A Study Regarding the Perceptions of Korean Language Teachers With Respect to Learning Difficulties in Korean Language Education

Purpose: This research aimed to investigate the perceptions of Korean language teachers, who are practitioners of Korean language education, regarding the learning difficulties in the Korean language subject. By doing so, it sought to identify the specific patterns of perception regarding learning difficulties in the field and explore possible improvement measures to address these difficulties. Methods: In this study, a total of twenty-eight survey questions (including three open-ended questions) were developed through a two-step review process. The survey was conducted over a period of approximately two weeks, targeting 105 current Korean language teachers. The collected data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis, including response frequencies, means, and standard deviations. Additionally, a verification of perception differences across schools of employment was conducted. Results: According to the analysis results, the levels of policy awareness and perception of the suitability of selection methods were relatively low. In terms of factor-specific perception, the perception index for factors related to the definition domain was high. Among the language subjects, the writing area had the highest level of reported learning difficulties, particularly in terms of vocabulary proficiency among the learning factors within each subject area. Teachers considered the low motivation and lack of learning willingness in their students to be the biggest challenges in instruction. They also had a slightly lower perception of the adequacy of the current remedial education program. As improvement measures, teachers perceived the following factors positively: selective measures based on teacher interviews and observations, implementation of remedial education for lower-grade middle school students, vocabulary enhancement, and appropriate content for teacher training. Conclusion: In order to effectively implement policies related to academic underachievement, it is necessary to increase teachers' level of policy awareness and diversify methods for selecting underperforming students. It is necessary to carefully consider the level and pattern of underachievement, synchronize defining factors, strengthen writing and vocabulary learning, focus on corrective education in the lower grades to prevent underachievement, and specialize the contents of teacher training considering the school level.