Post on 16-May-2023
29
http://dx.doi.org/10.18649/jkees.2015.14.3.29
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’Attitudes and Rationales
Philip S. Riccobono
Kyung Hee University
Riccobono, Philip S. (2015). Group leader election: Korean EFL university
students’ attitudes and rationales. Journal of the Korea English Education
Society, 14(3), 29-47.
Heretofore, South Korea has maintained quite traditional sociocultural norms
such as military conscription, paternalism, an age-ranking system, and a
masculine-dominant culture based on a core Confucian ideology. Nonetheless,
from the last quarter of the twentieth century onward, Korea has adapted
more Western education practices (Nguyen, Terlouw, & Pilot, 2006) and
experienced a movement toward what Rozman (2002) describes as
“de-Confucianization.” This paper focuses on students’ attitudes and rationales
when choosing group leaders for collaborative, communicative critical thinking
activities in several EFL university classes in South Korea. This study is
based on previous research on sociocultural variables affecting EFL group
dynamics in this country (Young Kyoung Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010; Love,
2012; Senior, 1997). The study analyzes deciding factors for choosing leaders
using t-tests, descriptive statistics, and an analysis of variance on data from a
22-item Likert questionnaire. That survey included questions about gender,
English proficiency, military service, and willingness to work with
younger/older leaders. This study’s major findings include statistically
significant differences amongst participants, including overwhelming majorities
in rationales and attitudes relating to choosing group leaders. Some results do
not line up with Korea’s traditional Confucian sociocultural norms. This paper
provides educators with insights into the sociocultural implications of choosing
group leaders in the first stage of group dynamics, specifically within critical
thinking activities in Korean university EFL classes.
[choosing group leaders/Confucian influence/group dynamics/
그룹 리더 선택/유교적 영향/학습자 그룹 역학]
30 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
I. INTRODUCTION
For centuries, South Korea has maintained extremely traditional sociocultural
norms such as military conscription, paternalism, an age-ranking system, and a
masculine-dominant culture based on Confucian ideology (Insook Kwon, 2000; Lee,
2001; Tamai & Jonghwan Lee, 2002). The sample population of Korean EFL
university students is presumably affected by these sociocultural factors, which
would then play a part in these students’ decisions in EFL classes. This study
examined if these factors—with Confucian ideology at their core—blur students’
decisions when choosing group leaders (GLs) who will help shape what Love
(2012) calls a collaborative setting with the goal of shared critical thinking (CT)—
the objective for the EFL classes studied. In addition, this research looked at
whether students’ academic success, as measured by English proficiency, affects GL
elections in this EFL setting, since Schneider and Yongsook Lee (1990) point out
that South Koreans place a high value on obtaining good grades. The study’s results
ultimately provide educators with better insights into the initial stages of group
dynamics, as well as identifying sociocultural implications for EFL university classes
in Korea.
This study seeks to answer the following questions:
1. What variances in Korean EFL university students’ attitudes toward
certain South Korean sociocultural standards for different genders and
majors prevail when choosing GLs for a CT activity?
2. What Korean EFL university students’ attitudes veer away from
long-embedded sociocultural norms with strong ties to Confucianism
when choosing GLs for a CT activity?
II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The theoretical framework of this present study is an offshoot of research done by
Sung-Ae Kim (2013), Young Kyoung Kim and Ki Wan Sung (2010) and Love (2012)
on South Korea’s EFL university student groups, exploring how they form groups that
will work collaboratively in CT activities. This study’s theoretical framework also
examines South Korean sociocultural factors that may affect Korean EFL students’
decision-making when choosing GLs. These factors include comfort levels with
selected peers, the significance of military conscription in South Korea, individual
proficiency in English, and Confucian influences in Korea, such as the role of age
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 31
and gender. However, Nguyen, Elliott, Terlouw & Pilot (2009) deduced when a
Western pedagogical method such as cooperative learning (CL) is applied without
sensitive cultural awareness to the Korean context, challenges may ensue as this study
focuses on the relationship between a current crop of Korean university EFL students
and their Confucian heritage, deeply embedded in the fabric of the culture.
This study looked at what Tuckman & Jensen (1977) classify as its earliest of
five stages-formation- when electing a GL in a CL group with the intent of the unit
to reach a shared effort in CT discussion (Love, 2012). Tuckman & Jensen (1977)
suggest that the forming stage (which this study focuses on) entails group members
learning about each other and the task at hand; the other 4 stages include: storming;
norming; performing, and adjourning. Corey and Corey (1992) carried out studies on
small groups in the field of psychotherapy, suggesting that these stages are less
rigid, as well as sometimes overlapping and regressing to an earlier stage. In
addition, groups sometimes never reach the mature stages at all if an educator
selects the wrong leader (i.e., according to societal norms) and a breakdown in
cultural norms occurs, creating an un-cohesive dynamic. For EFL teachers and other
educators, creating a cohesive classroom when implementing student-led group
activities starts at the earliest stage, that is, the forming phase (Tuckman & Jensen,
1977). However, the students’ decision to choose GLs most inclined to spearhead
CT activities does not come as easily as playing rock-paper-scissors. When deciding
on GLs, students make different choices based on pre-conceived notions as to what
constitutes leadership in CT. Sternberg and Zhang (2005) argue that, when
developing leaders, educators must include all students, including ones that utilize
creativity and innovation, which require groups to work as higher-level thinkers—
characteristics indicative of CT (McGuire, 2007). Therefore choosing GLs in a
South Korea university EFL class stimulates much student deliberation.
A Confucian sociocultural factor that frequently surfaces in EFL university groups
in Korea deals with differences in age. Age is valued in Korean society, and this
has a direct relationship to social honorifics. Cultural scripts related to social
relationships adhere closely to these honorifics. This system revolves around a
vertical model in which people commonly recognize others as either above or below
themselves (Kyung-Joo Yoon, 2004). Therefore, the significance of relative age
differences in one-to-one interactions tends to surface even in university classroom
group interactions.
Student reticence is a common obstacle in creating a group environment favorable
to CT in Korean EFL classes. A myriad of sociocultural norms can account for this
reticence, despite the notion that Confucian cultures exclusively place responsibility
on certain individuals (Young Kyoung Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010). One reason for
32 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
reticence relates to comfort levels. For example, familiarity with classmates factors
into electoral processes (Young Kyoung Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010). Students may
show signs of reticence within groups if they choose a much older leader—or when
working with older teachers (Young Kyoung Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010; Love, 2012).
According to several studies, such as Love (2012) and Seonjin Seo and
Koro-Ljungberg (2005), when students choose an older leader, this may result in
deference to age. The bulk of group discussion is left to the leader, if older, or to
group members senior to the leader. A situation where a group chooses a younger
leader may cause the junior leader to acquiesce his or her elected leadership to an
older student, reducing any chance of debate or weighing of opinions as a group.
Consequently, these situations tend to defeat the goal of forming creative, alternative
classrooms that breed mutual dependence (e.g., Jihyun Jeon, 2009; Young Kyoung
Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010; Love, 2012; Hyunjung Shin & Crookes, 2005a,
2005b).
When choosing GLs in South Korea, military experience can factor into the
equation. Insook Kwon (2000) argues that “compulsory male military service in South
Korea has played a crucial role in constructing citizenship, nationhood, masculinity
and femininity” (p. 26). In South Korea, EFL is offered as a compulsory subject in
every school grade, starting in the third year of formal schooling and then later at
university level students complete required EFL classes (Fitzgibbon, 2013). Consequently, proficiency in English serves as another sociocultural factor in merit
and qualification when university students in Korea choose GLs to lead EFL class
discussions and report back to an instructor in English (Love, 2012). This factor
normally does not correspond to Confucian-paternal ideology, but obtaining good
grades in South Korean culture remains paramount and, in some cases, only As are
acceptable to Korean parents (Schneider & Yongsook Lee, 1990). Having good
grades implies being competent in Korea (Lin, McKeachie, & Yung Che Kim, 2001).
This respect for competence in Korea deserves exploration as a factor when GLs are
chosen in EFL university classes.
Finally, Confucian doctrine has historically created inequality amongst men and
women in Korea, resulting in disadvantages for women (Fah, 2002). Academic
prowess, such as proficiency in English, may account for some dynamics, as Lin,
McKeachie, and Yung Che Kim (2001) deduced, but, in this country, seniority and
gender outweigh accomplishments (Kyung Hee Kim, 2007). According to Kyung
Hee Kim (2007), families and schools emphasize Confucian patriarchy, encouraging
obedience for women and leadership for men. Although some contemporary
Confucians argue that Confucius himself did not disparage women and
Confucianism is nonsexist, historically, Confucianism has definitely been sexist
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 33
(Herr, 2003), and this bias against women has dictated an inequitable status for
women (Fah, 2002). Despite evidence for this pattern, this attitude may be
contradicted by what occurs today in Korea’s university EFL classes when choosing
GLs. The above sociocultural components constitute the theoretical framework for
testing the attitudes and rationale of South Korean university EFL students who
must choose GLs.
III. METHODOLOGY
EFL university students in South Korea may have experienced other peer group
norms that differ from those applied when electing GLs for CT activities. Therefore,
problems tend to arise when the norms of small groups within the class, or even the
entire class, are at variance with the norms the teacher wishes to establish (Senior,
1997). This can indicate that Western approaches to EFL instruction, such as
electing leaders, may seem unfamiliar, daunting, or even foreign to students.
Because of this unfamiliarity, this study has created class activities designed to
familiarize students with CT and its characteristics and to generate a more fluid,
student-centered environment. These activities include debates and discussions
among peers (Young Kyoung Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010; Love, 2012).
1. Participants
This study’s sample population included non-group leaders (NGLs) (N=63) and GLs
(N=25), totaling 88 participants in five separate EFL reading classes at a university
in Gyeonggi Province. All students belonged to the freshmen class, ranging from
beginner to advanced levels (as reported by participants). The gender breakdown of
NGLs was 35 males and 28 females, resulting in 55.56% and 44.44%, respectively,
with a mean weighted age of 20.60. All classes consisted of only a single major, as
cross-major classes did not exist in this program. The classes included four majors,
as shown in Table 1: management, engineering, hotel and tourism, and Internet
technology (IT). Students had prior experience working in groups throughout the EFL
courses during a 16-week semester. Testing for this study took place in week 12.
However, groups’ members varied throughout the semester. Prior to this study, students
had not elected GLs at any point in these classes for any activities.
34 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
MajorN Percent
Valid
Hotel and Tourism 12 19.0IT 11 17.5Management 16 25.4Engineering 24 38.1Total 63 100.0
Table 1Participants by Major
2. Procedure
The study used random selection of groups containing four to five students, from
five separate classes. The students had worked with other classmates prior to this
activity, and they were familiar with all their classmates (see Young Kyoung Kim &
Ki Wan Sung, 2010). Subsequent to forming groups, students received instructions,
as seen in Appendix A, for choosing a leader and doing a CT group assignment
based on a reading assignment. Therefore, students had a good grasp of the CT
questions’ content, which is helpful in forming collective communicative settings. In
an effort to ensure the group chose a leader who had the qualifications to handle
the task, students read the CT activity objectives and instructions prior to electing
their leaders.
3. Instruments
After electing a GL, the NGLs participated in interviews about their rationales for
selecting GLs, in a setting isolated from their GL. They were asked, “Why did you
choose that person as your group leader?” In the next phase of gathering data, the
GLs were asked, “Why do you think the group chose you as the group leader?” As
seen in Appendix B, upon completion of the group CT activity, the NGLs filled out
a 22-item Likert questionnaire formulated from statements provided during interviews
with NGLs, GLs, as well as my own observations and the above-reviewed literature
on South Korean Confucian sociocultural tenets and group dynamics in Korean
university EFL classes (Young Kyoung Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010; Love, 2012).
Glass, Peckham, and Sanders (1972) found that F-tests in analysis of variance
(ANOVA) could return accurate p-values on items under certain conditions.
Likewise, other researchers have deemed the t-test as an acceptable measure for
five-point Likert items, yielding findings with a Type I error rate that never climbs
over 3% above the nominal rate of 5%, not even with highly unequal sample sizes
(de Winter & Dodou, 2010). Furthermore, well-designed items have proved just as
appropriate as multiple-item scales when considering construct validity (Gardner,
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 35
Cummings, Dunham, & Pierce, 1998). This paper, therefore, reports results for
individual items in the 22-item Likert scale questionnaire.
The questionnaire sections included, first, decision-making (10 items): age, gender,
military service, academic achievements, and English proficiency; second,
comfortability with a GL younger or older than the NGL (4 items); third, using
honorifics (4 items); and fourth, the GL’s assessment of participation and work
ethics during the activity (4 items). The NGLs completed the questionnaires online,
in class, while the GLs only participated in interviews.
The data used to test reliability consisted of 63 participants’ answers to all 22
items on the questionnaire. The participants read and answered the questionnaire in
both English and Korean, the participants’ native language. The students responded
to statements using a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree). This study utilized Cronbach’s alpha calculations to measure the
internal reliability and consistency of the questionnaire. The social sciences
commonly accept that an alpha value ≥ 0.70 represents satisfactory internal
consistency and reliability. In this case, the questionnaire items reported an overall
Cronbach’s alpha of 0.843, thereby demonstrating acceptable internal consistency.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The results from the data analysis indicate some questionnaire items gave rise to
significant statistical differences, while other items did not.
1. Variances in Attitude Between Genders Toward Choosing a Leader
Based on Age
One question—yielding results that invite additional research into past studies—
asked 63 participants whether they chose their GL based on age, as shown in Figure
1. Seventy-three percent either strongly disagreed or disagreed with this, while only
6.4% of the participants either agreed or strongly agreed with this. This finding does
not completely line up with previous studies that suggested age might be a factor in
the role and election of GLs (Love, 2012; Seonjin Seo & Koro-Ljungberg, 2005).
These studies argued that a younger leader might acquiesce his or her (elected)
leadership to older students, reducing any debate and weighing of opinions within
the group. This pattern comes out of centuries old Confucianism (Young Kyoung
Kim & Ki Wan Sung, 2010). However, the findings in this study present a large
majority who discount age when determining a leader, inviting further study of age
36 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
and its relationship to leadership in South Korean university classes. These results
indicate the possibility of other factors besides age in choosing GLs, such as
candidates’ particular skill sets.
Figure 1Comparison of Female and Male Participants’ Attitudes
2. Rationales on Choosing a GL Based on Military Conscription
Military conscription for men in South Korea, according to this study’s data, also
did not appear to be a major factor in choosing GLs. Thirty-five of the 63
participants (55.6%) disagreed or strongly disagreed with the item “You chose the
leader of your group based on their completion of military service.” Moreover, only
14.3% of participants agreed with this, while no participants strongly agreed with
this. Likewise, 14.3% of men agreed that completed military service was a factor in
choosing a leader. This finding contradicts the idea of the military as a factor
shaping society, femininity, and masculinity (Insook Kwon, 2000; Seungsook Moon,
2005). The groups participating in this study represent a microcosm of Korean
society, and, therefore, these results cast doubt on the weight and credibility of
military experience as a significant factor in choosing leaders to facilitate a CT
geared activity in Korea today.
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 37
3. Attitudes on Comfortability with a Younger Leader
An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare male versus female NGLs’
comfort levels with younger GLs. A significant difference appeared in the scores for
females (M=2.18, SD=0.723) and males (M=2.80, SD=1.023), with t(61)=-2.72, p =
0.009. These results suggest that females lean more toward disagreeing with males
about feeling comfortable with a younger GL, as shown in Figure 1. As seen in Figure
1, in fact, not one of the female participants agreed with feeling comfortable having
a younger leader. This finding invites further research into Korean females and males’
attitudes toward age. According to previous research, including Young Kyoung Kim
and Ki Wan Sung (2010) and Love (2012), Confucianism is related to the tendency
of Korean students to display reticence and defer to elder GLs. This result suggests
an alternative opinion—especially regarding males—from previous studies such as
Kyung-Joo Yoon (2004) with regard to the Korean social model of deferring to a more
senior person for leadership in EFL CT activities. Females in this study perhaps are
more aligned with what Jyeong-Kyu Lee (2001) and Tamai and Jonghwan Lee (2002)
consider a patriarchal-based Confucian Korea.
4. Attitudes on Choosing a Leader Based on English Proficiency
When exploring academic factors in NGLs’ decision-making processes, a one-way
ANOVA between majors was conducted to compare attitudes toward choosing
leaders based on their midterm listening and speaking scores in EFL courses,
separated by different majors represented in these courses: IT, management,
engineering, and hotel and tourism. A significant difference in effect appears
between majors at the p<.05 level for the four conditions (F[3, 59] = 5.04, p =
0.004). Post hoc comparisons using the Tukey honest significant difference (HSD)
test indicated that the mean score for management majors (M = 4.06, SD = 0.93)
differed appreciably from IT majors (M = 2.64, SD = 1.03) and engineering majors
(M = 3.04, SD = 1.23). However, the hotel and tourism majors (M = 3.69, SD =
0.89) did not significantly differ from any other groups. These results suggest that
management majors’ attitudes skew toward agreeing with choosing GLs based on
their achievement on a test, in this case, a midterm on listening and speaking skills.
Meanwhile, IT majors tended to disagree more with this approach. This study’s
results invite further exploration into why management majors felt that GLs’
achievement on the midterm was important. Future research might focus on the
relationship between the activity’s objective of speaking about the groups’ answers
to the class and choosing GLs who have the skills to take on such a task.
38 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
As seen in Figure 2 below, this finding suggests that management majors may put
greater weight on academics when choosing GLs, specifically midterm assessments,
adding the possibility of new schools of thought when discussing leadership amongst
Korean university students (regardless of gender) and creating a different view of
dynamics in EFL groups specifically. This data could leader to a further paper on
particular majors’ attitudes toward academic prowess amongst peers as a deciding
factor in choosing leaders in EFL classes.
Figure 2Differences of Opinion Amongst Majors
5. Varying Attitudes Amongst Female Participants Toward Choosing a
GL based on Grades
To gain another perspective on participant attitudes’ toward academic achievement,
this study more closely examined female participants’ views by majors. A one-way
ANOVA between majors was conducted to compare these women’s attitudes toward
choosing leaders based on their grades, separated by major: IT, management,
engineering, and hotel and tourism. A significant effect of majors on attitudes was
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 39
found at the p<.05 level for the four conditions (F[3, 24] = 4.90, p = 0.009). Post
hoc comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score for
management majors (M = 4.00, SD = 0.76) was significantly different than IT majors
(M = 2.50, SD = 1.00) and engineering majors (M = 2.80, SD = 1.03). However,
the hotel and tourism majors (M = 3.83, SD = 0.41) did not significantly differ from
any other groups. These results suggest that management majors’ attitudes skew toward
agreeing with choosing GLs based on their academic achievement. Concurrently, IT
and engineering majors tended to disagree or neither agree or disagree with this
approach. These results invite further research into why female management majors
agreed with the importance of GLs’ grades. Perhaps this major puts more weight on
academics when selecting GLs, a rationale that matches the importance given to high
grades in Korean society (Schneider & Yongsook Lee, 1990).
Figure 3Difference of Opinion Amongst Females Based on Major
6. Disagreement Amongst Groups When Choosing a GL Based on
Gender
When choosing GLs based on gender, this study’s data suggests a strong attitude
40 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
toward gender contrary to Confucian beliefs. In the item, “You chose the leader of
your group based on his or her gender,” most males and females strongly disagreed
or disagreed with this notion. Of the 28 female participants, 89.3% either strongly
disagreed (50%) or disagreed (39.3%) with this notion. Similarly, of the 35 male
participants, 57.1% either strong disagreed (45.7%) or disagreed (11.4%). No
participants strongly agreed with this item, while only 3.6% of females and 8.6% of
males agreed with this. These findings suggest further discussion is needed about
whether Korea’s long-standing patriarchal structures may be in the midst of change.
Figure 4Comparison of Female and Male Participants’ Attitudes
Some results in this study evidently do not reflect South Korea’s Confucian-based
social patterns. English proficiency, a factor not traditionally linked to sociocultural
factors in South Korea, played a role in the decision-making process among the
EFL students studied. Globalization may offer an explanation for this. During the
last few decades, Korea has adapted more Western educational practices. The
widespread implementation in Asia of “constructivism,” “student-centered learning,”
“active learning,” and “autonomous learning,” among other approaches, represents
this development (Nguyen et al., 2006). Case in point, in Korea, as late as 2006,
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 41
100% of kindergarten teachers promoted a US/Western child-centered educational
philosophy as the main tenet of preschool education (Young-Ihm Kwon, 2002).
Perhaps this Western pedagogy has seeped into the decision-making processes of
Korea’s current crop of EFL university students, subsequently affecting their
rationales for decisions when choosing leaders in group activities. This study shows
results contradicting Confucian ideology. Western influence—globalization—suggests
a reason for this phenomenon (Young-Ihm Kwon, 2002).
In the same vein, South Korea has recently experienced decades of de-
Confucianization that have shaped a new era of accelerated modernization within the
region in the 1980s and 90s (Rozman, 2002). This younger generation of less
conservative Koreans has changed their rationale and attitude toward choosing GLs
in university EFL classrooms.
7. Limitations
The research in this study had several limitations. Surveying students from several
universities from a more variety of majors across South Korea may have added
more diversity in terms of attitudes and opinions. The study was limited by its
sample of size of N=63 participants. The participants represent a narrow age range.
A larger sample with more range in age may have benefited results. Another
possible improvement to the study could have been conducting more interviews
post-questionnaire results with EFL instructors and participants, adding additional
important qualitative and quantitative data while gaining a greater insight into the
participants’ thoughts and opinions. However, due to time constraints, collecting data
at the end of the term and relocating to a different city, this was not possible.
V. CONCLUSION
Benne and Sheets (1978) argue that groups’ overall success rests entirely on their
leaders, and, therefore, leadership is the prerogative of group leaders. However,
others have rejected this view that the onus of leadership falls on group leaders,
preferring to define group dynamics more broadly based on each group member’s
role. According to Benne and Sheets (1978), any small group member whose actions
can be seen as either maintaining cohesion or contributing toward achieving group
goals is playing a leadership role. Therefore, any student can contribute to
leadership, thereby creating a working dynamic amongst group members in language
classes (Benne & Sheets, 1978; Love, 2012). Applied linguists studying classroom
42 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
interactions have tended to avoid focusing on these behaviors. However, instances
occur in learning groups, such as in this study, in which instructors may call for a
representative to speak for each group in order to elicit members’ opinions and get
groups to organize and work under time constraints.
Ultimately, this study’s findings assist EFL instructors in South Korea who have
a desire to engage students in CT, using small CL group GLs as the point person
during classes. Exposing CL groups to this pedagogy offers opportunities to
encourage student creativity (Sternberg, 2012). In addition, recognizing patterns of
group dynamics in the beginning stages builds a foundation for opportunities for all
group members to participate creatively in CT activities.
This study differed from previous research related to selecting GLs in Korean
EFL classes by specifically focusing on reasons why GLs were given their roles,
including age, academic success, explicit test scores, and military experience. The
study was unique in utilizing a five-point Likert scale in conjunction with interviews
with students, using a mixed method approach to examine their attitudes and
rationales for choosing leaders. In comparison to past studies, this research’s results
show different opinions or rationales for choosing GLs.
These findings can aid educators in obtaining a closer and clearer perspective on
the impact of strong Confucian sociocultural traditions on university students’
decisions in what Tuckman and Jensen (1977) called the forming stage of group
dynamics in South Korean EFL settings. The results provide South Korea’s
educators with a better understanding of these students’ values and culture and help
them gain a greater awareness of what to expect when teachers choose GLs in
classes as opposed to allowing students to decide on these. The data presented here
on EFL students’ attitudes toward significant South Korean Confucian sociocultural
factors such as age, gender, military completion, and English proficiency can serve
as an indicator of which areas need attention when creating what Love (2012) refers
to as a more interrogative third-space in EFL classes.
In Korea, instructors sometimes pick GLs in university EFL classes. Prior to
writing this paper, a person educated and trained as a teacher in the West who had
learned of the impact of Confucianism on Korean society, may have thought it
might offend a male who had served in Korea’s military by not appointing him a
GL. Perhaps, they did not want to oppose centuries of cultural customs regarding
the age or gender of group members by not appointing the appropriate person in
relation to Confucianism. However, upon completion of this study, EFL instructors
now have reason to think otherwise about the student leader selection process. It
will not seem surprising to see the future of EFL university students choose leaders
(in and outside of the classroom) for reasons differing from those of traditional
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 43
Confucian South Korea.
REFERENCES
Benne, K. & Sheats P. (1978). Functional roles of group members. In L. Bradford
(Ed.), Group Development (2nd ed.). La Jolla, CA: University Associates.
Corey, M. S., & Corey, G. (1992). Groups: Process and Practice. Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/Cole.
de Winter, J. C., & Dodou, D. (2010). Five-point Likert items: T test versus
Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 15(11),
1-12.
Fah, Y. C. (2002). The spirituality of Chinese social obligations. Transformation,
19(1), 34-36.
Fitzgibbon, L. (2013). The representation of the ‘Ideal Life’ in an English language
textbook: A critical discourse analysis. Journal of the Korea English Education
Society, 12(1), 161-189.
Gardner, D. G., Cummings, L. L., Dunham, R. B., & Pierce, J. L. (1998). Single-item
versus multiple-item measurement scales: An empirical comparison.
Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, 898-915.
Glass, G. V., Peckham P. D., & Sanders, J. R. (1972). Consequences of failure to
meet assumptions underlying the analyses of variance and covariance, Review
of Educational Research, 42, 237-288.
Herr, R. S. (2003). Is Confucianism compatible with care ethics? A critique.
Philosophy East & West, 53(4), 471-489.
Jeon, Jihyun (2009). Reflecting critical pedagogy: Its application to EFL contexts and
criticism. English Language & Literature Teaching, 15(3), 59-81.
Kim, Kyung Hee (2007). Exploring the interactions between Asian culture
(Confucianism) and creativity. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 41(1), 28-53.
Kim, Sung-Ae (2013). Some reflections on task-based language teaching in a high
school EFL class. Journal of the Korea English Education Society, 12(3), 283-302.
Kim, Young Kyoung, & Sung, Ki Wan (2010). College EFL learners and instructors’
perceptions of English and English teaching and learning: A case study. English
Teaching, 22(1), 121-150.
Kwon, Insook (2000). A feminist exploration of military conscription: The gendering
of the connections between nationalism, militarism and citizenship in South
Korea. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 3(1), 26-54.
Kwon, Young-Ihm (2002). Western influences in Korean preschool education.
44 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
International Education Journal, 3(3), 153-164.
Lee, Jyeong-Kyu (2001). Confucian thought affecting leadership and organizational
culture of Korean higher education. Retrieved January 18, 2015, from the World
Wide Web: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504451.pdf
Lin, Y. G., McKeachie, W. J., & Kim, Yung Che (2001). College student intrinsic
and/or extrinsic motivation and learning. Learning and Individual Differences,
13(3), 251-258.
Love, M. C. (2012). Changing habits through a pedagogy of engagement. In Kiwan
Sung & R. Pederson (Eds.), Critical ELT Practices in Asia (pp. 85-109).
Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
McGuire, J. M. (2007). Why has the critical thinking movement not come to Korea?
Asia Pacific Education Review, 8(2), 224-232.
Moon, Seungsook (2005). Militarized modernity and gendered citizenship in South
Korea. Durham: Duke University Press.
Nguyen, P. M., Elliott, J. G., Terlouw, C., & Pilot, A. (2009). Neocolonialism in
education: Cooperative learning in an Asian context. Comparative Education,
45(1), 109-130.
Nguyen, P. M., Terlouw, C., & Pilot, A. (2006). Culturally appropriate pedagogy: The
case of group learning in a Confucian Heritage Culture context. Intercultural
Education, 17(1), 1-19.
Rozman, G. (2002). Can Confucianism survive in an age of universalism and
globalization? Pacific Affairs, 11-37.
Schneider, B., & Lee, Yongsook (1990). A model for academic success: The school
and home environment of East Asian students. Anthropology & Education
Quarterly, 21(4), 358-377.
Seo, Seonjin, & Koro-Ljungberg, M. (2005). A hermeneutical study of older Korean
graduate students’ experiences in American higher education: From
Confucianism to western educational values. Journal of Studies in International
Education, 9(2), 164-187.
Senior, R. (1997). Transforming language classes into bonded groups. ELT Journal,
51(1), 3-11.
Shin Hyunjung, & Crookes G. (2005a). Exploring the possibilities for EFL critical
pedagogy in Korea: A two part case study. Critical Inquiry in Language
Studies: An International Journal, 2(2): 111-136.
Shin Hyunjung, & Crookes G. (2005b). Indigenous critical traditions for TEFL? A
historical and comparative perspective in the case of Korea. Critical Inquiry
in Language Studies: An International Journal, 2(2), 95-112.
Sternberg, R. J. (2012). The assessment of creativity: An investment-based approach.
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 45
Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 3-12.
Sternberg, R. J., & Zhang, L. F. (2005). Developing the leaders of tomorrow: The
wrong direction is the wrong way to the right direction. The Korean Journal
of Thinking & Problem Solving, 15(2), 7-12.
Tamai, K., & Lee, Jonghwan (2002). Confucianism as cultural constraint: A
comparison of Confucian values of Japanese and Korean university students.
International Education Journal, 3(5), 33-49.
Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (1977). Stages of small-group development
revisited. Group & Organization Management, 2(4), 419-427.
Yoon, Kyung-Joo (2004). Not just words: Korean social models and the use of
honorifics. Intercultural Pragmatics, 1(2), 189-210.
APPENDIX A
Instructions to students for group CT activity
Choose a leader for your group. The leader makes sure everyone talks and answers these
questions. The leader then decides which are the best answers to present to Philip and the
class.
1. Why does this student choose to do his English homework instead of listening to the
professor during philosophy class?
2. On a scale of 1–10, 1 is the lowest score and 10 the highest score, how do you rate
this student? Why?
3. As a group, go over the reading again and make changes to what the student did.
What could he have done differently during his day? Make at least 3 changes.
APPENDIX B
Group leader interview: Why did the group choose you as leader?
I think the reasons [sic] I was chosen are [sic] I’m oldest [sic] student in the group.
I have a strong sense of responsibility. At that [sic] time, I showed an enthusiastic
attitude. I think it was because of these reasons [sic].
They chose me because I wanted [sic] the group leader.
A [sic] group of people were passive. They were silent. So, I felt the need to leader
[sic].
46 영어교과교육 제14권 3호
Independent Samples Test
Levene’s Test for Equality of
VariancesT-test for Equality of Means
F Sig. T DF Sig.
(Two-Tailed)
Mean Differen
ce
Std. Error
Difference
95% Confidence Interval of the
Difference
Lower Upper
Comf2 : “You feel
comfortable with a leader
younger than you.”
Equal Variances Assumed
2.112 .151 -2.715 61 .009 -.621 .229 -1.079 -.164
Equal Variances
Not Assumed
-2.820 60.166 .007 -.621 .220 -1.062 -.181
ANOVA
DS6. You chose the leader based on his or her midterm score in listening and speaking class.
Sum of Squares DF Mean Square F Sig.
Between Groups 17.210 3 5.737 5.043 .004
Within Groups 67.108 59 1.137
Total 84.317 62
I think that our teams haven’t [sic] activeness [sic]. So, they make [sic] me this activity’s
leader.
They picked [sic] for my age. I’m smart, [completed my] military [service], not lazy and
[sic] effective leader.
Because I’m older, smarter than the team and better than the rest.
APPENDIX C
Results of independent sample t-test performed on data for female and male
participants on feeling comfortable with a leader younger than them
APPENDIX D
Results of one-way ANOVA test performed between majors to show whether
participants chose their leaders based on the latter’s midterm grade
Group Leader Election: Korean EFL University Students’ Attitudes and Rationales 47
ANOVA
DS9. You chose the leader based on his or her grades.
Gender Sum of
Squares
DF Mean
Square
F Sig.
Female
Between
Groups10.674 3 3.558 4.898 .009
Within
Groups17.433 24 .726
Total 28.107 27
Male
Between
Groups2.214 3 .738 .423 .738
Within
Groups54.071 31 1.744
Total 56.286 34
APPENDIX E
Results of a one-way ANOVA test performed between majors to show whether
female participants chose leaders based on their grades
Applicable Levels: College
Philip S. Riccobono
School of Global Communication,
Department of British-American Language & Culture (Graduate School)
College of Foreign Language & Literature (CFLL)
Kyung Hee University
446-701, Deogyeong-daero 1732, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Tel: (031) 201-2204
Email: psricc@gmail.com
Received June 15, 2015
Revised July 30, 2015
Accepted August 5, 2015