Attitudes toward English borrowings in South Korea: a comparative study of university professors and primary/secondary teachers of English

This study examines attitudes of university professors of English and primary/secondary English teachers toward English borrowings and their implications for English language teaching in South Korea. The unit of analysis includes three types of English borrowings on the cline of nativization: loanwords, nonce borrowings, and code-mixing. Data were collected from 175 questionnaires (97 professors and 78 teachers) and eight semi-structured interviews (four professors and four teachers). Findings showed participants’ positive perception of English borrowings but neutral attitude toward the necessity of English borrowings in the Korean speech context. Three types of English borrowings were perceived useful in different aspects of English teaching. Finally, tension was discovered between professors acting as policy-makers and teachers as policy-practitioners in their attitudes toward including English borrowings in the English curriculum. This study suggests the use of well-codified lexical items as a foundation for English teaching and collaboration between professors and teachers in curriculum development.