An exploration of Korean students' experiences studying English in Canada

Abstract

According to the most recent data from Statistics Canada, international student enrollment in Canadian universities is on the rise (Statistics Canada, 2016). International students made up eleven percent of the total student population at Canadian universities in 2014, increasing from seven percent a decade prior. International students contribute significantly to the Canadian economy (OECD, 2013), which is one of the reasons why many post-secondary institutions strive to recruit students from abroad (Fama, 2011). One method of recruiting international students is though offering English language learning programs at the tertiary level in Canada (Chen, 2017). While enrolled in these programs, international students contribute to Canada in a variety of meaningful ways. Upon returning to their home country after their studies in Canada, these students can take on the reverse role as ambassadors of their host country (Jamaludin, Sam, & Sandal, 2018), serving as sources of information about studying in Canada in their peer groups. As much as Canadian schools endeavor to attract and retain international students there is little that can be done to access these students’ informal evaluations of their experiences in their host country once they have returned home and are telling their peers about their time spent abroad. Since word-of-mouth referrals factor into the decision to study abroad (Mazzarol & Soutar, 2002), it is important to know what students returning from language programs in Canada have to say about their experiences. At present, much research on international students in Canadian language programs has focused on the experiences of Chinese students whereas little is known about Korean university students participating in language programs in Canada. This study employs a qualitative research approach using a a basic interpretive design and took place in Kongju, South Korea. It involved a small, purposive sampling of five university-aged Korean students who had recently returned from studying English in short-term language programs in various regions in Canada. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, guided by this study’s research questions. This study found that English language learning programs which include social aspects are more likely to engender a positive word-of-mouth response from their participants.