This study examined how Thai EFL teachers understood the English language policy in the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008) and how their understanding impacted their classroom practice. A multiple case study was conducted with two EFL teachers at a government secondary school in the rural area in the northeast of Thailand. Data collection methods included classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of documents. Hornberger's (2006) integrative framework was used to analyze how the two teachers made sense of this policy. The findings of this study demonstrate that both EFL teachers understand the English language policy in the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008), as acquisition planning and status planning which corresponds to the policy planning adopted by the Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008). However, the findings show that a gap exists between the goals of the policy and what the teachers actually do in their classrooms. Even though they acknowledged the importance of learner-centered and communicative approach, there was not much evidence of this method used in their classes. Instead, these teachers tended to transmit knowledge to their students in a teacher-centered manner, with the focus on translation and choral repetition drills. This study suggests the need for more professional development and training for these teachers. It also argues that the policy itself needs to be critically examined.

This book is the eighth volume in the Global Research on Teaching and Learning English series, co-published with The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF). It brings together the latest developments in research on teaching English in under-resourced contexts across the world, offering a window into the complex challenges that these communities face. Recommendations from research and experience in well-resourced contexts are frequently not relevant or feasible in different circumstances. Contributors explore local and regional assets and challenges to provide a deeper understanding of the difficult issues that language learners and teachers must confront, and they provide insights to meet those challenges. With chapters written by TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant awardees, the volume addresses the crucial and growing need for research-based conversations on the contexts, environments, and challenges of teaching English in areas of the world with limited resources, literacy levels, or other constraints. The volume includes sections on policy connections, teacher preparation, and practice insights. It is a useful resource for graduate students and teacher educators in language education, ESL/EFL education, and international education, and an enlightening reference for all readers with an interest in language education around the world.

Research training is challenging, and the attrition rate of doctoral students has been increasing in Canada, the UK, the USA and Australia. In their book, Chen and Le examine the reasons for these students becoming demotivated, particularly in the context of TESOL. There has been much investigation into research training issues in multiple contexts and multiple disciplines. Yet, the research training process in TESOL for international students has not been explored sufficiently, and their voices have not been heard. This book gives voice to the research trainees, allowing their experiences to be reflected and the implications discussed in order to help create more effective supervision models. By employing the qualitative approach and adopting critical incident as a new technique for data collection, Chen and Le attempt to gain insights into the research training process to reveal different research stages of research trainees—those undertaking PhD degrees—and to put forward a model of supervision to improve the innovation and quality of research. This book tackles the complex nature of research training. It is hoped that findings of this study can provide research supervisors and trainees with theoretical insights and practical references.

Similar to other countries in the South-east Asian region, Thailand has transformed its education policy so that it may be able to better face the challenges of the globalised world. In order to do this, constructs such as student-centred learning and critical thinking, as well as the teaching of English in a more communicative manner, have been promoted. There has been little critical or grounded research carried out on the current English policy in Thailand, which emerged from the National Education Act of 1999 and the subsequent Basic Education Core Curricula of 2001 and 2008, therefore, in order to better understand how this policy works, this study explores how a group of Thai-English language teachers conceptualise the English language policy in Thailand by investigating their practices and beliefs (dispositions). In order to do this, and drawing on a social constructionist perspective from Bourdieu's theory of practice, this thesis adopts a qualitative methodology that incorporates exploratory and ethnographic elements. Employing a combination of data collection methods that include classroom observations, retrospective accounts and semi-structured interviews, the findings demonstrate that a gap exists between the goals of the policy and what actually occurs in the classroom. Thus, there were few examples of either the communicative approach or student-centred learning being employed, with teachers instead tending to transmit knowledge to their students in a teacher-centred manner. Reasons for this may be due to the influence that the national examinations has on teachers' work, the suitability and / or relevance of imported teaching and learning approaches on local contexts, as well as the need for better implementation of change. Teachers would indeed benefit from more professional development concerning the policy, but this thesis also argues that the policy itself needs to be critically examined. This would then allow Thailand, as well as other countries in the region, to better inform and improve their current education policies.

This volume provides a first systematic, comprehensive account of English in Southeast Asia (SEA) based on current research by leading scholars in the field. The volume first provides a systematic account of the linguistic features across all sub-varieties found within each country. It also has a section dedicated to the historical context and language planning policies to provide a background to understanding the development of the linguistic features covered in Part I and, finally, the vibrancy of the sociolinguistic and pragmatic realities that govern actual language in use in a wide variety of domains such as the law, education, popular culture, electronic media and actual pragmatic encounters are also given due coverage. This volume also includes an extensive bibliography of works on English in SEA, thus providing a useful and valuable resource for language researchers, linguists, classroom educators, policy makers and anyone interested in the topic of English in SEA or World Englishes as a whole.