A Learner of the 20th Century Becoming a Teacher of the 21st Century: A Perspective on the Goals of ELT in Thailand

Abstract

Studying English in one century but teaching English in another century requires a lot of willpower from teachers to understand changes and adjust their perceptions and practices. This paper reflects on the notion that the ultimate goal of teaching and learning English should be a native speaker-like command of the language. The question is whether or not this goal of being native-like is a reasonable, necessary and achievable goal. Effective cross-cultural communication requires not only language ability, but also intercultural competence. Therefore, this paper calls for a shift from using a native speaker as a model to using an intercultural speaker as a model in English language teaching. A perfect combination of developing English
language ability and intercultural competence would lead students to the proficiency of English in this new century. This intercultural approach can help learners to become effective users of English in the 21st century, in which most English users are non-native English speakers from a variety of sociolinguistic and cultural backgrounds.