| Summary: | The purposes of this study were to determine attrition
rates of students learning Korean in university courses, their
motivations to study the target language, why many drop out, and
what educators can do to address and decrease high rates of attrition.
A survey was administered to 129 students enrolled in lower-level
(101–202) Korean language classes during the years 2005–2010 at a
large, private university in the Rocky Mountain region of the United
States. Self-identifying heritage students comprised 45.7% of those
who completed the survey. Surveys were administered to students
via email and returned in the same manner; as such, they represent a
response and convenience sample. Five of the 12 survey questions
utilized a 5-point Likert scale. The overall attrition rate from class to
class during this time period was 85%. Students identified that the
most motivating factors in their decision to take Korean were “It’s an
important language,” “Future career benefits,” and “I have Korean
heritage.” More students desired to learn only basic words and
phrases than any one other proficiency category. The most common
reason for quitting Korean was that it didn’t fit students’ schedules.
Likewise, students indicated that had a following course been offered
at a different time or if a language lab offering tutoring were made
available, they might have been influenced to continue taking
Korean. Surveys also addressed language-learning anxiety. Based on
the results gathered, this study makes suggestions for improving
Korean language instruction in order to reduce student attrition.
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