The Effect of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on General English Education - A Case Study of Native English Instructors’ Perceptions at a Korean University

Abstract

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) which is driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI), robot technology, 3D printing, Internet of Things (IoT), etc., is transforming people’s lives in various fields. In EFL learning and teaching, AI-based technologies are also widely being used in and out of classrooms. As many EFL learners are now relying on those technologies, they might not feel the need for teachers and/or classroom learning altogether in the near future. In addition, as many native speakers of English (NES) instructors have been responsible for teaching general English courses at Korean universities, they are very much concerned that they could eventually lose their jobs and be replaced by AI. Given these circumstances, a preliminary study will be needed to see how they perceive general English education in Korea in the 4IR and the use of AI. The perceptions of 11 NES instructors who are teaching in a general English department at a Korean university were investigated. A survey questionnaire which includes Likert-scale, Yes/No, multiple-choice, short answer, and open-ended questions was provided, and the data were analyzed via discussions of four researchers. It was found that the instructors thought that speaking-oriented courses would be the most important in the future, and they could be of great help in teaching culturally and socially appropriate English. They also believed that they could play important roles of enhancing students’ motivation and confidence, monitoring and guiding students’ learning, and teaching “real” English which AI cannot do. Moreover, they admitted the fact that they could not prevent their students from using AI-based translation applications. However, they argued that they would need to incorporate those applications into teaching and provide proper guidance to their students. Implications and limitations of the study are included.