The president if out of his mind: Membership categorization analysis of Korean mothers' assessments on the South Korean English immersion policy proposal

Abstract

Given the continuing interests in English immersion, the present study attempts to investigate this social issue from a micro-perspective, focusing on how the actual consumers of Korea‘s English education are experiencing the effects of the policy proposal. This interview-based study will focus on bringing to life the perspectives of two Korean mothers, Junghee and Hyunjoo. Adopting a discursive, ethnomethodological approach, I will apply Membership Categorization Analysis to explore how two Korean mothers from different socioeconomic backgrounds use various categories and devices to construct a particular assessment of the English immersion policy proposal. By doing so, this paper intends to contribute to a deeper understanding on the possible effects of such a policy, and especially its discriminating effects on those mothers and children who are invested in an urban private school vis-à-vis mothers and children who belong to a small, rural public school of South Korea. The study will address the following research questions: 1. What categories do the mothers deploy to characterize or evaluate the English immersion policy proposal? 2. What categories do they assign for themselves or their own children in relation to ―others‖ and the surrounding English education community? 3. What sense of social world is invoked and how do they accomplish it in their assessments of the policy proposal?