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Hip-hop and English Education for Korean EFL Learners: An Investigation of Hip-hop English Content on YouTube

  • Modern English Education
  • Abbr : MEESO
  • 2022, 23(1), pp.15-27
  • Publisher : The Modern English Education Society
  • Research Area : Humanities > English Language and Literature > English Language Teaching
  • Received : September 10, 2021
  • Accepted : February 4, 2022
  • Published : February 28, 2022

Jae-hyun Im 1

1Indiana University at Bloomington

Accredited

ABSTRACT

The majority of English as Foreign Language (EFL) practitioners think hip-hop and English education in South Korea are incompatible, partly due to the lack of academic discussion about the use of hip-hop for EFL education. This paper examines how hip-hop is utilized in online discourse to teach Korean learners English. This study’s findings showcase that hip-hop provides Korean EFL learners with unique opportunities to learn the English language and culture in an original way that may look different from the public English education method. In terms of language, hip-hop content is used to teach hip-hop community vocabulary, localized English, the translanguaging of vocabulary pronunciation, English expressions in certain contexts, and rap poeticism via rhyming. Regarding culture, hip-hop content is used to explain the tension between Asians and Black Americans in the US, and provides an Asian woman’s narrative of Black culture. The findings suggest that hip-hop benefits Korean EFL learners in many ways. There is a strong need for more in-depth research on the best ways to utilize hip-hop for Korean EFL curriculum and to provide practical guidelines to practitioners.

Citation status

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