Chapter 2. Learning of Korean honorifics through collaborative tasks

This study examines the effects of collaborative writing tasks on the development of Korean honorifics among heritage language (HL) and foreign language (FL) learners. Participants were 14 HL learners (HLLs) and 32 FL learners (FLLs) of Korean (i.e., 14 HLL-FLL and 9 FLL-FLL dyads) in beginning-level language classrooms at a university in the U.S.A. They completed a pretest, two collaborative writing tasks, immediate posttests, delayed posttests (administered three weeks after immediate posttests), and a post-interaction questionnaire in their regular classes. Learning outcomes were measured by discourse completion tests and acceptability judgment tests. Interactions of HLL-FLL and FLL-FLL dyads were analyzed for the occurrence of pragmatic related episodes (PREs; Taguchi & Kim, 2016). Findings indicated that both HLLs and FLLs developed their receptive and productive knowledge of Korean honorifics over time. It was also found that HLLs in HLL-FLL dyads had an advantage over FLLs in FLL-FLL dyads in improving their productive knowledge of Korean honorifics in the immediate posttests, but not in the delayed posttests. In terms of PRE occurrences, both HLL-FLL and FLL-FLL dyads focused more on honorific nouns and honorific verb suffixes than honorific verbs and honorific subject particles. In addition, HLLs and FLLs alike had positive attitudes towards their partners in completing collaborative tasks. This study highlights the benefits of collaborative writing tasks for learning pragmatics in FL classrooms where HLLs and FLLs coexist.