Volume 1, Issue 1 April 2020, pp. 14–30
Articles
Factors affecting immigrants' host country language proficiency: Focusing on the differences between migrant workers and marriage-migrant women in South Korea
In Young Yang 1, Seongseog Park
2, Sungjun Lee
3, & Byeonggon Min
4
1 Seowon University, SOUTH KOREA
2 Chuncheon National University of Education, SOUTH KOREA
3 Seoul National University, SOUTH KOREA
4 Seoul National University, SOUTH KOREA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/mle.v1n1.125
Abstract
This study aims to reveal significant factors affecting the Korean language proficiency of immigrants in Korea by comparing the two immigrant groups, migrant workers and marriage-migrant women, that constitute the largest sector of the foreign-born population in Korea. A comprehensive survey was conducted on a total of 136 migrant workers and 136 marriage-migrant women. A statistical analysis was followed adopting stepwise multiple regression on six independent variables (age at arrival, length of residence, education level, linguistic distance, intensity of target language use, and learning time at institutions) and one dependent variable (self-reported language proficiency). Results show that length of residence in Korea and intensity of target language use significantly contributed to the Korean language proficiency of marriage-migrant women, whereas age at arrival, intensity of target language use, and education level played a significant role in the development of language proficiency of migrant workers in Korea. Educational implications are discussed, and suggestions are made for expanding language educational support for migrant workers.
Copyright
© In Young Yang, Seongseog Park, Sungjun Lee, Byeonggon Min
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Yang, I.Y., Park, S., Lee, S., & Min, B. (2020). Factors affecting immigrants' host country language proficiency: Focusing on the differences between migrant workers and marriage-migrant women in South Korea. Migration and Language Education , 1(1), 14–30. https://doi.org/10.29140/mle.v1n1.125
Related Articles:
Promoting acts of kindness on campus: Views of Chinese international students in the UK
Ming Cheng, Olalekan Adekola
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 30 April, 2022, Volume 5(1), 17–32.
Tasks, self-efficacy, and L2 motivational self system in an online emergency EFL speaking class: A mixed-methods study
Nguyễn Nhật Quang, Phạm Nhật Linh, Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 2 April, 2022, Volume 18(1), 1–33.
Implementing backward design to foster intercultural communicative competence in textbook-based curricula: A proposed framework for English language practitioners
Hiba B. Ibrahim
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 30 April, 2022, Volume 5(1), 1–16.
Challenges and responses: A Complex Dynamic Systems approach to exploring language teacher agency in a blended classroom
Grace Yue Qi, Yuping Wang
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 9 April, 2022, Volume 18(1), 54–82.
The effects of corpus use on learning L2 collocations
Yoshiho Satake
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 9 April, 2022, Volume 18(1), 34–53.
Captions and learnability factors in learning grammar from audio-visual input
Anastasia Pattemore, Carmen Muñoz
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 9 April, 2022, Volume 18(1), 83–109.
Chinese language learners evaluating machine translation accuracy
Li-Ching Chang
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 9 April, 2022, Volume 18(1), 110–136.
Statistical analysis of the impact of the e-learning platform Furago on French learners’ listening skills
Albéric Derible, Éric Wiel
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 9 April, 2022, Volume 18(1), 137–161.
Work integrated language learning: Boundary crossing, connectivity, and L2 affordances
Linda Febring, Alastair Henry
Migration and Language Education Published: 29 April, 2022, Volume 3(1), 1–22.
YouTube for second language learning: What does the research tell us?
Gilbert Dizon
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 30 April, 2022, Volume 5(1), 19–26.