Learning Korean as an Act of Self-creation: Narratives of Foreign English Teachers in South Korea

Why are some people more motivated to learn languages than others? A person’s motivation can be understood as a complex phenomenon, influenced by individual and contextual factors like identity and ideology. In the present study, I adopt this perspective on motivation to explore the language learning decisions of a group to which I belong: foreign English teachers in South Korea. Foreign English teachers reside in a context where the Korean language predominates. Yet, research has shown that many do not invest much in learning Korean, while others learn it extensively. This disparity makes foreign teachers a prime candidate for motivational study, particularly as they operate in a context shaped by language ideologies: the English language education industry of Korea. In this study, I employ a theoretical framework that relates self-development decisions to identities and value systems: Foucault’s ethical self-formation. I present analysis of the long-term language learning narratives of six foreign English teachers, some of whom invested extensive effort into Korean, some of whom did not. I attend to the ways they variously saw Korean as a means to develop themselves or did not. I examine individual differences in motivation in relation to differing identities, values and goals, all in relation to the Korean ethnolinguistic context. Results indicate that the desire to acquire Korean for meaningful self-development was the most compelling sort of motivation for participants. Social and economic motivations were less influential because, as English speakers, they can survive in Korea without learning Korean. Participants’ narratives illustrate the ways that various identities – professional, ethnic, linguistic, etc. – influenced their language learning and use decisions. I provide details of these influences, and outline implications for stakeholders in the English education industry.