여성 결혼이민자의 ‘국적취득 준비 한국어 수업’ 경험을 통한 정체성 탐색 연구

Exploring the Sense of Identity of Female Marriage Immigrants through the Experience of Korean Class for Nationality Acquisition Preparation Program

The objective of this study is to explore the sense of identity of the female marriage immigrants in relation to their experience of participation in the “Korean Class for Nationality Acquisition Preparation Program”. This study aimed particularly to thoroughly examine through classroom observation and in-depth interviews what the female marriage immigrants’ perception of the Korean language would be like and what changes occurred in their sense of identity through the participation experience in the “Korean Class for Nationality Acquisition Preparation Program”. This study found that the female marriage immigrants’ active class participation and their purposes of Korean language learning were not just related to learning the language itself, but also to developing and reinforcing their sense of identity. First, the female marriage immigrants were aware that it is essential to understand the Korean language in settling down in Korea and Korean language can have economic value in combination with their native language. Moreover, they were found to actively invest their time and effort in learning the Korean language as a means of self-realization, which enhanced their learning motivation. Second, the active class participation of female marriage immigrants showed that their purpose for the program is to adapt to Korean society better, rather than to acquire nationality itself since they perceived themselves as a social and cultural subject who voluntarily migrated. In addition, their self-efficacy was improved through the interaction with surrounding people in this process. Third, the female marriage immigrants tried to establish their roles at home as wives and mothers by improving their knowledge and Korean language skills through the program. In particular, their sense of identity as a mother who can guide children’s education became stronger. It can be seen that they strengthened their sense of identity positively, constantly negotiating for it through various experiences through the class participation process and learning contents.