Using Joycean Narrative Inquiry to Historically Explore the Language Use of One Community of Practice in South Korea

This paper, through the use of Joycean narrative inquiry, offers a qualitative narrative analysis of two types of language input the South Korean community was exposed to when the doors opened to a large number of western teachers in 1993 (i.e., General American and Received Pronunciation). Specifically, this paper provides examples of lexical choice and quotes from two groups of teachers at this time (i.e., American and British). This analysis is accomplished through a reflective narrative drawn from the style found in a story in Joyce's The Dubliners (i.e., The Dead), where groups are personified into characters, and the events of one day are presented as representative of each groups' people and their language use. Using this technique, this paper reports that the representative of each group held fast to his/her individual varieties to preserve identity. This paper also found that each representative used acts of convergence to reduce social distance. Noting that narrative inquiry is an emerging, recognized, and widely used area in the field but that the use of Joycean narrative inquiry is underrepresented, this reflection provides both a historical perspective and a starting point for future examinations of non-native speaker (NNS) communities' present use of English. Specifically, investigations into what influences such historical examples have had on present language use. Regarding the lack of research using this instrument, this paper is also offered as a starting point for the use of Joycean narrative inquiry as a research instrument in TESOL and its related fields.