Teaching English in South Korea: Studying, shaping, and representing my expatriate experiences Theory and original fiction

In an era of globalization, where English has become the common language of business there has been a great increase in the demand for English teachers in Asian countries desiring to access international business markets. This thesis examines the ways in which expatriate English teachers in Asia have been represented in contemporary fiction in English. That these representations tend to focus on the teacher as being a cultural student who is engaged in a process of discovery outside of the classroom, and who often experiences some form of culture shock, is not surprising. However, this thesis seeks to move beyond the common approaches that situate the expatriate English teacher in Asia as an outsider who never belongs in an exotic host culture, and shift the focus to the relationships that inform expatriate experiences. This thesis combines critical analysis of contemporary literature with original fiction informed by the author's sojourn as an English teacher in South Korea. Through critical analysis, this thesis demonstrates the ways that common approaches in contemporary fiction in English devalue and standardize the experiences of expatriate English teachers in Asia. Through the body of original fiction, this thesis explores the experiences of two expatriate English teachers in South Korea, and in doing so, demonstrates different possibilities of representation.