Skip to main content

Why Sleeping Students?

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
English Classes in Slumber

Abstract

This book focuses on why some Korean high school students sleep in English classes despite the emphasis placed on English in Korean society. More specifically, this sleeping-in-class phenomenon is examined by means of marginalized students’ and relevant teachers’ emic outlooks on themselves, teachers, schools, and society/culture, and practical and healthy suggestions are made about how to renovate the educational system and culture by taking a humanistic/existential approach to education. In this chapter, we first discuss how we became interested in this topic, how it can be related to the various educational, social, and national contexts, and how this phenomenon can be explored with theoretical lenses and mitigated with actual practices, and then proceed to outline the purpose of the study along with the research questions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    We use a pseudonym here in consideration of privacy protection.

References

  • Agazarian, Y., & Peters, R. (1981). The visible and invisible group: Two perspectives on group psychotherapy and group process. Boston, US: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahearn, L. M. (2001). Language and agency. Annual Review of Anthropology, 30, 109–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahn, S. -H. G., & Lee, M. W. (2017). “Sleeping beauties” in English classrooms: The English divestment of Korean high school students. Korean Journal of English Language and Linguistics, 17(3), 547–579.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Khairy, M. H. (2013). English as a foreign language learning demotivational factors as perceived by Saudi undergraduates. European Scientific Journal, 9(32), 365–382.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alavinia, P., & Seaht, R. (2012). A probe into the main demotivating factors among Iranian EFL learners. English Language Teaching, 5(6), 9–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asahi Shimbunsa (Ed.). (1999). Gakkyu hokai. Tokyo, Japan: Asahi Shimbunsa. Korean edition: Asahi Sinmunsa (Ed.). (1999). Haggeup bunggoe (‘Classroom collapse’) (Y. Hong, Trans.). Seoul, Korea: Chorogbae Magics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baldauf, R. B., Kaplan, R. B., Kamwangamalu, N., & Bryant, P. (2011). Success or failure of primary second/foreign language programmes in Asia: What do the data tell us? Current Issues in Language Planning, 12(2), 309–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bang, I., & Chon, S. (2011). An analysis of high school English curriculum implementation by the high school record rating system. CNU Journal of Educational Studies, 32(1), 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Block, D. (2007). The rise of identity in SLA research, post Firth and Wagner 1997. The Modern Language Journal, 91(1), 863–876.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blommaert, J. (2010). The sociolinguistics of globalization. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brewer, M. B., & Chen, Y. (2007). Where (who) are collectives in collectivism? Toward conceptual clarification of individualism and collectivism. Psychological Review, 114(1), 133–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buske, R. (2018). The principal as a key actor in promoting teachers’ innovativeness—analyzing the innovativeness of teaching staff with variance-based partial least square modeling. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 29(2), 262–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2018.1427606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cha, Y., Ahn, S.-H., Ju, M.-K., & Ham, S.-H. (2016). Yungbokhap Education: Toward an expansive (Re)conceptualization. Multicultural Education Studies, 9(1), 1–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Choi, Y. (2018). Swuepsikaney canun aitulun kwucocek phihayca (“Sleeping-in-class students are the ‘structural victims’”). Chosun Edu. http://edu.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2018/12/12/2018121202035.html. Accessed 28 June 2019.

  • Crawford-Lange, L. M. (1981). Redirecting second language curricula: Paulo Freire’s contribution. Foreign Language Annals, 14(4), 257–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, L. M. (1978). Paulo Freire’s philosophy: Derivation of curricular principles and their application to second language curriculum design. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minnesota, US.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crookes, G.V. (2013). Critical ELT in action: Foundations, promises, praxis. New York, US: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darder, A., Baltodano, M., & Torres, R. D. (2003). Critical pedagogy: An introduction. In A. Darder, M. Baltodano, & R. D. Torres (Eds.), The critical pedagogy reader (pp. 1–23). New York, US: Routledge Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2015). Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 36–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dei, G. J. S., Mazzuca, J., McIsaac, E., & Zine, J. (1997). Reconstructing “drop-out”, a critical ethnography of the dynamics of Black students’ disengagement from school. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dweck, C. S. (2017). From needs to goals and representations: Foundations for a unified theory of motivation, personality, and development. Psychological Review, 124(6), 689–719. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000082.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrman, M. E., & Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Interpersonal dynamics in second language education: The visible and invisible classroom. Thousand Oaks, US: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eom, K. (2013). Kyosato hakkyoka twulyepta (“Teachers are scared of schools too”). Seoul, Korea: Ttabi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epstein, J. L., & Dauber, S. (1991). School programs and teacher practices of parent involvement in inner-city elementary and middle school. The Elementary School Journal, 91(3), 289–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York, US: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (Ed.). (1963). Youth: Change and challenge. New York, US: Basic books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (2003). Analysing discourse: Textual analysis for social research. London, UK: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (2010). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language (2nd ed.). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fairclough, N. (2015). Language and power (3rd ed.). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1970/2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, US: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1974/2013). Education for critical consciousness. New York, US: Bloomsbury.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, R. W. (2004). Somebodies and nobodies: Overcoming the abuse of rank. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuller, R. W. (2006). All rise: Somebodies, nobodies, and the politics of dignity. San Francisco, US: Berrett-Koehler.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gay, G. (2010). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). New York, US: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, D. (2004). “I’m tired. You clean and cook”: Shifting gender identities and second language socialization. TESOL Quarterly, 38(3), 437–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). London, UK: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ham, S.-H., & Kim, R. Y. (2015). The Influence of principals’ instructional leadership on teachers’ use of autonomy-supportive instruction: An analysis of three Asia-Pacific countries. Asia-Pacific Educational Research, 24(1), 57–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoare, G., & Smith, G. N. (Eds.). (1999). Selections from the prison notebooks of Antonio Gramsci. London, UK: ElecBook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, R. (2007). Reading the media: Media literacy in high school English. New York, US: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, G., Yang, E.-J., Jun, Y., & Heo, H. (2001). Qualitative research for understanding the teacher-student conflicts known as ‘the classroom collapse’. The Journal of Korean Education, 28(2), 247–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hwang, J. (2013). A case study of motivation types and motivation changes in the college EFL classroom. Journal of the Korea English Education Society, 12(1), 97–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janks, H. (2010). Literacy and power. London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, S. K., Huh., S., Suh, Y.-M., Lee., J., Lee., J.-Y., Shin., H.-P. et al. (2016). Critical pedagogy and English education. Seoul, Korea: Hankook.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, E. (1999, September 23). Gyoshil bunggoe – haksaeng-do gyosa-do haggyo gagi silta (‘Classroom collapse—Neither students nor teachers want to go to school’). Sisa Journal. http://www.sisajournal.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=116314. Accessed 11 August 2019.

  • Kim, E.-J. (2014). Activity theory-based narrative inquiry of study-abroad program experiences: A case study of two college students. Modern English Education, 15(3), 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, K. (2009). Demotivating factors in secondary English education. English Teaching, 64(4), 249–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, M. (2000). ‘Haggyo bunggoe’, a myth or a reality? Anthropology of Education, 3(2), 1–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, T., & Kim, Y. (2016). EFL learning demotivation in the Korean context: Similarities and differences across school levels. English Language & Literature Teaching, 22(1), 135–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, T., & Lee, H. (2014). Korean junior high and high school students’ English learning motivation, demotivation, resilience, and English proficiency. The Journal of Foreign Studies, 29(3), 11–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramsch, C. J. (2013). Afterword. In B. Norton (Ed.), Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (pp. 192–201). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Krashen, S. (2003). Dealing with English fever. In Selected Papers from the Twelfth International Symposium on English Teaching. Taipei, ROC: English Teachers’ Association (pp. 100–108).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwak, Y. (2004). A Study on the cause and process for giving up English learning: Focused on the abandoned English learners in high school. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Busan National University, Busan, South Korea.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lantolf, J. P., & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Sociocultural theory and the genesis of second language development. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, US: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M. W. (2011). Beneath the English fever phenomenon: The perspectives of Korean early study-abroad undergraduates’ parents. Bilingual Research, 46, 191–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macrine, S. L. (2009). Critical pedagogy in uncertain times: Hope and possibilities. New York, US: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Menard-Warwick, J. (2007). Biliteracy and schooling in an extended-family Nicaraguan immigrant household: The sociohistorical construction of parental involvement. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 38(2), 119–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, A. J., Durepos, G., & Wiebe, E. (2010). Encyclopedia of case study research. Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Education. (2016). An analysis of 2015 College Scholastic Ability Test result. Ministry of Education. http://if-blog.tistory.com/5458. Accessed 15 September 2018.

  • Motha, S., & Lin, A. (2014). “Non-coercive rearrangements”: Theorizing desire in TESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 48(2), 331–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noh, W., Park, S., & Chang, K.-S. (2016). Research on educational support for general high school Low achievers with reference to math and English subjects (I). RRI 2016-2. Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation (KICE), Seoul, Korea. http://www.kice.re.kr/resrchBoard/view.do?seq=228&s=kice&m=030101. Accessed 11 August 2019.

  • Norton Pierce, B. (1995). Social identity, investment, and language learning. TESOL Quarterly, 29(1), 9–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Panofsky, C. P. (2003). The relations of learning and student social class: Toward re-“socializing” sociocultural learning theory. In A. Kozulin, B. Gindis, V. S. Ageyev, & S. M. Miller (Eds.), Vygotsky’s educational theory in cultural context (pp. 411–431). Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Park, H. (2012). Insight into learners’ identity in the Korean English as a Lingua Franca context. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 11, 229–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ratner, C. (2000a). Agency and culture. Journal for The Theory of Social Behavior, 30, 413–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ratner, C. (2000b). Outline of a coherent, comprehensive concept of culture. Cross-Cultural Psychology Bulletin, 34(1 & 2), 5–11. Retrieved from http://www.sonic.net/~cr2/culture.htm.

  • Rumberger, R. W. (2011). Dropping out: Why students drop out of high school and what can be done about it. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Schargel, F. P., & Smink, J. (2001). Strategies to help solve our school dropout problem. London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skilton-Sylvester, E. (2002). Should I stay or should I go? Investigating Cambodian women’s participation and investment in adult ESL programs. Adult Education Quarterly, 53(1), 9–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smyth, J., & Hattam, R. (2004). “Dropping out”, drifting off, being excluded: Being somebody without school. New York, US: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • Song, J. (2017). English just is not enough!: Neoliberalism, class, and children’s study-abroad among Korean families. System, Online first. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0346251X17300726.

  • Sung, Y. (2015). High school teachers’ perceptions of the causes and solutions for sleeping in class as a form of student disengagement. The Korean Society for Curriculum Studies, 33(2), 158–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sung, Y., & Lee, H. (2014). Sleeping students in class: A grounded theory study on the phenomenon of student disengagement. The Korean Society for Sociology of Education, 24(1), 147–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Korean Statistical Information Service. (2016). A report on the educational cost spent in private education sector for elementary and secondary school students. Retrieved from http://kostat.go.kr/wnsearch/search.jsp.

  • Tran, Y. (2014). Addressing reciprocity between families and schools: Why these bridges are instrumental for students’ academic success. Improving Schools, 17(1), 18–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trang, T. T. T., & Balduaf, R. B. (2007). Demotivation: Understanding resistance to English language learning—The case of Vietnamese students. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 4(1), 79–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ushioda, E. (2003). Motivation as a socially mediated process. In D. Little, J. Ridley, & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Learner autonomy in the foreign language classroom: Teacher, learner, curriculum and assessment (pp. 90–102). Dublin, Ireland: Authentik.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. (1986). Thought and language. Cambridge, MA, US: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • White, P. A. (1992). Teacher empowerment under “ideal” school-site autonomy. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 14(1), 69–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yeo, S., & Lee, J. (2015). An analysis of Korean students’ English learning demotivation factors. English Language & Literature Teaching, 21(2), 115–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Q., & Kim, T. (2013). Cross-grade analysis of Chinese students’ English learning motivation: A mixed-method theory. Asia-Pacific Education Review, 14(4), 615–627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S.-H. Gyemyong Ahn .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Ahn, SH.G., Lee, M.W. (2019). Why Sleeping Students?. In: English Classes in Slumber. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1010-6_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1010-6_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-1009-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-1010-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics