Dissertation
(im)Politeness negotiated between teachers and students in Korean as a foreign language classrooms in the United States
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Spring 2026
DOI: 10.25820/etd.008355
Abstract
This study examines how (im)politeness is negotiated in Korean as a Foreign Language (KFL) classrooms in U.S. higher education. Situated within the context of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs), the study conceptualizes (im)politeness not as a fixed set of linguistic forms but as a socially and ideologically mediated practice shaped by institutional conditions, interactional dynamics, and participants’ sociocultural positionalities. Guided by a critical sociocultural framework, the study addresses the following research questions: (1) What discourses of (im)politeness circulate in Korean language classrooms in the United States? and (2) How do teachers and students respond to those discourses in practice?Adopting a qualitative multiple case study design, this research draws on data from two beginner-level KFL classrooms at U.S. universities. Data sources include classroom observations, semi-structured interviews with teachers and students, and instructional artifacts such as syllabi and teaching materials. Using Critical Classroom Discourse Analysis (CCDA), the study examines how (im)politeness is constructed, interpreted, and negotiated across classroom interactions, attending to potential divergences among teachers’, students’, and the researcher’s perspectives.
Findings demonstrate that (im)politeness operates across three interrelated dimensions: (1) as learned linguistic knowledge, particularly through honorifics and speech levels; (2) as a relational practice through which participants build rapport and navigate interactional risks such as humor, teasing, and offense; and (3) as a moralized notion through which participants evaluate accountability, legitimacy, and appropriateness. These dimensions reveal that (im)politeness is unevenly distributed across learners, shaped by factors such as racialization, heritage status, and perceived legitimacy within the classroom community. At the same time, instructors negotiate their own authority and vulnerability through interactional practices, highlighting tensions between cultural representation, professional identity, and relational strategies
This study contributes to scholarship on (im)politeness instruction, U.S. LCTL education, and intercultural pragmatics by demonstrating how pragmatic norms are evaluated negotiated by teachers and students within culturally hybrid classrooms. It offers pedagogical implications for language educators by reframing (im)politeness as an ongoing process of interpretation, alignment, and negotiation rather than a fixed target of correctness.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- (im)Politeness negotiated between teachers and students in Korean as a foreign language classrooms in the United States
- Creators
- Sora Kim
- Contributors
- Pamela Wesely (Advisor)Samuel Tanner (Committee Member)Sang-Seok Yoon (Committee Member)Belén Hernando-Lloréns (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Teaching and Learning (Literacy, Culture, and Language Education)
- Date degree season
- Spring 2026
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.008355
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xiii, 224 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2026 Sora Kim
- Grant note
- I gratefully acknowledge the support of the 2025 NFMLTA-NCOLCTL Graduate Research Support Grant
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 04/26/2026
- Description illustrations
- illustrations, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-202).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
This study explores how people learn and use politeness and impoliteness in Korean language classrooms in the United States. Learning Korean is not just about grammar or vocabulary—it also involves understanding how to speak appropriately depending on relationships, social roles, and cultural expectations. This can be especially challenging for students learning Korean as a Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL), where classroom environments are shaped by English dominance, diverse student backgrounds, and complex cultural dynamics.
To better understand this process, I studied two beginner-level Korean classes at U.S. universities. I observed classroom interactions, interviewed teachers and students, and analyzed teaching materials. I focused on how people interpreted and responded to moments involving politeness and impoliteness, such as giving feedback, joking, or managing classroom relationships.
The findings show that politeness and impoliteness in Korean classrooms is not simply a set of rules to follow. Instead, it works in multiple ways. First, students learn politeness and impoliteness as part of the language system, especially through honorifics and speech levels. Second, teachers use multiple strategies involving politeness and impoliteness to build relationships, but students react to those differently, especially when humor or teasing is involved. Third, politeness and impoliteness become a way for people to evaluate what is appropriate or respectful, and these evaluations are shaped by factors such as cultural background, learning experience, and how individuals think they are perceived in the classroom. Students differ in how responsible they feel for getting Korean politeness right, while teachers balance their roles as language experts, cultural representatives, and local classroom facilitators.
Overall, this research suggests that politeness/impoliteness teaching and learning is not about aiming perfect correctness. Instead, it is an ongoing process of interpreting social situations, adapting to others, and negotiating meaning across cultural differences. These insights can help educators design more inclusive and reflective language classrooms that better support diverse learners.
- Academic Unit
- Teaching and Learning
- Record Identifier
- 9985177271702771
Metrics
1 File views/ downloads
1 Record Views