A Handbook for Teaching Korean-speaking Students

Book excerpt: A handbook designed to facilitate effective instruction of Korean immigrant students in California has five parts. The first gives an overview of the language group, outlining their socioeconomic experience in California and the United States, reasons for immigrating, the Korean educational system, and attitudes toward schooling and involvement with the schools. The second section describes historical and sociocultural factors concerning the Korean language in both Korea and California, including the literacy rate and attitudes, attitudes toward certain language skills, training in and use of English in Korea and within the Korean community in California, community efforts to develop children's language skills, and use of Korean in the California Korean community. The third section discusses Korean linguistic characteristics, such as its history, the distribution of dialects, phonology, grammar, morphology, characteristics of the writing system, and cultural patterns reflected in language use. Section 4 recommends instructional and curricular strategies for Korean and English language development, concerning cognitive factors in primary and secondary language devlopment, readiness skills for formal language instruction, transfer of skills, and development of additive bilingualism, A final section list references, readings, district Korean enrollments, Korean holidays and special events, and organizational, community, and other instructional resources. (MSE)