한국 이공계 대학원 외국인 유학생의 언어 사용과 인식 연구

A Study on the Language Usage and Perception of International Students at Graduate Schools of Sciences and Engineering in Korea: Focusing on In-school Situation

The purpose of this study is to investigate, mainly in school situations, the usage of languages by international students admitted to graduate schools of science and engineering in Korea and examine their views on the usage. To this end, this study investigated which language is mainly used, English or Korean, in three significant in-school situations: classes, laboratories, and administration. Further, the level of Korean proficiency for the above three situations private conversations with professors and colleagues and daily life outside of school - were identified. This study also asked questions about the language environment they considered in the stage of graduate school selection and the desired language environment for the university they attended. It also examined their thoughts on the recommended TOPIK grade as admission and graduation requirements. Through this survey, this study confirmed that English is used as the dominant medium of instruction and academic language in most domestic science and engineering graduate schools. This research also found that international students hardly felt the need for high-level Korean proficiency. This study concluded that English and Korean form a kind of “diglossia” at domestic graduate schools, especially science and engineering graduate schools.