An attempt to raise Thai students’ awareness of World Englishes in a General English Program
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v14i1.1416Keywords:
World Englishes, English as an International Language, General English program, adult learners, Thai Higher EducationAbstract
As witnessed over three decades in the field of Applied Linguistics, the emergence of world Englishes (hereafter WE), thanks to the global spread of English, has prompted various scholars to call for the need to critically revise the ways in which teachers teach English. Specifically, practitioners have been encouraged to raise their students’ awareness of WE. Examples of WE-informed curricula, modules, or lessons have been showcased by WE advocates from different parts of the world. However, most of these curricula, modules, and lessons are taught or delivered within TESOL teacher-education programs, leading some educators to question the relevance of WE to language learners. This paper showcases and evaluates critically how a WE-informed practitioner at one of the leading universities in Thailand attempts to inspire students enrolled in a General English program to develop respectful views of English language variation. Although the attempt has resulted in minor changes in students’ views, it certainly highlights that the teaching of world Englishes to English language learners is far from an idealistic attempt.
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Suzuki, A. (2011). Introducing diversity of English into ELT: Student teachers’ responses. ELT Journal, 65 (2), 145-153.
Wang, C. (2017). Attitudes towards English diversity of students in the international college and the non-IC programmes at a university in Taiwan. RELC Journal. Advance online publication. Doi: 10.1177/0033688217716509.
Briguglio, C. (2005). The use of English as a global language in multinational settings and the implications for business education. Unpublished PhD thesis, The University of Western Australia, Western Australia, Australia.
Canagarajah, A.S. (1993). Critical ethnography of a Sri Lankan classroom: Ambiguities in student opposition to reproduction through ESOL. TESOL Quarterly, 27 (4), 601-626.
Canagarajah, A.S. (2006). Changing communicative needs, revised assessment objectives: Testing English as an International Language. Language Assessment Quarterly, 3 (3), 229-242.
Canagarajah, A.S. (2014). In search of a new paradigm for teaching English as an International Language. TESOL Journal, 5 (4), 767-785.
Chang, Y.J. (2014). Learning English today: what can World Englishes teach college students in Taiwan? English Today, 30 (1), 21-27.
Choi, K. (2007). Study on students’ attitude towards World Englishes and Non-native English teachers. English Teaching, 62(4), 47-68.
Crossman, J. E., & Clarke, M. (2010). International experience and graduate employability: Stakeholder perceptions on the connection. Higher Education, 59 (5), 599-613.
Doecke, B., & Kostogriz, A. (2008). Becoming a professional (and other dissident acts): Language and literacy teaching in an Age of Neoliberal Reform. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 8 (4), 63-84.
Freedman, S.W., & Ball, A.F. (2004). Ideological becoming: Bakhtinian concepts to guide the study of language, literacy, and learning. In A.F. Ball & S.W. Freedman (Eds.), Bakhtinian Perspectives on Language, Literacy, and Learning (pp.3-33). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fungchomchoei, S., & Kardkarnklai, U. (2016). Exploring the intercultural competence of Thai secondary education teachers and its implications in English language teaching. Procedia: Social and Behavioural Siences, 236, 240-247.
Galloway, N., & Rose, H. (2014). Using listening journals to raise awareness of Global Englishes in ELT. ELT Journal, 68 (4), 386-396.
Galloway, N., & Rose, H. (2015). Introducing Global Englishes. Oxon, Abingdon: Routledge.
Jindapitak, N., & Teo, A. (2013). Accent priority in a Thai university context: A common sense revisited. English Language Teaching, 6(9), 193-204.
Laopongharn,W., & Sercombe, P. (2009). What relevance does intercultural communication have to language education in Thailand? ARECLS, 6, 59-63.
Kachru, B.B. (1992). Models for non-native Englishes. In B.B. Kachru (Ed.), The Other Tongue: Englishes Across Cultures (2nd ed.) (pp.48-75). Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
Kubota, R. (2012). The politics of EIL: Toward border-crossing communication in and beyond English. In A.Matsuda (Ed.), Principles and Practices of Teaching English as an International Language (pp.55-69). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Marlina, R. (2014). The pedagogy of English as an International Language: More reflections and dialogues. In R.Marlina & R.Giri (eds.) The Pedagogy of English as an International Language: Perspectives from Scholars, Teachers, and Students (pp.1-19). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.
Marlina, R. (2018). Teaching English as an International Language: Implementing, reviewing, and re-envisioning World Englishes in language education. Oxon, Abingdon: Routledge.
Matsuda, A. (2012). Principles and practices of teaching English as an International Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Matsuda, A. (2017). Preparing teachers to teach English as an International Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Matsuda, A. (forthcoming). Is teaching English as an International Language all about being politically correct? In R. Marlina (ed.) for a special issue on “Teaching EIL: Realistic or idealistic?”, RELC Journal.
Mauranen, A. (2018). Conceptualising ELF. In J.Jenkins, W. Baker, M.Dewey (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca (pp. 7-24). Oxon: Routledge.
McKay, S.L., & Brown, J.D. (2016). Teaching and assessing EIL in local contexts around the world. New York: Routledge.
Natiladdanon, K., & Thanavisuth, C. (2014). Attitudes, awareness, and comprehensibility of ASEAN English accents: A qualitative study of university students in Thailand. Catalyst, 9(1), 16-30.
Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board. (2017). The Twelfth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021). Available at: www.nesdb.go.th/nesdb_en/ewt_dl_link.php?nid=4345 (Accessed 27 January 2018)
Rose, H. (2017). A global approach to English language teaching: Integrating an international perspective into a teaching methods course. In A.Matsuda (Ed.), Preparing teachers to teach English as an International Language (pp.169-180). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Saslow, J., & Ascher, A. (2015). Top Notch: English for Today’s World Level 3, Third Edition. Pearson Education, Inc.
Singh, M., & Shrestha, M. (2008). Internationalising pedagogical structures: Admittance into the community of scholars via double knowing. In. M.Hellsten & A.Reid (Eds.), Researching international pedagogies: Sustainable practice of teaching and learning in higher education (pp.65-82). Netherlands: Springer.
Suzuki, A. (2011). Introducing diversity of English into ELT: Student teachers’ responses. ELT Journal, 65 (2), 145-153.
Wang, C. (2017). Attitudes towards English diversity of students in the international college and the non-IC programmes at a university in Taiwan. RELC Journal. Advance online publication. Doi: 10.1177/0033688217716509.
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2019-05-31
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