.

For more information on embedding Korean pop culture into Korean language instruction, read this article by faculty at George Mason University’s School of Education. Mason’s Foreign Language Education program equips students with the skills needed to prepare children in K-12 to live and work in today’s globally interconnected world as interculturally competent, bi-multilingual individuals. To learn more, visit the program website.