2023, Vol.15, No.

Multi-cultural Society and Education Studies 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.74

pISSN : 2586-6206 / eISSN : 2713-7155
https://journal.kci.go.kr/MSES

In this paper we examined Korean language education methods using the folktale “Mago Halmi” for Chinese advanced-level learners. Folktales are an important tool in Korean language education, offering foreign learners insights into the characteristics of the Korean language and culture. In Korean folktale “Mago Halmi” is a female giant who possesses the characteristics of a goddess of the Earth, she is responsible for forming the initial terrain. This folktale can be used as an important resource to research Korean female culture. The educational significance of “Mago Halmi” can be examined from linguistic, cultural, and intercultural perspectives. Firstly, from a linguistic perspective, it emphasizes the importance and effective methods of learning Korean onomatopoeic and mimetic words. The use of onomatopoeic and mimetic words in Chinese are not as distinct, causing Chinese learners to face challenges when acquiring them in Korean. Secondly, from a cultural viewpoint, “Mago Halmi” deals with the transformation of the goddess figure and the changing status of women in society. It is rare for Korean folktales to feature an independent goddess figure. “Mago Halmi” provides detailed and abundant information about the world creation by the goddess, offering important clues for understanding the evolution of women’s status in Korean society. Lastly, through an intercultural approach, comparisons can be made between the Korean folktale “Mago Halmi” and the Chinese folktale “Pangu”. By doing so, learners can improve their ability to understand and coexist with various cultures while respecting cultural differences.

This study is a qualitative study to analyze social problems and discrimination in Korean society experienced by children from multicultural families. To this end, problems and phenomena were derived by analyzing the family environment, school, and social experiences through in-depth interviews with five children from multicultural families in their mid-20s who grew up in Korea. As a result of the study, children from multicultural families had an unstable childhood due to parental conflicts, were teased for their different appearance during school years, and experienced discrimination because they were children from multicultural families. Through this experience of Korean social adaptation, identity confusion and victimization were latent in the process of adulthood, and strong feelings of compassion were felt for foreign mothers. The derived phenomenon refers to the limitations of multicultural policies promoted so far, and it has been confirmed that children from multicultural families are exposed to discrimination due to incorrect social perceptions.

This study sheds light on the metacognition of Korean language(as a foreign language) teachers. Metacognition refers to the awareness of one’s knowledge and thought processes, as well as the regulation of these processes. Metacognition is mainly related to planning, monitoring (or inspecting), regulating, and evaluating one’s learning ability. This study introduces the concept of “metacognitive teaching competency,” which allows teachers to make positive changes by examining their teaching activities in the pre-teaching, while-teaching, and post-teaching stages. The following are suggestions for improving the metacognitive teaching competencies of Korean language teachers. First, “Self-reflective Teaching” subject should be created as a course in the Korean language education major. Second, the National Institute of Korean Language should provide “a training program to improve metacognitive teaching competencies” that includes sharing lectures, observing lessons, and moak class. Third, Korean language training institutions should provide mentoring for new and experienced teachers. Accordingly, the mentor and mentee would watch videos of the mentee in class. Fourth, teachers can activate their metacognitive teaching competencies by using a self-monitoring checklist covering items to monitor in each stage of class, or by collecting feedback from students.