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Insider at border: interactions of technology, language, culture, and gender in computer-mediated communication by Korean female learners of English

Baek, Mi-Kyung
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1110301321

Abstract Details

2005, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Policy and Leadership.
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) has become an important alterative to conventional means of communication in an age of rapidly developing electronic communication technology. As our communication crosses the borders of languages and cultures, CMC has become a site of international and intercultural communication. In this context, this study attempts to add to our understanding of the ‘others’ we meet in cyberspace through CMC. Working from an interpretivist paradigm, this qualitative research is intended to understand how Korean female learners of English represent themselves in computer-mediated communication (CMC) using English across technology, language, and culture. In interviews with eight Korean female students at a large U. S. Midwestern university, the research participants were asked to share their experiences of CMC in English both in academic and non-academic settings. They often compared this with other modes of communication, CMC in Korean and speaking in English or Korean in real life situations. From the conversations surfaced the intricate process of how they negotiate their being Korean, being women, being non-native speakers of English as they communicate in cyberspace using English as a second language. The research data were analyzed using QSR NVivo, a qualitative analysis tool, and the results were reported in two separate chapters, one addressing the data as a whole and the other focusing on particular issues surfaced from data analysis. A few of the important findings from the study include: a) co-occurrences of multiple constructs in the participants’ CMC in English, which exemplifies the intricacy and complexity involved in their CMC; b) participants’ bodily engagement with technology in praxis; c) language being felt as the biggest barrier; d) cultural distance recognized in addition to language barrier; and e) gender found to matter less than expected in CMC in English. By drawing upon knowledge from two areas of study, foreign and second language education and cultural studies of technology, this study attempts to fill the gaps between CMC studies in these two fields. Findings of this study offer a few important pedagogical implications as to the incorporation of CMC into classrooms with various linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Suzanne Damarin (Advisor)
275 p.
computer-mediated communication; technology; language; culture; gender; audience; Korean women; non-native speaker of English; qualitative research

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Baek, M.-K. (2005). Insider at border: interactions of technology, language, culture, and gender in computer-mediated communication by Korean female learners of English [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1110301321

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Baek, Mi-Kyung. Insider at border: interactions of technology, language, culture, and gender in computer-mediated communication by Korean female learners of English. 2005. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1110301321.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Baek, Mi-Kyung. "Insider at border: interactions of technology, language, culture, and gender in computer-mediated communication by Korean female learners of English." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1110301321

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.