Celebrating Local, Going Global : Use of Northern Thainess-Based English Lessons

Abstract

In response to the growing interest in the use of local culture in English language teaching (ELT), this current study highlights the positive impacts of northern Thainess-based instructional materials on learners’ English learning. With a focus on the northern region of Thailand, a set of instructional innovations for English elementary education was developed based on the context of northern Thainess as voiced by the community through the completion of a questionnaire. The innovations were subsequently implemented in a Grade 4 class (N=49), aiming at instilling northern Thainess cultural awareness in young learners and providing them with an opportunity to practise speaking English in authentic contexts. The success of the instruction and the use of innovations were assessed by a pre/post-test on northern Thainess and a simulated tour guide task performed by these young learners. Both the significant improvement in the learners’ northern Thainess knowledge and the satisfactory level to which they could successfully perform the role of a tour guide were reported. On the basis of these key findings, insightful pedagogical implications and future research suggestions are provided.