Understanding the Importance of English Education in South Korea and Exploring the Reasons Why South Korean Students Come to a University in the Midwest

Interview Procedure
This research study preferred to use the interview procedure instead of the survey 
procedure because it was very important for the researcher to collect accurate and 
meaningful data for the interview protocol answered by the subjects. It would be difficult 
for the researcher to collect the accurate answers by using the survey, and the researcher 
understood that it would be much more helpful to collect more quality data by using the 
interview process for this study. That was why this research study used the interview 
procedure.
The researcher sent an email to the 30 selected subjects with the informed consent 
form which included the following information: the purpose of this study, the benefits of 
the research, the methods, the researcher’s contact information, and the use of 
pseudonyms for confidentiality. The informed consent form was collected when the 
researcher first met each participant. Each participant was asked about the interview 
dates (Summer 2013 or Fall 2013) and the interview places (Welch Hall and Calvin T. 
Ryan Library) via the initial emails. After receiving all of the emails from each 
participant for the interview dates and the interview places, the semi-structured 

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interviews were started on an individual basis. The average interview lasted between one 
and two hours, and all of the interview questions and answers used the Korean language 
because of the lack of the interviewees’ English proficiency. Every interview was 
recorded on an iPad and was noted on the field notes. These were transcribed in the 
documents placed in the secure and confidential location. The iPad was password 
protected by the researcher for the purpose of confidentiality. The audio records are kept 
for one year, and the researcher will permanently delete all of the audio records in 
January, 2015. Only the researcher has access to these audio resources and transcribed 
all of these audio resources. Hence, there was no transcriptionist for this study. Moreover, 
the field notes, transcribed documents, and the informed consent forms were securely 
retained and locked in the file cabinet located in the researcher’s office for one year.
Eighth, the researcher encouraged all of the interviewees to honestly answer the study’s 
inquiries by reemphasizing the confidentiality of the process.