Abstract
The unprecedented crisis of the pandemic has brought about major changes in Korean language teaching around the world. With face-to-face classes no longer possible, Korean language educators have had to find new ways to teach, and learn how to use tools that were previously used only as a supplement to their primary teaching methods.
Korean language teaching during the pandemic pushed the boundaries of digitalisation, creating a space for exploring not only new solutions, but also better uses and combinations of existing tools. Even now that the pandemic has subsided, many Korean language educators have not forgotten the results of these efforts and are actively using them as assets for effective Korean cultural education.
New Challenges and Explorations in Post-Pandemic Korean Language Teaching includes not only contributions with the main theme of Korean language teaching during the pandemic, but also classical phonetics, grammar, semantics, translation, culture, history, and other studies covering various aspects of Korean language teaching. This volume contains contributions presented at a hybrid format workshop held at the Department of Asian Studies, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, from 29 September to 2 October 2022. The authors of this volume are not affiliated with the European Association of Korean Language Educators (EAKLE), nor are their activities limited to European countries, nor are their contents limited to Korean language education. As all EAKLE members work extensively in the field, and the main goal is to meet fellow educators, share their experiences and expertise, and improve their teaching and pedagogy, the content of each section of this book is diverse.
Part 1 is devoted to teaching Korean through various teaching methods and virtual classrooms, Part 2 to teaching Korean through Korean culture and translation, Part 3 to teaching Korean through vocabulary and grammar, Part 4 to teaching Korean through learners and teaching materials, and Part 5 to teaching Korean through hanja and Korean language.
Global interest in the Korean language and culture has continued unabated through the pandemic and is only growing. This explosion of interest has led to new changes in the teaching of Korean as a foreign language. Not only has there been a sharp increase in the demand for students to learn Korean at universities in Europe and other countries around the world, but it has also led to the creation of new study programmes and related jobs, as well as innovative changes in teaching methods, learning tools, and educational materials.
The impact of the pandemic on Korean language education cannot be characterised simply as negative. Many educators realised the need for distance learning through the pandemic and made great efforts and creativity to implement it. In the meantime, they experimented with the functions of various programs and applications, digitised materials, used tools such as videos, shared relevant information, and tried to push the boundaries of Korean language education.
New Challenges and Explorations in Korean Language Teaching After the Pandemic provides exemplary solutions and processes in this regard. This book is a valuable guide for all educators struggling to prepare for the post-pandemic era in Korean language education around the world.