A Study on Basic Literacy Education Using a Balanced Approach in the Introductory Stage for Elementary School Korean Learners

The purpose of this study is to develop an introductory stage of basic literacy for elementary school learners of Korean as a Second Language (KSL) and to explore educational content and methods from a balanced approach perspective. To this end, the study presents three key aspects of introdutory KSL education: first, word-level basic literacy instruction; second, laying the foundation for spoken language and literacy development through phonological awareness; and third, a meaningful interaction-based balanced approach. Subsequently, a method for con structing a meaning-oriented word list was proposed as introductory basic literacy content. This method is based on the beginner vocabulary list from the <Korean Language Curriculum>, with the semantic field of words serving as the main cri terion. Next, we sought a plan to organize educational content centered on phono logical awareness. Examples of phonological awareness tasks at the word, syllable, and phoneme levels, suitable for the introductory stage of Korean were provided, along with discussions on how to integrate these tasks with basic literacy content and Hangul learning. Finally, strategies for implementing a balanced approach that incorporates wordplay songs and word- centered interactions were presented.