The paper is an analysis of how much success Thai teachers of English have had throughout four decades of teaching English as a Foreign Language （TEFL） and the future direction to take. Thai teachers are aware that ...The paper is an analysis of how much success Thai teachers of English have had throughout four decades of teaching English as a Foreign Language （TEFL） and the future direction to take. Thai teachers are aware that their students are not confident of their speaking abilities. That is why they try to avoid making mistakes in pronunciation and connected speech making as mistakes are taken as signs of inability. It is a common sight in an English class that Thai students prefer to remain in their comfort zone of using the Thai language. Speaking is a productive skill; teaching someone to speak cannot be successfully done through listening to the ＂how to＂ lecture. The author proposes that to dream a possible dream, the teachers need to change their course design to adopt the goals of English for communication and enhancement of soft skills such as networking skill, teamwork skill, self-management skill, creativity, and work attitude. An example of a course design used is discussed with the underlining learning theories for the course, the course organization, and the fruits of this endeavor. This course is adopting the ＂Teach Less and Learn More＂ approach, a route to take for real learning.展开更多
文摘The paper is an analysis of how much success Thai teachers of English have had throughout four decades of teaching English as a Foreign Language （TEFL） and the future direction to take. Thai teachers are aware that their students are not confident of their speaking abilities. That is why they try to avoid making mistakes in pronunciation and connected speech making as mistakes are taken as signs of inability. It is a common sight in an English class that Thai students prefer to remain in their comfort zone of using the Thai language. Speaking is a productive skill; teaching someone to speak cannot be successfully done through listening to the ＂how to＂ lecture. The author proposes that to dream a possible dream, the teachers need to change their course design to adopt the goals of English for communication and enhancement of soft skills such as networking skill, teamwork skill, self-management skill, creativity, and work attitude. An example of a course design used is discussed with the underlining learning theories for the course, the course organization, and the fruits of this endeavor. This course is adopting the ＂Teach Less and Learn More＂ approach, a route to take for real learning.
