Analyzing Trends in Interaction Research for Korean Teaching and Learning

Abstract

This study analyzed the trends of interaction research in the field of Korean language education and suggested implications and future research tasks. The papers analyzed for research trends were theses published in the Korea Research Foundation's nomination lists by October 2023. Since the aspects and methods of interaction are quite different depending on whether the teaching-learning space is offline or online, I first categorized papers according to these two criteria, and then subdivided them into sub-areas in terms of research topics and methods. Research on interaction in the field of Korean language education began to appear in the 2000s. The major turning points in the transformation of offline and online teaching and learning environments were around 2010. Until the early 2010s, almost all classes were held face-to-face, so research on interaction was centered on classroom instruction. The commercialization of high-speed internet in the 2010s greatly improved the environment for online education and diversified educational media. In the field of Korean language education, attempts have also been made to utilize online educational media and contents. Serious research on interaction in online educational environments has also been conducted since the mid-2010s. However, at this time, online classes were mostly based on stored contents. Then, in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost all classes were shifted to a non-face-to-face online format. As a result, online education mediums have diversified to include learning management systems (LMS), YouTube, mobile apps, online video lecture platforms, metaverses, and social media. As a result, interaction in online educational environments has emerged as an important issue, spurring research. Interaction research in offline teaching and learning environments has been focused on observing and analyzing the interaction patterns between teachers and learners and between learners and teachers. However, most of the research is limited to analyzing the interaction patterns. Therefore, it is necessary to find specific ways to apply them to future classes and teacher training. Next, in the case of interaction research in online-based teaching and learning environments, online learning is becoming more popular. However, the lack of interaction between instructor and learner, learner and learner, and learner and learning contents is still a problem that needs to be solved. And a new aspect of interaction in language education is worth paying attention to. This is the interaction with ChatGPT. The emergence of generative AI such as ChatGPT is revolutionizing the paradigm of mass education systems based on achievement standards and achievement levels. Therefore, research on interaction based on this is also an important future research task.