Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation
This study examines the visual and textual representations of three revised national junior middle English textbooks as part of Kim Jong Un’s educational reform and aims to answer three questions: To what extent have the revised English textbooks i) fulfilled their proposed goal of improving Nor...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2022
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20680/1/55296-194020-2-PB.pdf |
| _version_ | 1796933296136912896 |
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| author | Ahn, Hyejeong Lee, Hyejin |
| author_facet | Ahn, Hyejeong Lee, Hyejin |
| author_sort | Ahn, Hyejeong |
| collection | UKM |
| description | This study examines the visual and textual representations of three revised national junior middle English textbooks
as part of Kim Jong Un’s educational reform and aims to answer three questions: To what extent have the revised
English textbooks i) fulfilled their proposed goal of improving North Koreans’ practical English skills? ii) remained
ideologically driven propaganda tools and iii) how the internationalisation of English is presented in these
textbooks. The results indicate that these textbooks powerfully reinforce the notion of the superiority of North Korea
and promote the cult system of the Kims. The textbooks are highly localised and absent of international content. This
study highlights that North Korean English textbooks are not designed to teach international communication in
English but to equip students with certainty about the superior status of North Korea. Although this study focuses
on North Korea, it can prompt a critical re-examination of the biases contained in international English textbooks,
which sensationalise a “bright” view of Western societies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T04:45:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | ukm.eprints-20680 |
| institution | Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T04:45:03Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publisher | Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ukm.eprints-206802022-12-11T00:48:24Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20680/ Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation Ahn, Hyejeong Lee, Hyejin This study examines the visual and textual representations of three revised national junior middle English textbooks as part of Kim Jong Un’s educational reform and aims to answer three questions: To what extent have the revised English textbooks i) fulfilled their proposed goal of improving North Koreans’ practical English skills? ii) remained ideologically driven propaganda tools and iii) how the internationalisation of English is presented in these textbooks. The results indicate that these textbooks powerfully reinforce the notion of the superiority of North Korea and promote the cult system of the Kims. The textbooks are highly localised and absent of international content. This study highlights that North Korean English textbooks are not designed to teach international communication in English but to equip students with certainty about the superior status of North Korea. Although this study focuses on North Korea, it can prompt a critical re-examination of the biases contained in international English textbooks, which sensationalise a “bright” view of Western societies. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022-09 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20680/1/55296-194020-2-PB.pdf Ahn, Hyejeong and Lee, Hyejin (2022) Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 28 (3). pp. 17-34. ISSN 0128-5157 https://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/issue/view/1543 |
| spellingShingle | Ahn, Hyejeong Lee, Hyejin Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation |
| title | Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation |
| title_full | Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation |
| title_fullStr | Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation |
| title_short | Unveiling revised North Korean English textbooks : language, ideology, and internationalisation |
| title_sort | unveiling revised north korean english textbooks language ideology and internationalisation |
| url | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20680/1/55296-194020-2-PB.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ahnhyejeong unveilingrevisednorthkoreanenglishtextbookslanguageideologyandinternationalisation AT leehyejin unveilingrevisednorthkoreanenglishtextbookslanguageideologyandinternationalisation |