Professional Bio

Areas of Interest: language socialization, (critical) discourse analysis, and language planning and policy.

Eunhae Cho is a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Linguistics, studying language learning experiences of young academic migrants in Korea. She examines intra-national educational migration trajectories, exploring their narratives of transition that reveal broader sociocultural understandings of regional and local differences, with implications for access to specific types of education in English learning. Her work addresses rural-urban divides and the social and ethical costs of educational credentialism as a means of social mobility.

Her research interests include language socialization, (critical) discourse analysis, and language planning and policy. Throughout her Master's studies, she utilized critical discourse analysis to reveal the underlying ideologies that drive policy implementation on high-stakes language tests while examining the impact of language assessment policies on English learners in Korea.

Before joining Penn State, Eunhae worked as a personal attendant for individuals with disabilities, focusing on special education. Primarily, she taught English in South Korea, obtaining a national teaching certificate for secondary education. She taught 2nd to 5th graders at an elementary school before migrating to the United States.