Welcome. I am teacher-practitioner of second language education. I currently teach and live in Seoul, South Korea where I have been teaching and studying since 2012. I received my master’s degree (MA TESOL) from Sookmyung University where I focused on Vygotskian sociocultural theory (Lantolf & Thorne, 2006) and ecological theories of speech perception. My thesis was a speech discrimination experiment designed to explore and examine the influence of syllable codas and foreign living experience on vowel perception by Korean English-language users. At the level of classroom praxis, I practice a Vygotskian pedagogy of dynamic assessment and concept-based instruction (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014) , following in particular the Bridging Activites model (Thorne & Reinhardt, 2008) of social communities of practice.
I have taught all levels and ages of students in South Korea and use this site primarily for teacher-reflection and informal writing on topics related to language, culture and teaching.
Current research-practice interests
Game-Design Enhanced Tasked Based Language Learning and Teaching (1) (2) (3) (4)
Concept-based Instruction (1)
Dynamic Assessment (1) (2) (3) (4)
Pronunciation and Perception (1) (2)
Language, Power and Authority (1) (2) (3) (4)
Publications
Rasmussen, A.M. (2020). Entwining Bridging Activities, the EEE framework, and Coup in a 6th grade advanced EFL writing class. Ludic Language Pedagogy (2), p.203-224.
Rasmussen, M. (2017) English front vowel perception by Korean elementary and University EFL Students : The influence of syllable codas and foreign living experience (unpublished master’s thesis). Sookmyung University, Seoul, South Korea. [PDF]
Rasmussen, M. (2016). Emotion Communication in Intercultural Online Chat Tutoring. Issues in EFL, 12(1). pp. 53-60. [PDF]
Rasmussen, M. (2015) Political Economy of Language Use in an International ESL Teacher Relationship in South Korea. Issues in EFL, 11(2). pp. 47-63. [PDF]
Mark Rasmussen - MA TESOL 
Hello. I hope you’re enjoying your experience in Korea. Korea was actually the first country that I traveled to and taught in abroad. I think your blog will be really helpful for those teaching in or contemplating teaching there. Last year during my travels and time teaching ESL abroad, I began a video project with some of my students called Classroom Chit Chat. If you’re interested, I invite you to check it out (www.classroomchitchat.wordpress.com) and see if it’s something that you’d be interested in having your students participate in. Enjoy Korea!
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