A Study on the Use of a TV Drama in Korean College EFL Classes

Soo, Hyeon Kim; Ki, wan Sung

Article

Journal of English Teaching through Movies and Media 2011;12(1):23-51.
Published online June 30, 2011.

A Study on the Use of a TV Drama in Korean College EFL Classes

Abstract

In many EFL classroom settings, language is still given priority over culture rather than helping students apply linguistic rules or functions to specific communicative contexts. In order to overcome such limited language teaching practices, using media such as movies and TV dramas has been highly encouraged in ELT. Accordingly, this study purported to examine 105 students' views on using a TV drama Friends in a pre- and post-survey format. In addition, an eight-week long classroom observation and two rounds of the interviews of three students and one instructor were conducted. The results showed that although a majority of students claimed to be learning more target culture through the drama, Chi-square tests showed that there were no statistical differences in their perceptions of the efficiency and understanding of culture content in class. Moreover, a teacher-centered method of using a TV drama appears to limit its potential as a cultural learning tool. Accordingly, instructors who wish to use a drama or other media should utilize pedagogically-informed framework with specific teaching practices in which culture is treated as important as language in more focused learner-centered activities.

Key Words: using TV drama;college EFL class;culture teaching through media;culture & context