The emergence and disappearance of the NEAT discourse: a textual configuration perspective on policy-driven language testing in South Korean media

초록

This study investigates the discursive construction, expansion, and eventual extinction of the National English Ability Test (NEAT) policy in South Korean media through a Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) framework. Drawing on a comparative textual analysis of news articles from Chosun - Ilbo and Hankyoreh, the research explores shifting patterns of material, relational, mental, and verbal processes across three phases: creation, expansion, and extinction of NEAT discourse. Findings reveal clear asymmetries in agency, with government institutions cast as primary 'Actors' in the creation and expansion phases, while the public is framed as passive 'Carriers' and 'Sensors.' In the extinction phase, discourse shifts toward passive constructions and existential processes, naturalizing policy withdrawal. This study contributes to critical discourse analysis of education policy by highlighting how linguistic mechanisms construct and dismantle authority, legitimacy, and public sentiment in newspaper media.

키워드