This study aims to develop a systematic and effective Korean language curriculum for learners from Arabic countries that have recently rose as economic partners and where Korean language education market is expanding.
To fulfill such purpose, the study looked through previous studies in three parts. First, it examined studies on Korean language education for the Arabic learners, analyzed curriculum operation of universities abroad with Korean language education system considering regional traits and reviewed studies on developing education curriculum based on a needs’ analysis. Likewise, this study aimed to find the discussable points and the direction of the study by analyzing previous studies.
The study is conducted on learners from 22 different countries that use Arabic as an official language. It surveyed the demands of learners who have taken Korean language courses as an elective or a major in their countries and also that of the instructors who taught these learners. Considering that the participants live abroad, the survey was done by letting participants participate by clicking the link of the survey on Google Docs.
For the qualitative discussion, the study takes a step forward from just reviewing the previous studies to comparing language and cultural differences of Arab and Korea in-depth. First, this study scientifically and deeply examined the phonemes, syllables, sentence structure, parts of speech and other linguistic features of Korean and Arabic. It is an undoubted fact that Arabic learners, whose language features from language families to orthography, pronunciation and grammar is entirely different, will have difficulty in learning Korean. Also, such difficulties are easily predictable especially because of Arabic’s uniqueness where written language is much more developed than spoken language. Therefore, considering such cultural and linguistic differences, a different approach is needed when teaching Korean to Arabic learners, different from learners from other cultural backgrounds. Moreover, when developing Korean education curriculum for Arabic learners, Arabic’s linguistic features, similarities and differences of the two languages should be considered, utilized and be reflected in the development process.
Next, the study looks at the cultural differences of Korea and Arab, taking into consideration the relationship between language and culture. Here, the study mainly focuses on how Islam, the religion that prevails in Arab culture, is being reproduced in the current Arab culture. In other words, through contrastive analysis between Arab culture’s unique features and the two languages, this study analyzes how the language and culture affects learning Korean and reflects the result in developing a relevant curriculum.
In chapter three, the study looks over the overall situation of the current Korean education and made a comparison analysis by dividing Korean language education into two: Korean as an elective or a major course. The history of Korean language education in Arab countries goes back to 1994 in Egypt. Currently, due to the Korean Wave (Hallyu) and increased interactions between countries, Korean is being taught in forms of an elective course or a foreign language course at approximately 30 different institutions in about 10 countries. Also, Korean as a major course has already been established in Jordan University in Jordan and in Aim Shams University in Egypt, influencing Middle East and Africa, respectively. Likewise, the study went through the current situation of Korean education and assessed the curriculum based on four factors: education period, number of classes, class materials and teachers or instructors of classes.
As a result, it was found that Jordan University, which emphasizes practical language, is operating a dual system that teaches Korean along with English. On the other hand, Aim Shams University teaches practical Korean during freshman and sophomore years and based on the acquired language skill, learners are provided with courses on Korean literature, linguistics, or history in junior and senior years, allowing learners to lay a foundation for Korean Studies. This study illustrates the analysis results of comparing the two institutions and makes a recommendation for successful development of Korean language education for Arabic learners.
The demand survey of learners and instructors, the most critical part of the study, is laid out in chapter four. The respondents of the elective Korean course survey are 243 people from 10 countries and that of Korean as a major course survey are 137 from two countries. Due to regional constraints, 68 instructors of elective Korean course and 45 of Korean major course participated. The questionnaire of the elective Korean course survey included general and education curriculum development inquiries, while that of Korean major course survey included general, Korean learning and curriculum development inquiries. Analyzing the results of surveys, this study suggests a result based on the comparison analysis between the demands of learners and instructors. This result was then, well-reflected and applied in the process of curriculum development suggested in chapter five.
To sum up, until chapter four, the study suggests a plan for curriculum development based on the results from each chapter. It clarifies the purpose and achievement goal of a course, establishment principle of a curriculum and a plan for curriculum establishment. Also, based on the establishment plan, the study selects optimal class materials and a plan for designing a syllabus.
The result of the needs analysis shows that the purpose of taking the course, both of the elective and major courses, is an effective communication with Korean people. This is because most of the learners aim to understand Korean culture, to study in Korea, or to find jobs in Korea with acquired language skill. Reflecting such trend, this study resets an achievement goal for Korean courses for these learners: for the elective course, level from elementary to intermediate 2nd is covered with the course titled “Elective Korean Course 1 to 4” and for the major course, the achievement goal tailored for each purpose is suggested. The study sets “communication skill” as the establishment principle of the curriculum and suggests a learner-centered education principle, taking in to consideration the uniqueness of Arabic culture. The result of contrastive analysis between Korean and Arabic culture was also reflected into an establishment principle. Based on such principle, the study proposes curriculum design plan of both elective and major courses.
In order to organize an optimal class material, the study first classifies courses into “elective Korean course one to four” and considered four factors: the subject, skill and task, vocabulary and culture. In particular, the major course was given specific contents for each grade and subjects, suggesting more specific and clear standard on how much a learner needs to learn and how deep and wide the learning should be carried out. To do so, contents of each class were sorted out and teaching method was also suggested.
Based on all these research results, the study also offers a plan for designing effective syllabus. It used the theory of subject-centered, skill-centered and task-centered syllabus. On top of all the theories, the linguistic difference between Korean and Arabic, cultural traits of the two world and the results of the needs analysis of learners and instructors were reflected to design syllabus for each course of “Elective Korean course one to four.”The syllabus of the major course was designed according to each grade sort out by language level (preliminary and high level two). The syllabus also reflected the results of the needs analysis on the area that respondents found difficult to learn or needed further guidance, the parts they considered insufficient in major courses and courses they wanted to additionally take.
Likewise, an adequate curriculum for learners should be designed according to purpose and educational environment, thereby providing Korean education that suits the purpose of each learner and to expand the overall Korean education market.
In order for a rapidly growing Korean education in the Middle East and Africa to take root, we first need basic research on Arabic learners. Based on this study, a curriculum that suits the education purpose and learner-centered teaching method should be developed and research on learning method and class material made in local language should be conducted. Also, to attract talented teachers from Korea and locally, the government should actively invest in Korean education. The number of King Sejong Institutes should be increased across the region in order to foster Korean education. Next, to discover and attract talented learners, scholarship program should be in place. This is crucial in increasing the demand for Korean education among foreigners. To increase the demand, close cooperation with local Korean companies is needed. Along with such support, if various cultural contents are provided, the number of Korean learners will further increase. This would lead to additional establishment of not only elective Korean courses but also of major courses, in turn, expanding exchanges of academic, human and material resources between countries.
Therefore, this study is expected to play its role as a base data for Korean education advancement in Arabic countries in Middle East and Africa. This study would lead to further in-depth and systematic follow-up studies on Korean education for Arabic learners.