I would like to study code-switching and language mixing in Korean-English bilinguals, and understand the level of variation between foreign born Koreans and Korean born speakers in their code switching. There would be two areas of study I would like to look into: the first would be English words adopted into Korean vocabulary, and the second would be actual code switching among bilinguals. I think it is really interesting when individuals prefer to converse in one language over the other, and which subjects of conversation tend to be favored by which language. I grew up in a household which featured frequent swapping between Tagalog and English, and so I find this subject quite interesting. If I had the funding to travel I would choose to relocate to Korea, but if I was not mobile I would conduct research at local Korean churches and among the Korean clubs at UR and VCU. I think recording casual conversations would be ideal in a situation like this where I can review the recordings and create a data table to look into which topics are covered in Korean and which are covered in English. Also interviews would be required, both so participants could answer questions about how they view code-switching, and also so I can gather information on their fluency in both languages, and whether they privilege one over the other consciously. And of course demographic information. I think using this study with the sapir-whorf hypothesis would also be interesting by tracking which bilingual speakers are English natives and which are Korean native speakers. We could test the theory by seeing which subjects they associate with one language or the other.
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Your research proposal on studying code-switching and language mixing in Korean-English bilinguals is both intriguing and valuable for understanding the linguistic behaviors of individuals with diverse language backgrounds. The comparison between foreign-born Koreans and Korean-born speakers in their code-switching practices could provide valuable insights into how language acquisition and cultural influences impact bilingual communication.