ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a detailed, step-by-step demonstration of the use of authentic discourse with a view to supplement the more traditional textbook content, vocabulary, and grammar in high-intermediate to advanced Korean language curricula and classrooms. The authentic discourse illustrated here is culled from 140 online reviews in Korean (40 hotel, 100 restaurant), which are essentially topic-focused, opinion-based narratives concerning the quality, quantity, price, and service relating to specific details of each establishment. We present a discussion of the literature on the use of “authentic texts” in L2 pedagogy, together with an introduction to a number of basic discourse analytic techniques involving macro- (larger viewpoint of genre), meso- (subgenre of narrative), and micro- (register, i.e., word choice, [in]formality) level scopes of analysis. The goal of this approach is threefold: 1) to raise awareness for both teachers and students of language with respect to the obvious and more subtle features of language, 2) to illustrate multiple perspectives on the use of authentic discourse data in the design of pedagogical materials for level-appropriate learners (including students in language for specific purposes programs), and 3) to promote high-leverage teaching practices by providing high-quality conceptual knowledge of target-language features in ways that un-supplemented textbook language cannot.
