재미동포 아동의 문화 간 의사소통능력 신장을 위한 한국학 기반 문화 교육

Culture Education Based on Korean Studies to Develop Intercultural Communication Competence for Korean-American Children

The essence of Korean Culture Education for Korean-American Children is to instill an identity of a Korean-American. The priority should be given to develop intercultural communication competency and gain comparative perspectives through learning both Korean culture and American culture. In order for this to transpire, Korean culture education needs to be based on authentic Korean contents, and there is also a necessity for a curriculum that incorporates elements of Korean studies with American culture. In particular, since culture education is aimed for young children, it needs to be motivating and provoke cultural curiosity in children. Furthermore, appropriate cultural items need to be selected for students in order for them to relate with emotionally. In this study, the aim was to suggest a ‘Culture Education based on Korean Studies to develop Intercultural Communication Competence,’ and recommend ways to improve educational content and methodologies. The study proposed contents for a school curriculum fit for a 32 week curriculum at local Korean Language Schools. In particular, the proposed contents can be applied to class activities, such as Korean fairy tales, folk songs, traditional games which allow for a comparative perspective of Korean and American culture. In turn, this will allow heritage children to properly recognize the commonalities and cultural differences of the Korean and American local culture, and improve cultural sensitivity to act appropriately in each culture.