Dialogic Pedagogy: Teaching English Literature in Korean Classrooms

Most of my students taking English literature courses have tended to be inactive and to have an anxiety about presenting their own views on literary texts. Many students preferred just listening to a lecture passively in their safe zone without being disturbed. I, however, am skeptical about passive learning because students have a better chance of realizing their potential when they participate in class actively. I think dialogic teaching can be a pedagogical alternative to a traditional lecture which allows students to be passive and uninvolved in class activities. Dialogue is not a one-sided but a two/multi-sided communication. And individuals grow through dialogic communications. Therefore, dialogic teaching which welcomes dialogues and communications does not look for only one monologic, authoritative and right answer/truth in classrooms. Dialogic teaching gives students voices and makes them creative as well. This paper deals with the possibility of dialogic teaching in English literature classes for Korean students. Firstly, the cultural backgrounds which make dialogic teaching difficult in Korean classrooms are discussed. In particular, Confucian virtues which can be obstacles to dialogic teaching are examined. Secondly, I explore the dynamics of dialogism which can be applied to teaching English literature, dealing with Paulo Freire’s pedagogy. Thirdly, I go over one of my English literature classes in which Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” has been discussed. And finally, I examine what the four-step routine is and how it works for dialogic teaching. Dialogic teaching makes students’ potential realized and their voices heard. Students learn how to communicate with each other, acknowledging the self-other relationship in a dialogic classroom. With supporting students’ growth, teachers are transformed as well.