『 国【寄』ISSN 2186-2044

10 号 別刷】

Moving Towards an Inclusive Classroom
in Korean as a Foreign Language Education:
A Qualitative, In-depth Interview Study

JUNG Jonghee

国

学会
年

Moving Towards an Inclusive Classroom
in Korean as a Foreign Language Education:
A Qualitative, In-depth Interview Study

JUNG Jonghee
This paper analyses the study of Korean as a foreign language for students in Japan who
have special learning needs. Interviews were conducted with three students who sufferfrom learning difficulties including orthostatic circulation disorder, dyslexia and nerval
damage. Face-to-face interviews were given to two students with special needs and a
student supporter at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific (Beppu, Oita prefecture, Japan) University.
The resulting learning barriers can be divided into two areas. The first is the learning
difficulties for general classes not limited to Korean language classes. The second
addresses the difficulties that arose specifically during Korean language classes. These
interviews allow us to gain a better understanding of the students with special needs, aswell as the considerations that are necessary from the academic support, in order toprovide an inclusive and diverse education for both students with or without special
needs.

1. Introduction
25 ea ha e a ed i ce he Sala a ca S a e e
P i ci le , P lic , a d
P ac ice i S ecial Need Ed ca i a d a F a e
k f Ac i
a fi ad pted in
1994. A variety of educators from all over the world put together their experiences ande e iee he g al f Ed ca i f All . Wha hi e l ed i a a g ad alshift from the concept of integration to that of inclusive education. This shift
addresses the dualistic concept for supporting students that need special consideration,and thus placing emphasis on the importance of Universal Design for Learning aroundthe world.
Promising results can be seen in the field of foreign language education, especiallyin the field of second language acquisition and multi-cultural education. However,these results are limited to that of English related language education and research onother foreign languages are lacking. It is also vital to recognize the big difference
between the study of a language as a native language subject compared to the study of77

a language as a foreign language subject.
Thus, this paper will address the concept of inclusive education for Korean as a
Foreign Language Education (KFL) in Japan. As mentioned above, this is different tothe study of Korean as an official language in Korea. Instead, this paper focuses onclassroom based KFL learning for students with special needs through the method ofinterviewing. The interviews aim to gain further understanding to what it is that thesestudents really need and what is necessary in order to achieve an inclusive KFL classenvironment. It is important to note that this study took place in Japan and withstudents who are currently attending a Japanese University. As a result, there are some
limitations from the Japanese education system itself. In addition, this study also
included the interview with a student supporter. This study will touch upon possible
improvements to the Unive i ie acade ic, cla
c ic la d
implementation, and finally the unique characteristics of KFL, while seeking tofurther our understanding on how to provide a more inclusive learning environmentfor KFL classes.

2. Methods
2.1 Students with Special Needs
This study originally took place with 3 students with special needs, however as one
student took leave of absence, the interview took place with the student supporter who
took notes for the student in need of special assistance instead.
Table 1. Interviewee and the learning difficulties
Interviewee

GenderUniversity

Learning

NativeYear

Difficulties

Language

Student A

M

4Student B

M

1

Student C

F

1

Orthostatic
circulation disorder
Dyslexia
Nerval damage(Right arm)

Korean Language
Learning
Experience(Hour)Japanese

250-300H

English30-40HJapanese

10-20H

Student A suffers from Orthostatic Circulation Disorder after suffering from a heatstroke in the second year of high-school. In the mornings, Student A has difficulty78

getting up due to insufficient blood flow to the head from low blood pressure,
followed by severe dizziness and nausea. These symptoms usually subside by theevening, but a lot of times the constant dizziness makes it difficult to concentrate inclass. When these symptoms first started, it caused Student A to suffer fromdepressions and thus take half a year of absence from high school. Although thesymptoms have improved by the time Student A entered university, there was an
episode when student A went on a short term 5 weeks exchange to Seoul but was
unable to return to Japan due to a sudden relapse.
Student B has dyslexia and needs extra time and effort for cognitive processes
especially speaking and comprehension. Student B was in the UK from elementary
school to high school with a Japanese mother and British father. From University
onwards, Student A decided to study in Japan but felt disoriented due to the lack ofacademic support compared to back in the UK. By using a keyboard on a laptop,
Student B is able to convey their own thoughts without trouble which would
otherwise be extremely difficult when trying to write by hand in a traditionalclassroom environment. This learning barrier is present for Student B in all languages
including his native language English, as well as his second language Japanese andKorean.
Student C suffered from a traffic accident which resulted in nerval damage in thearms and their inability to take notes. Student C also suffered from minor head injuries
which resulted in frequent dizziness and inability to concentrate for long hours. Due tothe symptoms worsening, Student C had to take a leave of absence and thus aninterview could not take place. Instead, an interview took place with the student
supporter who directly helped Student C take notes during Korean language classes.
This student supporter is a native Korean speaker and it was their first experience as anote-taker.

2.2 Interview
In 2019, from October until the end of November, the individual interviews with
Student A, Student B a d S de C
dee
k lace. The i e ie
ranged from roughly 40 minutes to an hour and were all recorded. Interview
questions include:“Wha ki d fdha e a d i ce he ?

“What were the difficulties you encountered due to your disability when studying Korean as af eig la g age?

79

“D

ha e aecificeh d /

a egie haed K ea ?

“Wha ki d fdih

had a dld likeecei e i

he f

e? .

As a direct interview with Student C could not take place, the pre-class interview
between Student C, and an in-depth interview with the student supporter werereferred to for this study.

2.3 Data Analysis
This interview uses the technique of hidden issue questioning and symbolic
analysis. These techniques were implemented by asking the students to describe
their preadolescent years until their current situation at University in chronologicalde idegai a dee e
de a di g f each i di id al e e ie ce a dtroubles. Questions include:
“Wha

ld ha

“Wha if i

a Chi e e cla

e if

l e he acade ic

a ec

e l

ecei i g?

a he ha K ea cla ?

were asked in order understand and analyze what is the priority to the students.

3. Results
3.1 Lack of Professional Assessments
All three students are grateful for the availability of counselling sessions and the provision
fa e e f
ecial c ide a i b he U i e i ffice
he e ec i e eache .
There are however, discontent regarding the process leading to the determination on whatkind of special considerations to provide, as well as how these decisions are made by staff
who are not professional in the field. On top of that, the assigned university staff is constantly
changing which results in a lot of stress for the students. This mediation between theuniversity, staff and student as well as lack of professional help may be leading to an
inefficient understanding of the disability the students are facing.
Student A is com a a i el a i fied i h hi life a i e i . D e
de A diffic lin getting up in the mornings, he tries to avoid first period classes, although if there is a classthey have to take then they will register for it. Student A needs to put in the most effort for
Korean language classes and has not skipped any first period classes. However, as student A
suffers from dizziness and is unable to concentrate during class, Student A would be grateful80

if it was possible to take the first period classes remotely. For student A, once the symptoms
start to show as long as he can get somewhere to rest then the symptoms get better. Hence, if
there was some sort of resting space available then it would help Student A stay on campus
until the evening.
Student B had been receiving generous support during the 12 years he was studying in theUK, which is why they currently feel lost with the lack of support in Japan. For Korean
language classes, Student B applied for permission to use the computer for the exams as
opposed to writing by hand, but was rejected. Student B has difficulty keeping up with
Korean classes due to the speed of the curriculum as well as being unable to take notes fastenough. Student B believes that if resources were provided in a digital form as well as having
the lectures recorded, it would be extremely useful in helping him keep up with class.
Reading and comprehension are extremely time consuming for Student B, thus his mostsuitable learning styles are by listening to recordings and repeating afterwards.
S de Ce ake
ggled a fi d e bei g able kee
i h he eed f heeache e la a ihe b a d. S de Ce ake a ablee c e hi b
speaking to the teacher and receiving the corresponding resources and material which is thenha ed i h S de C G gle d i e al g i h he e ake
ed e . A eaki g
was not allowed during the lessons, the notetaker was unable to communicate with student C
and thus the manner in which the notes e e ake e e lef
he e akej dg e .
At times Student C asked help from the notetaker regarding pronunciation, grammar or justfor having a conversation partner. However, student C was worried that the other students
would find it unfair that they were receiving special consideration.
The issue here is that despite having reasonable special considerations available, there is alack of a correct assessment of these special needs. Generally speaking, in order to receive
special consideration, medical proof is necessary. However, it is important to also havespecial consideration for symptoms that are not diagnosed but still result in the obstruction tolearning. In the case of Student B who did not have the official diagnosis of dyslexia but
struggled with learning from reading texts, he found it extremely difficult to keep up with acurriculum heavily based on text comprehension for both the classes and the exams. This
could be improved with the introduction of voice overs or more listening resources as
opposed to only text. In the case of Student C, the problems were due to the lack of guidance
regarding the notetaking process. Thus, if the University staff and people in charge were able
to provide more detailed guidance then it would have helped put Student C at ease and allow
Student C to integrate in the class better.

81

3.2 The Need of Radical Change of Curriculum
S de Ae hede e e hich ea ha S de A ggle
with group work and presentations. For Korean language classes, there is basicallygroupwork everyday as well as pair work for conversation practice. Student A finds that thegroup work is excessive and wished that there were more activities that could be done alone.
Student B has difficulties with reading and takes time to process the information, thus isunable to answer questions immediately. As a result, Student B struggles to keep up withgroup and pair work, while Student B finds it much easier to relax and concentrate foractivities that can be done alone. Student B also finds that there are too many language
classes in a week that lasts 95 minutes each. If the classes were reduced to once or twice a
week, then Student B believes that he can put more time into studying without too muchpressure. On top of that, classwork is heavily based on writing, thus Student B wished that
there was more leeway in letting them type on a computer or at least allow them to take thework home to finish as homework at his own pace.
Student C struggles to concentrate throughout the whole class due to the long period of 95
minutes. Student C believes it would be better if the class periods were shorter and had more
breaks. On top of that, Student C wished that the resources used in class could be provided
online for revision.
Japanese Universities share a fixed academic structure and thus it is difficult to change
issues related class structure and exams. However, issues regarding class content are in thehands of the teachers and they also hold the power over the method of grading as well as
introduction of a variety of learning objectives. By doing so, teachers can introduce different
learning purposes and allow students to learn according to the method best suited forthemselves. Learning methods that cater to each individual student will also allow teachers toevaluate their performance more accurately. All these are important class content relatedchanges that are worth considering.

4. Discussion
4.1 Well-structured Class for Optimized Learning
One of the fundame al i ci le f i cl i e ed ca i ieach i a a e ha ieade a d. Ea
de a d efe
he e ha i
he a kledge itransferred from teacher to student by simplifying jargons and complicated concepts in a waythat students can absorb and retain. For example, when using the board, the teacher can
divide the board into two sections; one for teaching the class material, the other for82

vocabulary that requires special attention. Other examples include the use of images andvideos.

4.2 Diverse Methods of Approach to Reach the Learning Objectives
When aiming towards a learning objective in class, it is important to implement diverse
methods of approach. The use of a variety of multimedia is vital for teaching in an inclusive
learning environment. This is especially relevant for students that have learning disabilities as
there currently is not a good balance of Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing in class.
Especially since most students with learning disabilities struggle with a particular area. Afterall, language classes are heavily based on Reading, but some students struggle to learn from
Reading whereas they do fine if the content was communicated through sound andrecordings. Thus, it is vital that teachers take he delea i g le i c ide a i
and aim to provide classes that have a balance of Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing.

4.3 Test and Evaluation
As mentioned earlier, the introduction of a variety of learning objectives is important, andthus the method of evaluation then becomes an area of consideration. For example, with thelea i g bjec i e ch a be able b hi g i K ea a d be ablehli e iK ea , he cla ca be di ided i g
ha d le la , watch videos on a shopping
scene and a group that writes a shopping request letter to a Korean friend. In this example, it
becomes a problem to try and decide an evaluation system because there are too many
variables to evaluate. Despite these difficulties, it does not change the fact that it is importantto think about what we can do to improve the curriculum and achieve a classroom
environment of inclusive education.

5. Limitations of the Study
This study was only on 3 students taking KFL classes in a Japanese University.
Due to the small sample size, the results of this study cannot be used to infer thegeneral population and cannot be used to prove any correlations. It is also importantto point out that this study took place in Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University where
the KFL curriculum differs significantly with the KFL classes of other Japanese
Universities. There are also many other learning disabilities this study was unable totake in account for and the research beforehand needs improvement. Despite these83limitations, this study provides insight into this field that is still lacking in researchand can be a useful resource for other academics seeking to research further. As
more data is collected on students suffering from the same learning disabilities, itwill help path a way towards a better and more inclusive KFL classroom
environment.

Acknowledgement
I would like to offer my gratitude for the three students who agreed to the interview.
From the bottom of my heart I truly hope we will have a learning environment in the
future where these students will be able to study without any barriers.

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Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Center for Language Education)
jungjh@apu.ac.jp85

韓国語教育研究 第号

2020 年 9 月 15 日 発行

発行者

文 慶喆

発行所

日本韓国語教育学会

編集者

印刷所

〒577-8052 大阪府東大阪市小若江 3-4-1
近畿大学 国際学部 酒勾康裕 研究室気付『韓国語教育研究』編集委員会
金世徳、柳朱燕株式会社 仙台共同印刷