Hemispheric styles and attitudes towards English language learning among Korean students

Abstract

The use of English as an international language becomes more significant and widespread all throughout the world. Koreans are not an exception to the English language mania. The phenomenon Korean students flocking the Philippines gave rise to a lot of EFL academies located in different parts of the country. In this regard, EFL teachers must have the skills to help foreign students learn English and be active participants in the classroom. To be a teacher is a challenging job especially for an ESL teacher. A teacher must be competent in handling his students. One challenge for teachers is to be active and humorous teacher. Moreover, he or she must be familiar with the attitudes that affect the language learning of students. Every student has a different way in learning the language. Learning a language is affected by learner's attitudes. There's a need to be familiar with such attitudes for the teacher to the classroom conduct effective learning in By becoming more familiar with the hemispheric dominance of students and their attitudes towards English language learning. teachers are more able to understand him or her better. Such understanding would aid the teacher in choosing the suitable approach for teaching, selecting the instructional materials, and designing a specific curriculum and/ or program that will address the needs of the students. This thesis entitled, Hemispheric Styles and Attitudes towards English Language Learning among Korean Students aimed to investigate the hemispheric dominance of Korean students and their attitudes towards English language learning along affective, cognitive, and behavioral domains. Specifically, the study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the hemispheric dominance utilized by the Korean students in processing information? Hypothesis: The hemispheric dominance of Korean students is left hemisphere. 2. What are the attitudes of Korean students towards learning the English language along the following domains; a. affective b. cognitive c. behavioral Hypothesis: There is motivation along affective domain among the Korean students towards learning English language. 3. What is the correlation between hemispheric styles and attitudes in English language learning attitudes among Korean students? Hypothesis: There is a significant correlation between their hemispheric styles with their English language learning attitudes. 4. What instructional material can be developed suited in enhancing the attitudes and learning styles of Korean students? Based on the research problems, the following were the findings of this research: 1. The hemispheric dominance of Korean students was moderately right-brain oriented. 2.a) The attitudes of students along the affective domain were that respondents have confidence in improving their English language. b) The attitude of students along the cognitive domain was that students perceived English as an important and vital subject in their professional life and/or in their life in general. c) The attitude of students along the behavioral domain was positive in developing their English skills. 3. There was no significant correlation between hemispheric styles and attitudes towards English language learning. Based on the findings of the study, the following were the conclusions that the researcher had drawn: 1. Korean students were moderately right brain oriented. 2.a) Motivation was important to maintain positive attitude of Korean students. b) The importance of the English language was emphasized. c) Learning by doing was necessary in learning a new language. 3. Korean students must use effectively their hemispheric dominance in learning the English language. Good learning attitudes were also taken into account. 4. The recommended planner serves as a guide for students and teachers towards English language learning. The following were the recommendations of the researcher based on the findings and conclusions of this study: 1. A study may be conducted about the use of multi- media, Internet, printed materials, etc. in learning the English language effectively. Presently, Korean students are familiar with the use of multi-media. Internet can be a tool in learning the language. 2. The following activities may be conducted: first; learning activities to gauge students' interest in the language, second; following self-fulfilling prophecy in learning the language, and third; constructive feedback from teachers for skills enhancement. 3. Since Koreans have difficulty in improving their English skills, further research may be conducted on the cultural, socio-political, and psychological factors that affect the learning and learning attitudes of Korean students. 4. Since Koreans take short term courses in English in the Philippines, further studies may be done on how non-native speakers of English teach the language to Korean students more effectively. 5. Since some Koreans enroll English courses in Philippine universities, further studies may be done on how well Koreans are prepared to study in the tertiary level.