Teacher professional development to implement Global Englishes language teaching

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe sociolinguistic reality of English users becomes more diverse as the number of non-native English users increases. This changing landscape of English users has implications in English language teaching (ELT), which calls for the need to shift the ELT paradigm from valuing native-norm English to respecting the diversity of Englishes as a legitimate status. However, prior research has paid little attention to supporting teachers to bring change in their classrooms. This article presents an attempt to provide teacher professional development for English teachers in Thailand to implement Global Englishes language teaching (GELT). Using transformative learning theory, the professional development was designed to help teachers experience disjunctures through a series of transformative learning activities. A questionnaire, researcher’s field notes, and teacher’s reflection were used to document teachers’ attitudes toward GELT. The analysis showed that teachers reported positive feedbacks toward the activities, but attitudes toward GELT were observed to have minimal changes.