By investigating the teaching methods at an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) tutorial school in Thailand. This research focused on the teaching methods and both teachers' and students' perceptions of the methods used in an international language teaching school, which will lead to a better understanding of English as a foreign language teaching in tutorial schools in Thailand.
Research Questions
Scope of the Study
Context of the Study
The teaching method used involves computer programs and native-speaking teachers, and the institute claims that 97 percent of students who follow the method achieve their language goals. Since the institute's philosophy is that students should learn to achieve their personal goals, several factors come into play.
Operational Definition of Terms
Computers are used as tools to help students learn English; and both native and non-native teachers are tasked with teaching students and creating a total English environment to encourage students to receive input and produce their output in English.
Structure of this Report
In this chapter, I will discuss these constructions in relation to English as a Foreign Language (EFL), the Thai EFL context. Finally, previous studies focusing on EFL situations will be compared and contrasted, which would point to the existing gap in the literature regarding the Thai EFL scenario.
The Concepts of the Role of Input in Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
- Comprehensible Input
- Affective Filter
- Incomprehensible Input
- Comprehended Input
Krashen's idea that comprehensible input is critical to second language acquisition is supported by Long (1982). Therefore, comprehensible input in itself does not lead to successful language acquisition if learners have a high affective filter.
The Concepts of the Role of Output in Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
In summary, comprehensible input, incomprehensible input and comprehensible input contribute to learners' second language acquisition. In the next section, I will review the interaction hypothesis and its role on language acquisition.
Interaction Hypothesis
Negative evidence allows students to notice their difficulties and receive feedback on their production and consequently on their grammar; therefore, interaction is part of language acquisition. In summary, many other researchers agree that the role of interaction is to facilitate second language acquisition; therefore, there should be interaction and negotiation of meaning in the English classroom.
Sociocultural Theory
The Constructs of Sociocultural Theory
Lower-level cultural tools include immediate responses to external stimuli that humans share with other species. Therefore, sociocultural theory explains the process of human learning that can be applied in the language classroom.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Also, Vygotsky's idea supports Swain's (1985) production hypothesis, as the product is made to serve the purpose of social interactions. Vygotsky (1978) suggested that input and output should not be the main consideration of second language acquisition because social interactions are what contribute to learner development.
Scaffolding
Therefore, in a language classroom, interaction must be there, because interactions lead to language acquisition and development. Given the importance of the interaction of input and production patterns, together with the central role that sociocultural theory plays in the success rate of second language acquisition, it is clear that learning a second language requires concerted efforts that go beyond to the mere mention of computational metaphor as traditionally practiced in SLA theories.
Teaching Methods and Approaches
Audiolingualism
It focuses on the phonemic, morphological and syntactic systems of a language rather than the traditional categories of grammar. In other words, students should learn by listening and not by translating or memorizing grammar rules because grammar is taught inductively; little or no grammatical explanation is given. In this teaching method, the skills are ordered: listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed in order.
The goals of this method are: (1) accurate pronunciation, (2) ability to respond quickly and accurately in speech situations, and (3) knowledge of sufficient vocabulary to use with grammar patterns.
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
The second component, textual competence, refers to the knowledge of cohesion, coherence and rhetoric used in conversations. Grammatical competence refers to the knowledge that contributes to the ability to produce sentences in a language. This means teaching language for communication with due consideration of the learner's purpose of communication;.
In the study, Walia (2012) suggested that there are factors that make CLT more difficult to utilize compared to the traditional teaching methods such as time constraints, selection of suitable activities, cost, size of classroom, students' shyness and challenge of inculcating self-learning .
Direct Method
Interestingly, advanced grammar rules are not primarily focused in this teaching method, as only everyday vocabulary and sentences would be taught through oral demonstration and elicitation. This method is reported to have been used by language institutes such as Berlitz schools. In addition, it is also suggested that there are disadvantages to this method as it requires native or at least near-native speakers and tends to rely on teachers' abilities rather than books, and not all teachers are effective and able to carry out the principles of the method.
In this regard, the channel metaphor of learning (which tends to be widely practiced in the Asian educational contexts) is no longer appropriate.
Related Research Studies
The results revealed that the direct method could help the students to increase their vocabulary and become more confident in speaking because the students had to speak English in front of the class. Chen (2006) conducted a quasi-experimental study on the effect of the use of L1 in a multimedia tutorial on grammar learning in Taiwan. The influence of L1 could also affect their perception of the effectiveness of the teaching methods used at the institute.
In addition to being aware of the influence of L1, the use of computer and technology is also addressed in language teaching.
English Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand
Nevertheless, Thailand would be at risk due to the low English language skills of Thais. The history of English teaching in Thailand dates back to the 1970s, when English was first included in national curricula as part of the educational program (Phongsakorn Methitham & Pisan Bee Chamcharatsri, 2011). The problems in teaching and learning the English language in Thailand are caused by factors such as: (1) insufficient English language skills of teachers and cultural knowledge as native speakers; (2) lack of opportunities to use English in their daily lives; (3) university entrance examinations that require an international tutorial teaching and learning method; and (4) interference of the native language (Thai), especially in pronunciation, syntax and idiomatic usage, which led to unsuccessful English education in the country.
Tuhoey (2010) reports that many Thai teachers of English in Thailand fail the government's English tests, suggesting that the level of English proficiency of teachers is low.
Summary and Implications of the Literature Review
This chapter provides the background of EFL in contexts, as well as the theoretical framework of this research study.
Research Design
Site Selection
Participants
Sample
Data Collection and Procedure
- Semi-Structured Interviews
- Classroom Observation
- Learner Journals
- The Semi-Structured Interviews
- Classroom Observation
- Learner Journals
The interview questions asked respondents to focus on the teaching methods practiced at the institute and the participants' perception of the advantages and disadvantages of the methods and methods. There are no word restrictions, and participants' names were not collected or recorded. The recordings of the teaching episodes were also transcribed and summarized to explore key teaching patterns and methods/methods.
A coding technique was used to identify key points and participants' perceptions of the teaching methods.
Pilot Tested
Conclusion
In this section, data obtained from interviews, classroom observation, and student diaries were analyzed. For the interviews, the researcher interviewed two groups of participants: students and teachers. For the students' journals, the students provided insights into the learning experience and perceptions they had of learning English at the institute.
Both teachers and students provided information about the characteristics of the classroom and the methods used during their lessons.
Research Question 1: What are the teaching methods employed at an international English language tutorial school?
Fifteen questions were asked to obtain the information from the native language teachers at the institute. Therefore, this aspect of CLT was clearly seen as the teaching method at the institute. In summary, CLT's way of teaching classes was clearly seen at the institute.
The last teaching method within the orderly eclectic method used at the institute was direct method.
Research Question 2: What are the students and the teachers' perceptions towards teaching methods employed at the institute?
It can be seen that both students and teachers have a positive attitude towards the teaching method used in the institute. Moreover, some students found some minor shortcomings of the audio-linguistic method in the institute as they said that the computer lessons were too long. From data collection, a number of students found that there were two main drawbacks of the institute's teaching methods as follows.
In summary, this section deals with the perception of students and teachers regarding the teaching methods used in the institute.
Summary
The purpose of this chapter is to present the discussions of the findings obtained from the data collection of this study. The characteristics of the teaching methods used at the institute are discussed in comparison with the previous research studies and key concepts in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Later in this chapter, limitations of the study, pedagogical implications and recommendations for further research are presented.
Regarding the perception of teaching methods, the findings showed that the perceptions of students and teachers differ considerably from very positive to somewhat negative.
Limitations of the Study
Pedagogical Implications
Moreover, the results revealed that the integration of the computer-assisted teaching method and the communication-based teaching method was perceived by teachers and students as a double-edged sword. Using both computer programs and activities could help students acquire language more effectively than the grammar translation usually used in school; however, excessive use of computer and activity-based teaching methods can lead to student anxiety and frustration.
Recommendations for Further Research
A Study on Prospects and Problems of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) at the Secondary Level in Bangladesh. Biword placement in second language acquisition: Some effects of positive and negative evidence in the classroom. What kind of difficulties or problems do you encounter when teaching English in your classroom.
What type of methods do you use to assess your students' competence after your class.
วอลล์สตรีทควรแก้ไขหรือปรับปรุง
7 คุณคาดหวังอะไรบ้างจากสถาบันสอนภาษา
