Affordances, challenges, and possibilities of Hallyu in the classroom: Korean language instructors’ perspectives

Abstract

The intense popularity of Korean pop culture, known as Hallyu, which has increased interest in Korean language learning, is just one example of a pop-culture-driven globalising language. In the wake of such globalisation, language instructors must be responsive to the evolving needs of their learners, but few studies address how language instructors respond to such changes. Through a qualitative, thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with six language instructors of Korean, this study investigates how the globalisation of Korean media and cultural products has impacted these language instructors’ teaching contexts as well as their responses to these changes. While Hallyu can serve as a motivational tool in the classroom, instructor perspectives underscore challenges in incorporating such content. Specifically, concerns about cultural and linguistic authenticity and tensions between heritage and non-heritage learners in relation to Hallyu’s impact on the language classroom emerged from the data. We draw on these findings to put forth actionable recommendations and strategies that address prevalent pedagogical issues of fostering engaging, effective, and inclusive language instruction.