Reading Ability in Korean as a First and Second Language Achieved During the Early Phase of Korean/English Immersion Education in America

Abstract

In this paper the reading ability developed by two groups of students enrolled in an immersion program during the early phase of elementary immersion implementation is reported. The subjects were Korean-American students and non-Korean-American students from Kindergarten to Grade 2, the second grade students being the first cohort group of this program. This immersion program operates in North America. The Korean language is thus the first language for the Korean-American students; it is a foreign language for the non-Korean-American students in the same program. This report is based on the results of the test of reading in Korean. The degrees of mastery of reading in Korean achieved by the two immersion groups are reported using criterion-referenced measurement. In addition, the reading ability of the immersion Korean-American group is compared with that of Korean-American students in monolingual classes in Los Angeles and Seoul. The results from this study make unique contribution regarding heritage language conservation for Korean-American students (largely, immigrants' second- or third-generation children) and foreign language acquisition for non-Korean-American students (broadly, English-dominant children) in America. Finally, the utility of the reading test instrument developed and used in this study is noteworthy for educators looking for a measure to assess reading skills of children.