Understanding the Importance of English Education in South Korea and Exploring the Reasons Why South Korean Students Come to a University in the Midwest

Method Procedure 
This study used the stratified sampling technique in gathering data from the 
subjects. Mertens (2010) described this technique the following way: “This type of 
sampling is used when there are subgroups (or strata) of different sizes that you wish to 
investigate” (p. 319). As previously stated, the researcher recruited 30 participants based 
upon two different genders and two different durations of study abroad programs for this 
study because the researcher are able to access all of the Korean students’ information 
through the Office of International Education. Therefore, the different subgroups made it 
suitable for the researcher to use the stratified sampling technique for this study.

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The researcher developed the interview protocol based on the research questions 
and the initial literature review. Furthermore, the interview protocol asked the interview 
participants about their Korean academic backgrounds, their Korean academic 
experiences, their perspectives of studying and learning English at American colleges, 
and the challenges of attending American colleges and South Korean colleges. The 
interview protocol is located in Appendix B. 
The research data was collected through the semi-structured interviews with 30 
Korean students who enrolled at UNK and who stayed in Kearney, Nebraska, during 
Spring 2013, Summer 2013, and Fall 2013. After receiving the approvals from the 
members of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln IRB committee and the research study 
adviser, Dr. Miles Bryant, the interviews were conducted in Summer 2013 and Fall 2013.
The institutional review board approval letter is located in Appendix C. 
These semi-structured interviews helped the researcher find the reasons why 
South Korean students study English extensively in South Korea. The interviews also 
provided insight for the researcher to discover the motivations for studying English in the 
United States. Interestingly, after collecting the interview data, the researcher understood 
what factors made Korean students come to UNK specifically.
Data Analysis 
Through the interview process, the researcher found 30 Korean students’ answers 
for 16 interview questions. The 16 interview questions were individually answered by 30 
Korean students. After examining the Korean students’ answers for the interview 
questions, the researcher found a particular commonality for each question and 

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summarized the Korean students’ answers of the interview questions in the section of 
Chapter Four. Reviewing the answers of the interview questions, the researcher 
discovered the answers of the six research questions.