한국 성인 학습자의 영어에 대한 요구 조사 : K사이버대학생을 중심으로

An analysis of English needs of Korean adult learners: Focusing on students in K Cyber University

This study examined Korean adults’ needs of English and related factors, and then identified what should be considered when managing English programs for them. An online survey was conducted to 210 university students who enrolled in a cyber university in Korea. In data analysis, descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA were used. The main findings are as follows: 1) Regardless of individual variables, most respondents replied that they need English. Even those who do not use English in their lives felt the need of English strongly. This result shows the importance of English in the Korean society; 2) Although most respondents have jobs, they want to learn general English rather than English for Specific Purposes (ESP). In the ELT field, ESP has been a keyword for teaching English for adults, but the result of this study is contradicted, which should be paid more attention; and 3) As reasons to motivate them to learn English, being English as an international language and work purpose are frequently chosen, however, traveling overseas is another frequent choice. It shows that the ELT needs also follow the trend of the Korea society where overseas traveling is one of the activities Korean people want to do in recent years. This study has an implication of showing Korean adults’ needs of English, some of them are contradictory to the previous ELT studies. On the basis of these results, related suggestions for ELT programs for Korean adults are provided.