A Study on Pedagogical Approaches to Enhance Korean Pragmatic Competence in a KFL Environment: Focusing on Undergraduate Courses at a University in France

This study aims to propose a pedagogical approach utilizing web dramas to enhance pragmatic competence among Korean as a Foreign Language (KFL) learners. Compared to Second Language environments, Foreign Language environments have limited exposure to the target language and culture, making it challenging to expect implicit learning of pragmatic knowledge. Therefore, leveraging visual media with rich contextual information, such as web dramas, can aid in the development of pragmatic competence among FL learners. Particularly, web dramas, widely utilized in recent Korean language education due to their high accessibility and lack of temporal and spatial constraints, serve as valuable educational resources. In this paper, a Korean pragmatic course using web dramas was structured and implemented in undergraduate courses at a university in France. The class initially utilized discourse completion tasks containing target speech acts to generate interest and activate background knowledge. Subsequently, students watched scenes from web dramas to observe situations, contexts, and expressions associated with the target speech acts. Finally, students internalized the learned content through drama shadowing and role-playing activities. A post-class survey revealed that students found the web drama-based lessons engaging and beneficial for Korean language learning. However, they acknowledged a perceived inadequacy in fully utilizing pragmatic knowledge during class time. Hence, future iterations of the curriculum should address this aspect for improvement.