“ <i>I find it speaks better than my mom sometimes</i> ”: Students’ Perceived Impact on Learner Autonomy From an AI Native Korean Speaker-Based Asynchronous KFL Class

ABSTRACT This case study explores six college students’ perceived impact of an artificial intelligence (AI) Korean speaker-based asynchronous summer Korean class on their learner autonomy (Holec, 1979). The 5-week summer class consists of four asynchronous components: (1) Lecture Videos and Follow-up Quizzes, (2) Textbook Exercises, (3) Conversation Activities with AI native Korean Speakers, and (4) Pair-work Conversation Activities. The research question was the following: How do Korean as a foreign language (KFL) students perceive an AI native Korean speaker-based summer course in terms of their learner autonomy? Semistructured interviews were conducted for 1 hour with each participant, and the recordings were transcribed for in-depth analysis. Utilizing the constant contrasting and comparing method (LeCompte &amp; Preissle, 1993), this study analyzes 430 initial codes. These codes were then clustered into seven categories, revealing three key themes that map out the plausible relations of categories. The data revealed that students perceived the coursework as a useful resource and found it to be a good fit for their needs. Despite reporting the heavy workload as a challenge, all participants acknowledged that they improved their time management skills through the educational intervention. The researchers argue that curriculum designers should consider learning materials and assignments as resources students can “play with” for their own discursive and autonomous learning strategies.