research
the branding of teaching english in south korea
Melissa’s dissertation looked at the culturally specific ways in which the teaching of English is branded in South Korea. Melissa carried out visual cultural fieldwork at a private English academy in Seoul, South Korea in May 2009. Using photographic documentation, interview, and participant observation, she conducted an analysis of the uniforms, advertising, and pedagogies within this academy to understand how a brand image of teaching English may be designed.
It is her hope that this study offers insight into how the teaching of English is framed in private academies in South Korea in the era of globalization. Because of the limited amount of research on the private English education market in South Korea, more work is needed to identify the appropriate analytical tools for understanding this particular phenomenon.