Perception of Grade Nine Learners of Integrated School of Lawa to the Effect of K-drama in their English Proficiency

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

In 2003, Korean dramas or K-dramas were aired in the Philippine television captivating the hearts of the Filipino audience up to these days (Correa, 2013). One of the entertainments of the teens nowadays was watching K-dramas (Delos Reyes, et. al., 2017) and as this grew over time, K-dramas created an impact to the academic performance of the learners (Liu, 2015) affecting also their English proficiency. This research aimed to know the perception of grade nine learners of Integrated School of Lawa to the effect of K-drama in their English proficiency.

METHODS

Qualitative research design, particularly the Grounded Theory Design was used in this research study. The difference between the English proficiency of the learners and their perceptions to the effect of watching K-drama was analyzed. The research adapted a questionnaire based on the questionnaire of Liu (2015). The participants for this study were the grade nine learners from the two different sections: Sincerity and Integrity of Integrated School of Lawa for school year 2017-2018.

RESULTS

The study found out that watching English-subtitled K-dramas can improve the English proficiency of the learners. Aside from the entertainment value, learners also get an educational help through watching English-subtitled K-dramas and this is the improvement of their grammar in the English language which is essential in the development of their English proficiency. Watching English-subtitled K-dramas affects the English proficiency of the grade nine learners of Integrated School of Lawa in the good way where they feel confident to use the English language outside the classroom and their English class, therefore, K-dramas with English subtitles can serve as tools for the English proficiency development of the learners.

DISCUSSIONS

The findings of this study suggested that K-dramas can be both sources of entertainment and educational material particularly an English proficiency development tool for Filipino learners. The researcher hopes that the findings of the current study will contribute to the growing body of literature about the effects and impacts of K-dramas to Filipino lives. The current qualitative study found out some of the possibilities for future research about the effects of watching K-dramas to Filipino learners.