College of Education

About Us Admissions & Academics Research & Engagement Departments & Faculty Current Students

Hyun-Sook Kang

Biography

Hyun-Sook Kang earned her Ph.D. in Educational Linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education in 2007, and prior to her post in EPOL, she was on the faculty in the Linguistics Department at Illinois, Illinois State University, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is currently serving as Co-Editor of Journal of Language, Identity, and Education.

Key Professional Appointments

  • Associate Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Associate Professor, Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Associate Professor, Women & Gender in Global Perspectives, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
  • Other, Program Coordinator of Global Studies in Education, 2021 - present
  • Editorial activity, Journal of Language, Identity, and Education (Journal), 2019 - 2019
  • Membership of committee, American Association for Applied Linguistics (External organization), 2019 - 2021

Research & Service

Hyun’s research interests center on language learning and practice in relation to transnational mobility, such as immigration and study abroad. Her works have appeared in international peer-reviewed journals, such as Bilingual Research Journal, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Language Awareness, Modern Language Journal, and TESOL Quarterly. Her research has been supported by the Academy of Korean Studies, Cambridge Michigan Language Assessment, Language Learning Small Grant Program, and U of I GATE Program.

Publications

Kang, H-S. (Accepted/In press). Learners’ beliefs about English language learning: The case of Korean college students sojourning in the US. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education.

Kang, H-S., & Nam-Huh, Y. (Accepted/In press). Online language teacher education: A systematic review. In Z. Tajeddin, & T. Farrell (Eds.), Handbook of language teacher education: Critical review and research synthesis Springer Nature.

Kang, H-S., & Shively , R. (Accepted/In press). Researching language-focused study abroad through an equity lens: A research agenda . Language Teaching.  link >

Kang, H. S., & Pak, Y. (2023). Student Engagement in Online Graduate Program in Education: A Mixed-Methods Study. American Journal of Distance Education. Advance online publication.  link >

Oyama, T., & Kang, H-S. (2023). Discourse-Based Grammar Instruction in ESL Academic Writing: A Mixed Methods Study. Language Awareness. Advance online publication.  link >

Kang, H. S., & Uchikoshi, Y. (2022). Child Second Language Development of English Tense and Aspect: The Role of Narrative Organization . Applied Psycholinguistics, 43(4), 785-804.  link >

Kang, H. S., Kim, N., & Christianson, K. (2022). Grammatical aspect and world knowledge in second language reading. IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 60(2), 411-435.  link >

Kang, H-S., & Nam-Huh, Y. (2022). TESOL Practicum in the Pandemic Era: The Emotions and Strategies of Teacher Candidates. In C. Pu, & W. E. Wright (Eds.), Innovating the TESOL Practicum in Teacher Education : Design, Implementation, and Pedagogy in an Era of Change (pp. 52-63). (Routledge Research in Language Education). Routledge.  link >

Kang, H-S., & Yoon, J. H. S. (2021). Heritage Languages in Japan and Korea. In S. Montrul, & M. Polinsky (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Heritage Languages and Linguistics (pp. 111-128). (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics). Cambridge University Press.  link >

Kang, H-S., & Pacheco, M. B. (2021). Short-term study abroad in TESOL: Current state and prospects. TESOL Quarterly, 55(3), 817-838.  link >

Jadallah, M., Kang, H. S., Hund, A. M., & Kirby, E. M. (2020). The indexical nature of classroom discourse: the role of technology integration. Classroom Discourse, 11(1), 41-60.  link >

Kang, H., Shin, D., & Cimasko, T. (2020). Introduction. In H-S. Kang, D. Shin, & T. Cimasko (Eds.), Online Education for Teachers of English as a Global Language (pp. 1-15). (Routledge Studies in Applied Linguistics). Routledge.  link >

Kang, H., Shin, D., & Cimasko, T. (2020). Moving Forward. In H-S. Kang, D. Shin, & T. Cimasko (Eds.), Online Education for Teachers of English as a Global Language (pp. 210-213). (Routledge Studies in Applied Linguistics). Routledge.  link >

Kang, H. (Ed.), Shin, D., & Cimasko, T. (Ed.) (2020). Online Education for Teachers of English as a Global Language. (Routledge Studies in Applied Linguistics). Routledge.  link >

Kang, H. S., & Pacheco, M. B. (2020). Translingual competence and study abroad: shifts in sojourners’ approaches to second language learning. Language and Education, 34(5), 425-439.  link >

Wright, W. E., & Kang, H-S. (2020). Editor's Introduction. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 19(1), 1-2.  link >

Chen, J., & Kang, H. S. (2019). Tiger Moms or Cat Dads: Parental Role in Bilingualism Among Asian and Latino Americans. Social Science Quarterly, 100(4), 1154-1170.  link >

Kang, H. S., & Ahn, S. Y. (2019). Broadening learners’ perspectives on World Englishes: 
a classroom-based study. Language Awareness, 28(4), 268-290.  link >

Pacheco, M. B., Kang, H. S., & Hurd, E. (2019). Scaffolds, signs, and bridges: Language ideologies and translanguaging in student-teaching experiences. Bilingual Research Journal, 42(2), 194-213.  link >

Kang, H. (2018). Linking Task-based Language Teaching and Assessment: Practices and Possibilities. Studies in English Education, 23(4), 891-915.  link >

Shin, D. S., & Kang, H. S. (2018). Online Language Teacher Education: Practices and Possibilities. RELC Journal, 49(3), 369-380.  link >

Ahn, S. Y., & Kang, H. S. (2017). South Korean university students’ perceptions of different English varieties and their contribution to the learning of English as a foreign language. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 38(8), 712-725.  link >

Kang, H. S., & Veitch, H. (2017). Mainstream Teacher Candidates' Perspectives on ESL Writing: The Effects of Writer Identity and Rater Background. TESOL Quarterly, 51(2), 249-274.  link >

Kim, I. S., Kang, H-S., Pirruccello, L., Kweon, S., & Oh, C. (2017). Motor learning theory-based approach for teaching English as a second language. Speech, Language and Hearing, 20(2), 63-70.  link >

Kang, H., & Kim, I. (2016). Heritage Language Self-Assessment: The Role of Cultural Identity and Language Domain. Korean Journal of Applied Linguistics, 32(3), 27-50.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2016). Subject-Object Asymmetry in the Second Language Acquisition of English Relatives and Embedded Wh-Questions. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 45(6), 1389-1406.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2015). Heritage language learning for contesting the model minority stereotype: The case of Korean American college students. In N. D. Hartlep (Ed.), Modern Societal Impacts of the Model Minority Stereotype (pp. 185-204). IGI Global.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2015). Korean Families in America: Their Family Language Policies and Home-Language Maintenance. Bilingual Research Journal, 38(3), 275-291.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2015). Teacher Candidates' Perceptions of Nonnative‐English‐Speaking Teacher Educators in a TESOL Program: “Is there a language barrier compensation?". TESOL Journal, 6(2), 225-251.  link >

Lafave, J. M., Kang, H. S., & Kaiser, J. D. (2015). Cultivating intercultural competencies for civil engineering students in the era of globalization: Case study. Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 141(3), Article 5014008.  link >

Kang, H-S. (2014). Acquisition of English relative clauses by Korean-speaking learners of English. Language Research, 50(3), 739-766.

Kang, H-S. (2013). Korean American college students' language practices and identity positioning: "not Korean, but not American". Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 12(4), 248-261.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2013). Korean-Immigrant Parents' Support of Their American-Born Children's Development and Maintenance of the Home Language. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(6), 431-438.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2012). English-only instruction at Korean universities: Help or hindrance to higher learning? English Today, 28(1), 29-34.  link >

Kang, H-S. (2012). Getting learners' attention to form in the learning of Korean as a heritage language. In Teaching and learning Korean as a foreign language: A collection of empirical studies (pp. 191-208). The National East Asian languages Resource Center, The Ohio State University.

Kang, H. S., & Kim, I. S. (2012). Perceived and actual competence and ethnic identity in heritage language learning: A case of Korean-American college students. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 15(3), 279-294.  link >

Hsieh, P. P. H., & Kang, H. S. (2010). Attribution and self-efficacy and their interrelationship in the Korean EFL context. Language Learning, 60(3), 606-627.  link >

Kang, H-S. (2010). Korean as a heritage language in the U.S. university classroom. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 8, 141-167.

Kang, H. S. (2010). Negative Evidence and Its Explicitness and Positioning in the Learning of Korean as a Heritage Language. Modern Language Journal, 94(4), 582-599.  link >

Kang, H. S. (2009). The relative efficacy of explicit and implicit feedback in the learning of a less-commonly-taught foreign language. IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 47(3-4), 303-324.  link >

Kang, H-S. (2008). Teaching in two languages: Elementary English programs in Korea. In Global English language teacher education: Praxis and possibility (pp. 131-143). TESOL.

Pica, T., Kang, H. S., & Sauro, S. (2006). Information gap tasks: Their multiple roles and contributions to interaction research methodology. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 28(2), 301-338.  link >

Kang, H-S. (2004). Compliment Responses by Korean Speakers. The Korean Language in America, 9, 113-125.

Kang, H-S. (2002). What is Missing in Interlanguage? Acquisition of Determiners by Korean Learners of English. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 18(1), 51-65.

Courses

EPOL 528: Researching Global Education (EPOL 528) Introduces education research methodology and consider the cultural, political and ethical implications of engaging in education research in cross-cultural, global contexts. Students will learn to select an appropriate topic for research, effectively navigate and use an academic research library, conduct a literature review, and craft a literature review portion of a larger research project.

EPOL 586: General Field Research Seminar (EPOL 586) This course will guide doctoral students as they develop a broad and critical understanding of their general field of doctoral study. Students will conduct a synthesized and critical review of the general field literature, which will become part of their dissertation. This course may meet the doctoral requirement of the General Field Qualifying Examination.

EPOL 587: Special Field Research Seminar (EPOL 587) This course will guide doctoral students as they develop a broad and critical understanding of their special field of doctoral study. Students will conduct a synthesized and critical review of the special field literature, which will become part of their dissertation.This course may meet the doctoral requirement of the Special Field Qualifying Examination.

EPOL 590: Advanced Graduate Seminar (EPOL 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education.

EPS 580: Researching Global Education (EPS 580) The course will introduce education research methodology and consider the cultural, political and ethical implications of engaging in education research in cross-cultural, global contexts. Students will learn to select an appropriate topic for research, effectively navigate and use an academic research library, conduct a literature review, and craft a literature review portion of a larger research project. Same as EPOL 528. 4 graduate hours. No professional credit.

EPS 590: Advanced Graduate Seminar (EPS 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education.