Phenthip Manajitt. The communicative language teaching (CLT) conceptualization and CLT practice of thai EFL school teachers in Bangkok . Master's Degree(Applied Linguistics). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2008.
The communicative language teaching (CLT) conceptualization and CLT practice of thai EFL school teachers in Bangkok
Abstract:
The purpose of this survey research was to investigate the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) conceptualization and practice of Thai EFL secondary school teachers in Bangkok. The sample was derived from multi-stage sampling. The sample was composed of 58 Thai EFL teachers who were teaching from Matayomsuksa one (Grade 7) to Matayomsuksa six (Grade 12) in public secondary schools in 2007. Nine of these took part in individual interviews. 2,328 EFL earners who had studied with the sample Thai EFL teachers were also part of the sample. There were three research instruments: a teacher questionnaire, a student questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The questionnaires and the face-to-face interview investigated the CLT conceptualization and the CLT practice of these Thai EFL secondary school teachers. The data was analyzed statistically through means, frequencies, percentages and ratios. The research revealed that the teachers had a clear conceptualization of CLT and were enthusiastic in learning about CLT from different sources such as media, research studies, and seminars. The teachers, however, applied CLT in their teaching only moderately. Some suggested that this was due to large classes, lack of equipment, and time constraints. They often used Thai to teach English and applied both CLT and traditional approaches in their classrooms. For instance, the EFL learners learned English individually exemplifying traditional approaches or in pairs in accordance with CLT precepts. A perceived difficulty was that both teachers and learners felt obliged to partly focus on developing knowledge and skills for the English entrance examinations rather than for English communication. To remedy these problems, teachers should be given more training opportunities and course and exams designed to be more flexible and responsive