Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea
Abstract Drawing on critical discourse analysis methodologies, this study examines the discursive conflicts and strategies employed by newspaper media surrounding the National English Ability Test (NEAT) in Korea. NEAT was reported to cause severe competition among young learners of English and lack...
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doaj-a24fccd74cc64833829f4382f55da24c2020-11-25T03:52:45ZengSpringerOpenLanguage Testing in Asia2229-04432020-06-0110111810.1186/s40468-020-00100-7Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in KoreaDongil Shin0Eunhae Cho1Department of English Language and Literature, Chung-Ang UniversityDepartment of Applied Linguistics, The Pennsylvania State UniversityAbstract Drawing on critical discourse analysis methodologies, this study examines the discursive conflicts and strategies employed by newspaper media surrounding the National English Ability Test (NEAT) in Korea. NEAT was reported to cause severe competition among young learners of English and lacked public support. Discursive conflicts over whether NEAT would be legitimized flourished in the media. In this study, the discursive practices adopted by both proponents and opponents of NEAT in two leading Korean newspapers of different political orientations—Chosun Ilbo and Hankyoreh—were analyzed from 2006 to 2016. Over this decade, there were three periods of transformation: creation, expansion, and extinction. During the creation period, the discursive conflict focused on the TOEFL crisis in Korea, expansion on the implementation of NEAT, and extinction on its abolition. From creation to abolition, there were competing rationales for developing, suspending, or abolishing NEAT. This study investigated the underlying orientations (neoliberal and evaluative state) of the two newspapers and found that they examined the pros and cons of using the test. Moreover, the government’s implementation of high-stakes testing and its attempt to reward those who complied and to curb the private education sector stresses market-friendly state interaction, which accordingly perpetuates neoliberal conditions.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40468-020-00100-7Critical discourse analysisDiscursive conflictsHigh-stakes testingNational English Ability Test (NEAT)NeoliberalismEvaluative state |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Dongil Shin Eunhae Cho |
spellingShingle |
Dongil Shin Eunhae Cho Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea Language Testing in Asia Critical discourse analysis Discursive conflicts High-stakes testing National English Ability Test (NEAT) Neoliberalism Evaluative state |
author_facet |
Dongil Shin Eunhae Cho |
author_sort |
Dongil Shin |
title |
Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea |
title_short |
Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea |
title_full |
Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea |
title_fullStr |
Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of English in Korea |
title_sort |
discursive conflicts in news media and the suspension of a government-led test of english in korea |
publisher |
SpringerOpen |
series |
Language Testing in Asia |
issn |
2229-0443 |
publishDate |
2020-06-01 |
description |
Abstract Drawing on critical discourse analysis methodologies, this study examines the discursive conflicts and strategies employed by newspaper media surrounding the National English Ability Test (NEAT) in Korea. NEAT was reported to cause severe competition among young learners of English and lacked public support. Discursive conflicts over whether NEAT would be legitimized flourished in the media. In this study, the discursive practices adopted by both proponents and opponents of NEAT in two leading Korean newspapers of different political orientations—Chosun Ilbo and Hankyoreh—were analyzed from 2006 to 2016. Over this decade, there were three periods of transformation: creation, expansion, and extinction. During the creation period, the discursive conflict focused on the TOEFL crisis in Korea, expansion on the implementation of NEAT, and extinction on its abolition. From creation to abolition, there were competing rationales for developing, suspending, or abolishing NEAT. This study investigated the underlying orientations (neoliberal and evaluative state) of the two newspapers and found that they examined the pros and cons of using the test. Moreover, the government’s implementation of high-stakes testing and its attempt to reward those who complied and to curb the private education sector stresses market-friendly state interaction, which accordingly perpetuates neoliberal conditions. |
topic |
Critical discourse analysis Discursive conflicts High-stakes testing National English Ability Test (NEAT) Neoliberalism Evaluative state |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40468-020-00100-7 |
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AT dongilshin discursiveconflictsinnewsmediaandthesuspensionofagovernmentledtestofenglishinkorea AT eunhaecho discursiveconflictsinnewsmediaandthesuspensionofagovernmentledtestofenglishinkorea |
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