Language ideologies of Korean mothers with preschool-aged children: comparison, money, and early childhood English education

Abstract

This study examines parental ideologies regarding early childhood English education in South Korea. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews with 31 Korean mothers of preschool-aged children and were studied using critical discourse analysis. The findings show that the mothers’ ideologies for their children's English education represented two themes: ‘comparison to others’ and ‘the role of money’. The mothers valued their children's English education, because they believed that college entrance exams were a competition and that their children's performance was highly important. ‘Comparison to others’ was also a psychological burden, namely the mothers’ needed to match or exceed others’ parental skills to feel a sense of self-confidence. The mothers also considered their children's English education their responsibility, which in context, reflected their social class status as represented by ‘money’. This concept of parental responsibility thus delimited the definition of good motherhood in the Korean context in a very restricted way. This study critically demonstrates how neoliberalism takes hold in a particular context and how it can become intertwined with ideologies about English education.

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