Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to determine the opinions of secondary level Thai teachers who teach English. Their perspectives were collected and compared concerning phonological accuracy practice, communicative fluency activities, authentic teaching techniques and determining appropriate ways to solve the problems of phonological teaching and communicative English language teaching in Thailand. The subjects of the study were 96 teachers from 8 secondary schools in Bangkok, Thailand. The research instrument included a questionnaire with thirty items measured on a five point rating scale plus four open-ended questions seeking descriptive data. The data were statistically compiled according to arithmetic mean and percentage. The results showed that the teachers have very highly positive attitudes towards teaching phonological accuracy and highly positive attitudes towards communicative fluency activities. However, teachers’ attitudes do not relate to the pedagogy conducted in their classrooms as highly as expected. It was also found that the teachers considered themselves to have sufficient knowledge of the theoretical content on phonological accuracy and communicative fluency activity, but most of them also wanted to improve their teaching in these aspects. Many problems revealed by the data are discussed to establish appropriate solutions.
Highlights
1.1 Background and Description of Problem Thai students have studied English language through primary and secondary school for 10 years, most of them cannot use English for communication efficiently
The results showed that the teachers have very highly positive attitudes towards teaching phonological accuracy and highly positive attitudes towards communicative fluency activities
It was found that the teachers considered themselves to have sufficient knowledge of the theoretical content on phonological accuracy and communicative fluency activity, but most of them wanted to improve their teaching in these aspects
Summary
Thai students have studied English language through primary and secondary school for 10 years, most of them cannot use English for communication efficiently. This presents a sizable problem in Thailand. Most Thai students are quite weak in using English for communication purpose. There are many causes of this problem such as Thai students have few opportunities to use English outside the classroom. The examination system at all levels focuses on vocabulary, grammar and reading comprehension. Students are familiar with memorizing the meaning of English vocabulary in Thai, identifying grammatical errors or reading comprehension rather than using English for communication. Teachers are accustomed to explaining grammar, teaching and checking reading comprehension. The English language teaching atmosphere in Thailand clearly emphasizes language accuracy rather than language fluency
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