중등학교 영어교육에서의 문화지도 방향

On directions for teaching culture in secondary school English education: Introducing Korean culture for foreigners

This paper aims at studying foreigners’ areas of interest in Korean culture in order to give directions for secondary school English education in this global world, where English is the language for intercultural communication. One important goal of English education should be to develop students’ intercultural communicative competence in the sense that they will be able to introduce their culture to those from other countries while maintaining their own identity. Based on the review of relevant literature, 42 areas of culture were identified in three categories: products, behaviors and ideas. Responses on the survey questionnaire were then analyzed from 121 foreign participants taking Korean in two different language institutes in Seoul. Four Korean tourist guides were also interviewed. Students as a whole were found to be most interested in culture in the area of ideas followed by behaviors and products. Some differences were also found according to their sex, nationality, major, education, and so on. It is suggested that Korean students in secondary schools be taught Korean culture with focus on ideas and behaviors without excluding products so that they will be able to introduce them to the foreigners here and abroad according to their interests.