Min Jung Jee

This study examined the affective experiences of university KFL learners in Australian classrooms, focusing on foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language anxiety (FLA) and their relationships with affective variables, including motivation, resilience, and attitudes, as well as K-culture attractiveness and self-rated Korean proficiency. Sixty-five students completed an online survey comprising eight scales and two open-ended questions eliciting enjoyable and anxious classroom episodes. Descriptive results showed high FLE ( M = 4.22) driven by teacher appreciation ( M = 4.72) and personal enjoyment ( M = 4.47), albeit with comparatively lower social enjoyment ( M = 3.40). FLA scored moderate to high ( M = 3.86), with similar levels across fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, and communication apprehension. In contrast, demotivation ( M = 2.00) and boredom ( M = 1.76) were low. Correlational and regression analyses indicated that enjoyment aligned with engagement-related resources and positive orientations, whereas anxiety was most closely linked to demotivation and boredom; self-rated proficiency was positively related to FLE and negatively related to FLA. Qualitative responses corroborated these patterns. As one of the first holistic investigations of both positive and negative affect among university KFL learners in an Australian context, this study offers practical implications for classroom practice and curriculum design.

This study investigated a comprehensive profile of 55 1.5- and second-generation Koreans living in Australia in terms of cultural adaptation (i.e., sociocultural adjustment and psychological well-being), acculturation strategies and individual background. In particular, through a survey, this study focused on the relationships among the variables (i.e., acculturation strategies, cultural adaptation, and individual background) and the factors that influence cultural adaptation. Overall, the participants showed a high level of adjustment to Australian society and good mental health. Their preferred acculturation strategy was integration, and they maintained Korean as their heritage language quite well. Self-rated Korean language proficiency was identified as an influencing factor for sociocultural adjustment and psychological well-being, indicating the importance of heritage language maintenance and education for 1.5- and second-generation Koreans. English language proficiency or majority language proficiency was a contributing factor for sociocultural adjustment, while marginalization had a negative effect on mental health. Implications and suggestions for improving the sociocultural adjustment of 1.5- and second-generation Koreans in Australia while maintaining good mental health are discussed.

Understanding minority groups' acculturation attitudes and their impact on sociocultural and psychological adaptation is crucial for host countries to create environments conducive to the successful settlement of these groups. To that end, this study seeks to determine the potential influence of diverse acculturation strategies on the adaptation of first-generation South Korean immigrants across sociocultural and psychological domains. To do this, a comprehensive online survey was completed by 149 first-generation South Korean immigrants. The findings revealed a moderate level of sociocultural adaptation and psychological well-being among participants. The most preferred acculturation strategy was integration, followed by separation, assimilation, and marginalization. The predictors of sociocultural adjustment involved proficiency in the host country's language or English, gender, and integration. At the same time, marginalization, assimilation, host country language proficiency, and integration emerged as influential factors in determining psychological well-being. Together, these finding indicate that individual variables exerted a more pronounced influence on sociocultural adjustment, whereas acculturation attitudes exhibited a greater impact on mental health. Moreover, proficiency in the host country's language was found to significantly impact both the sociocultural adjustment and psychological well-being of first generation South Korean immigrants in Australia.

This study explores the role of parental ideologies in heritage language (HL) maintenance among three interlingual families in New Zealand. This study draws on data from semi-structured interviews with Korean immigrant mothers and non-Korean fathers. A thematic approach was used to analyze the data. The findings in this study revealed that the three families placed great value in Korean HL maintenance. All three family language policies (FLPs) centered around a “One Person, One Language” approach, with the mothers using Korean. However, there were still wide-ranging variations in their FLPs. Moreover, the mothers’ attitudes toward HL learning were related to their perceptions of their children’s identities, which affected their HL-teaching strategies. The mothers’ HL maintenance efforts were possible because of their partners’ support. However, their husbands’ positive attitudes were also clearly associated with heteronormative gender roles and a related ideology of parenting. The findings suggest that even in positive FLP contexts, there is thus still a role for a more holistic and critical approach to HL maintenance.

This study investigated heritage language (HL) maintenance and ethnic identity among Korean heritage speakers in the Pacific region (Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii), an understudied population in the field. It focused on patterns of language use and factors (i.e. age at immigration (AI), self-rated language proficiency, and frequency of language use) influencing Korean heritage speakers’ self-defined identity. A total of 167 Korean immigrant adults aged 18–40 completed an online survey regarding their HL (i.e. Korean) and majority language (ML) (i.e. English) use in everyday contexts (e.g. with family members and at work), their self-rated HL and ML proficiency, and their sense of identity. The survey results showed high HL use with parents/grandparents at home, high self-rated HL proficiency, and a strong sense of identity as Korean, among participants across the three locations. However, as with other ethnic minority communities, they tended to use ML more than HL in most of their daily activities, and with their siblings and friends, indicating a perceptible shift towards ML. This supports the findings of previous studies conducted in North America. Notably, this study found that AI was significantly correlated to the participants’ self-identification. Regional differences were discussed, along with recommendations for future research.