수업언어로서의 영어 사용에 대한 재조명 : 수업 중 관찰된 특징과 교사들의 교수이론을 토대로

Revisiting the controversial issue of using English as the major medium of instruction: Based on the observed features and practicing teachers' theory

This study revisited the use of the target language to teach it, which has been one of the controversial issues in foreign language education. It study also reports on the choice of instructional medium, the degree of English/Korean use, and the characteristics of English actually used in primary English language classrooms. 3 issues have initiated this study, they are: the contextual situation of English education, the contention surrounding instructional medium, and the needs for understanding of the teaching/learning process from the teacher perspectives. Naturalistic observation in 49 on-going classes and extensive interviews and conversations with 5 different primary school teachers were conducted. The results revealed that, while the externally observed features of language use varied by teachers, their teaching behaviors were identified to have a strong inter-relation with the teachers' internalized theory, as opposed to policy-driven prescriptions on English teaching. The findings are interpreted as an indication of a conflict between the national curriculum and policy, and the teachers' prime concern on teaching the objective content rather than on using authentic English for communicative purposes in the classroom. It concludes with a claim for bottom-up approach with further empirical and experiential practice-based research in order to provide an integrated framework of English education.