A Critical Discourse Analysis of Language Ideologies in South Korea's 2022 Revised National Curriculum
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| Title: | A Critical Discourse Analysis of Language Ideologies in South Korea's 2022 Revised National Curriculum |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jung Sook Kim |
| Source: | English Teaching. 2026 81(1):37-58. |
| Availability: | Korea Association of Teachers of English. 6105 English Education Department, Chinju National University of Education, 369beon-gil 3, Jinyangho-ro, Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, 52673, Republic of Korea. Tel: +82-42-629-7381; Fax: +82-42-629-7320; e-mail: katejournal29@gmail.com; Web site: https://journal.kate.or.kr/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 22 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, National Curriculum, Language Attitudes, Ideology, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Educational Policy, Public Policy, Curriculum Development, Educational Change |
| Geographic Terms: | South Korea |
| ISSN: | 1017-7108 2671-9312 |
| Abstract: | This study examined the 2022 Revised National Curriculum of Korea and English-related policy documents through a critical discourse analytic lens, with particular focus on how language ideologies surrounding English education are discursively constructed and legitimised. The analysis demonstrates that the curriculum operates as a site of re-legitimation and stabilisation in which English is discursively rearticulated as necessary, desirable, and governable under conditions of reform. Through intersecting discourses of future uncertainty, global communication, competency-based education, and inclusion, the curriculum constructs English as adaptive linguistic capital for an unpredictable future, moralises it as a marker of ethical global citizenship, and renders it measurable through standardised curricular technologies. In doing so, the policy stabilises standard language ideology while presenting itself as progressive, internationalised, and inclusive. This configuration exemplifies how reform discourse enables continuity in language ideology and linguistic stratification under the guise of innovation. These findings suggest that educational reforms frequently reproduce dominant ideologies through recontextualisation rather than transformation. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1504903 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This study examined the 2022 Revised National Curriculum of Korea and English-related policy documents through a critical discourse analytic lens, with particular focus on how language ideologies surrounding English education are discursively constructed and legitimised. The analysis demonstrates that the curriculum operates as a site of re-legitimation and stabilisation in which English is discursively rearticulated as necessary, desirable, and governable under conditions of reform. Through intersecting discourses of future uncertainty, global communication, competency-based education, and inclusion, the curriculum constructs English as adaptive linguistic capital for an unpredictable future, moralises it as a marker of ethical global citizenship, and renders it measurable through standardised curricular technologies. In doing so, the policy stabilises standard language ideology while presenting itself as progressive, internationalised, and inclusive. This configuration exemplifies how reform discourse enables continuity in language ideology and linguistic stratification under the guise of innovation. These findings suggest that educational reforms frequently reproduce dominant ideologies through recontextualisation rather than transformation. |
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| ISSN: | 1017-7108 2671-9312 |
