Group leader election: Korean EFL university students’ attitudes and rationales

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


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


(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.


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,


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


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.


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.


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


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


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,


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


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


Confucian South Korea.

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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].


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


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: [email protected]

Received June 15, 2015

Revised July 30, 2015

Accepted August 5, 2015

Group leader election: Korean EFL university students’ attitudes and rationales

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