한국수어 교재의 재구조화 방안 연구: 미국수어 교재와의 비교 분석을 중심으로

초록

Despite the quantitative expansion of KSL education in Korea, there has been almost no increase in the number of people who are able to communicate with deaf people. For this reason, this study examines the textbooks available for Korean Sign Language (KSL), focusing on areas for improvement. With the premise that KSL textbooks should incorporate linguistic educational content, the study compares and analyzes KSL textbooks along with American Sign Language (ASL) textbooks and seeks to suggest restructuring plans for KSL textbooks based on the results. For the analysis, the study targeted 12 KSL textbooks and 2 ASL textbooks. The results revealed clear differences between KSL and ASL textbooks in terms of overall external and internal composition as well as thematic content, vocabulary and conversational sections within the learning materials. Several points of discussion emerged from these findings. Firstly, the external composition of ASL textbooks in the United States adhered closely to the visual informatization that deaf people prefer and feel familiar to. Secondly, KSL textbooks lacked internal composition compared to ASL textbooks in terms of ‘continuity’ and ‘sequence.’ Thirdly, the development of high-quality ASL textbooks in the United States can be attributable to decades of foundational research. Fourthly, in order for KSL textbooks for language teaching and learning to be effectively planned for learners, it would be necessary to develop KSL textbooks based on linguistic theories. Therefore, the study makes the following suggestions: Firstly, it is necessary to speed up the efforts regarding establishment of evaluation criteria for KSL proficiency by grade level, improvement of the curriculum for KSL teachers at the 2nd level, and development of the curriculum for KSL teachers at the 1st level, all of which are currently underway by the National Institute of the Korean Language. Secondly, external composition of ASL textbooks, designed to be deaf people friendly, should be taken as a model. Thirdly, theories and methods for composing actual learning content such as learning topics, vocabulary, and conversational exercises in KSL curriculum need to be explored. Fourthly, guidelines and criteria for the continuous evaluation need to be established for both restructuring the currently available KSL textbooks and any KSL textbook that will be developed in the future.

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