Language Ideologies and Bilingual Education: A Korean-American Perspective

Abstract

This paper is an ethnographic record of an ongoing journey during which I have tried to understand the kinds of language ideologies that my students and I have constructed about the Korean language. My students are mainly Korean-American university students who have never successfully achieved native fluency in their heritage language, although several attended Korean Saturday schools as children. A special expression, ‘FOB’ (Fresh Off the Boat), which I discovered during this journey, proved crucial to my understanding of my students' language ideology about the Korean language. My language ideology and that of my students appeared to be in conflict. My students were highly motivated to learn Korean, but they were opposed to Korean–English two-way immersion (TWI) programmes. I, however, strongly favoured these programmes. After a process of reflection, debate, journaling and interviewing, I reached a new understanding, reconciling the apparent ideological conflict that has separated me from my students. My findings suggest that ideologies towards the Korean language are inextricably bound to their views on English proficiency and Korean immigrants.