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In both face-to-face and online settings, attention to language during interpersonal interaction is essential for students' academic English development in English-medium instruction (EMI) classes. This article reports on a study of attention to language spontaneously arising in two different online EMI classes (world history and mathematics) in high schools in Korea. The frequency and nature of language-related episodes (LREs), any instances where teachers and students talk about the language they use, identified in the transcripts of class recording and synchronous text-based chat were analysed. Transcribed interview recordings were also analysed to explore the challenges for the EMI teachers in dealing with language issues during their online classes. Findings indicated the frequent occurrence of LREs during interpersonal interaction in both online classes. The majority of the LREs were initiated by the teachers, and students, too, initiated some LREs. Different patterns were found in the interactional type and linguistic categories of LREs between the different disciplines. Synchronous text-based chat appeared to facilitate students to proactively initiate LREs, mainly to attend to vocabulary and grammar. Findings also revealed that both EMI teachers had more challenges helping students with language in the online context than in the F2F context. • Content teachers' spontaneous linguistic support in online EMI classes was examined. • The nature of LREs in interpersonal interaction including text chat was analysed. • LREs in two different classes (history and mathematics) were compared. • Linguistic challenges for EMI teachers in remote teaching settings were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This in-depth qualitative inquiry about an individual teacher's reflection on the practice of emergent remote teaching (ERT) in a multicultural EAP classroom in South Korea aims to explore the sources of and teacher's response to communication disruption between the teacher and students under the COVID-19 ERT practice in Spring 2020. A total of 222 e-mails exchanged between the teacher-researcher and the students were analyzed to identify the cases of communication disruption. Adopting the notion of reflection-on-action, the teacher's reflective commentaries were elicited to examine the sources of and teacher responses to the communication disruption over the semester. Thematic analysis of the two data sets to find the target themes identified two major sources of the disruption: technical limitations of digital tools used for ERT, and the lack of pro-activeness in institutional decisions. Pedagogical implications from the findings include implementing ERT at least over an entire semester period to ensure the minimum pro-activeness in the institutional decisions, and establishing an online teacher network within the institution so that more immediate hands-on collective knowledge about ERT can be built and shared with teachers in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychosocial problems that today's employees are facing can cause considerable stress, and such stress is likely to affect negatively their individual traits as well as organizational fulfillment. This study thus analyzed the impacts of the employees' psychosocial problems, which occurred widely in work life, family life, and cultural- and health-related life, on their stress, self-esteem, and organizational commitment. Seven hundred and thirty employees in a public enterprise in South Korea were randomly selected, and the research method of the structural equation model with survey questionnaires was applied. The results of the study confirmed that the psychosocial problems that the workers have confronted influenced stress, which was proved to deteriorate their level of organizational commitment and their self-esteem. This implies that more systematic assistance and management of the psychosocial problems must be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Needs-assessment skills were applied in order to promote the growth of underdeveloped EAPs in Korean corporations. Employees in Korean manufacturing were examined in terms of what problems they experienced and what services they would like to see developed in the workplace. The findings suggest that the respondents' concerns mainly centered on job stress, vocational guidance, retirement, mental and physical health, cultural activities, time management, and smoking habits. Correspondingly, they desired employer assistance in areas such as job stress management, vocational guidance, retirement services, mental health services, physical health promotion, cultural activity promotion, time-management services, and smoking prevention. The results not only facilitate the application of needs-assessment skills, but also trigger the birth of EAPs for troubled employees in South Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]