rEFLections

English Language Teaching in Vietnam: Reflections, Innovations, and Insights by N. T. Vu et al.

Nguyen Thuy Hang — 2026-05-26

From Local to Plural Locality: Reconceptualizing Global Citizenship Education in Thailand and Asean

Omsin Jatuporn — 2026-05-18

This article examines the reconceptualization of Global Citizenship Education (GCE) within Thailand and the ASEAN context, advocating for a transformative and critical approach. It argues that current ASEAN curriculum initiatives, while ambitious, often adopt a content-oriented approach that fails to adequately promote critical thinking or recognize diverse identities. Drawing on Andreotti’s framework (2006, 2011) of soft versus critical GCE, the article proposes a shift towards a more reflexive, power-aware, and solidarity-focused educational model. The study explores four interconnected themes: evolving concepts of citizenship, the importance of plural locality in fostering global perspectives, curriculum inquiry approaches for GCE implementation, and the role of teacher agency. By integrating place-based education principles with critical GCE frameworks, the article suggests strategies for balancing local identities with global awareness. It critically examines the challenges and opportunities in implementing such approaches across the diverse ASEAN region, including the need to decolonize educational discourses and empower teachers as agents of change. The article concludes that effective GCE in Thailand and ASEAN requires a delicate balance between regional coherence and local adaptation, emphasizing the importance of context-sensitive strategies that respect cultural diversity while working towards shared educational goals. This approach not only enhances the effectiveness of GCE but also contributes to broader goals of ASEAN integration and global citizenship.

Exploring the Use of Hedges and Boosters in the Independent Study (IS) Manuscripts of Thai EFL University Students

Reuben H. Esteban — 2026-05-18

This study investigates the use of hedges and boosters in 20 Independent Study (IS) manuscripts written by English for International Communication (EIC) undergraduate students of a university. The analysis identifies and categorizes these linguistic elements, exploring their role in shaping students’ academic writing style. A total of 288 hedges and 53 boosters were found, with hedges appearing significantly more frequently, accounting for 2.24% per 1,000 words, compared to boosters at 0.41%. The most commonly used hedges included modal auxiliaries and verbs such as may, might, would, and seem, reflecting the students’ tendency to express uncertainty, caution, and approximation. In contrast, verb and adverb boosters like show, always, and clearly were used more sparingly, indicating a lower level of confidence in their assertions. The distribution of these elements varied across different sections of the manuscripts, with the Introduction containing the highest frequency of both hedges and boosters, while the Methodology section showed the least use. These findings suggest that students rely heavily on hedging strategies to create a more measured academic tone, indicating their awareness of the complexities of their topics. The study recommends targeted instruction and peer review to help Thai EFL students develop more rigorous and confident academic writing.

Addressing Challenges in Legal English: Strategies for Non-English Major Law Students

Montasser Mohamed Abdelwahab Mahmoud — 2026-05-26

This study examines the challenges faced by non-English major law students in learning Legal English, with a particular focus on how these obstacles affect their academic performance. Conducted at the College of Shariah and Law, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University (IAU), the research explores the difficulties encountered by students who are required to study Legal English despite limited proficiency in the English language. The study investigates the impact of these challenges on students’ understanding of legal concepts and their overall academic achievement. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research integrates both qualitative and quantitative data, gathered through surveys, interviews, and student performance records. Data analysis involved coding qualitative responses from interviews to identify recurring themes and patterns, while quantitative data were analyzed using statistical methods to determine correlations between language proficiency and academic performance. The findings reveal that insufficient exposure to legal terminology significantly hinders students’ comprehension of legal texts and impedes their performance in assessments. In response to these findings, the study highlights the importance of providing more comprehensible input, such as simplified explanations, glossaries, and context-rich examples, to bridge the gap between legal terminology and students’ current language proficiency. Furthermore, the study underscores the crucial role of instructional strategies and classroom practices in shaping students’ learning outcomes. The study concludes with recommendations for enhancing teaching methodologies and materials, emphasizing the need for targeted support to bridge the gap between legal education and English language proficiency.

Exploring Methodological Waters: Mixed Methods in Philippine Applied Linguistics Research

Alejandro S. Bernardo — 2026-05-28

Drawing on a review of studies published in the Philippine Journal of Linguistics (PJL), one of the country’s oldest and most established journals, this paper presents a reflective analysis of how mixed methods research (henceforth MMR) has been applied in linguistics within the Philippine context. Through an examination of methodological approaches, integration techniques, and thematic orientations, the study identifies prevailing trends and emerging patterns in the use of MMR among Filipino applied linguists. While acknowledging the limitations of analyzing a single journal, this exploratory work serves as a preliminary mapping of MMR practices in the field, which provides an empirical basis for future, broader investigations across other reputable journals. Overall, this study contributes to the MMR tradition as it advances the broader discourse on mixed methods investigations by advocating for methodological pluralism and “methodological turn” and by espousing that mixed methods in applied linguistics research in the Philippines may have taken a different form and identity i.e., heterogeneous mixed methods. It also provides practical insights for training researchers at both undergraduate and graduate levels, particularly in disciplines where MMR has not fully gained traction yet.

The Use of English Reduced Adverbial Clauses among L1 Thai Learners

Supakit Thiamtawan — 2026-06-11

This study investigated L1 Thai English language learners’ production of two types of reduced adverbial clauses (RACs): temporal and logical. It also identified whether the presence of past participles and present participles in such clauses influenced learners’ RAC production. It was hypothesized that L1 Thai English language learners would use unreduced adverbial clauses (ACs) over RACs because the latter clauses differ from their Thai equivalents. Thirty upper-intermediate L1 Thai learners undertook a comprehension test and an indirect preference assessment (IPA) task. Overall, the participants supplied more RACs than ACs possibly due to their exposure to the RACs and the IPA task’s choice provision. Furthermore, the effects of the participle and clausal types on the participants’ production might involve the grammatical complexity of certain subfactors. Only when encountering the more ambiguous past participles or logical clauses did the learners supply fewer RACs than ACs.

China Secondary English Teachers’ Voices on Zhongkao Writing: Challenges, Perceived Needs and a Blueprint for Module Design

Zhang Na — 2026-06-17

This study examined how China secondary English teachers perceive the teaching of Zhongkao English writing and how their perceptions can inform the design of an exam-aligned writing module. Thirty Grade 9 English teachers completed an open-ended online questionnaire. Items were adapted from established teacher surveys and refined through expert review. Responses were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Teachers described recurring challenges: limited vocabulary and grammar control, weak text organisation, difficulties connecting background knowledge to the task, high anxiety and poor time management in timed essays, and feedback pressures in large mixed-ability classes. They also reported misalignment between textbook tasks and Zhongkao essay demands, tensions with private tutoring materials and missed opportunities to build on students’ digital writing experiences. Teachers agreed that existing textbooks and exercise books are too general and called for a dedicated Zhongkao writing module that is exam-specific, updated and workable within heavy workloads. From their responses, five design principles emerged: explicit training in task analysis and time management; integrated work on grammar, vocabulary, genre and organisation within exam-like tasks; scaffolded and levelled activities; embedded assessment support through rubrics, annotated sample scripts and error-coding systems; and flexible delivery that combines intensive lessons with short writing practice. The findings suggest that exam alignment, teacher workload, fairness and links to students’ digital lives are central to how teachers define “need” in this high-stakes context. Future research should include novice teachers, triangulate teacher reports with classroom and learner data, and test prototype modules across different regions and school types.

Fostering Reflective Practice in EFL Teachers: A Systematic Review of Effective Strategies and Implications for Professional Development

Huynh Nhu Yen Nhi — 2026-06-19

Reflective practice (RP) is widely recognized as a cornerstone of teachers’ professional development. It allows educators to critically examine their actions, beliefs, and professional identities, enabling them to adapt to evolving educational initiatives and enhance their teaching competencies. In the field of English as a foreign language (EFL) education, RP is essential for effective teaching and learning. Therefore, fostering EFL teachers’ RP capacity is crucial for educational reforms worldwide. This systematic review aims to identify effective strategies for enhancing RP among EFL teachers. Analyzing 42 peer-reviewed articles published between 2020 and 2024 and indexed in Scopus and SSCI journals, this study adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for criteria identification, data selection, and analysis procedures. The results revealed three prominent strategies highlighted in the existing literature: (1) establishing collaborative RP communities, (2) integrating technology into RP, and (3) embedding RP within teacher education programs. Additionally, the findings suggest that RP is a powerful tool for EFL teachers’ professional development. This paper aims to provide valuable insights for EFL educators and policymakers on how to facilitate effective reflection within professional networks.

Language Ideologies Through a Global Englishes Lens: Perspectives from Discipline-Specific Lecturers at a Regional Thai University

Orathai Chaiya Jarunthawatchai — 2026-07-06

This study explores English language ideologies among discipline-specific lecturers at a regional campus of a public university in central Thailand. Through semi-structured interviews with 24 lecturers from various fields, including science and technology, engineering, agricultural sciences, business, and social sciences, this research examines how these lecturers perceive English in their teaching and professional practices. The findings reveal that lecturers engage in patterned but uneven negotiation of English use across different contexts. In high-stakes situations shaped by institutional constraints—proficiency requirements, graduation benchmarks, and employment demands—they adhere to native-speaker standards, reflecting both neoliberal commodification of English as measurable human capital and native-speakerism ideologies. Conversely, in professional communication among colleagues, they adopt flexible practices of English as a lingua franca where mutual understanding is prioritized and institutional native-speaker ideologies are irrelevant. This study also demonstrates that awareness of English diversity is more likely to emerge from real-life exposure to multilingual communication than formal training. However, this awareness is insufficient to challenge institutional constraints that privilege native-speaker standards. This research sheds light on how lecturers negotiate between institutional constraints and communicative realities in uneven ways, offering implications for Global Englishes implementation within and beyond English language classrooms.

Constructing the LERWL: A Corpus-Based Approach to Identifying Technical Vocabulary in Language Education Research

Supakorn Phoocharoensil — 2026-07-10

Technical vocabulary plays a crucial role in ESP learners’ lexical development once general service and academic vocabulary has been established. The present study constructed the Language Education Research Corpus (LERC), an 8,646,901-word corpus compiled from the top 10 Quartile 1 (Q1) Scopus-indexed journals in Language Education. On the basis of this corpus, the Language Education Research Word List (LERWL) was developed through four systematic procedures. High-frequency items were first identified, after which a range criterion was applied to retain words occurring in at least 50% of the target journals. Lexical profiling was subsequently conducted to isolate discipline-specific vocabulary, excluding items listed in the GSL and the AWL. In addition to these quantitative procedures, expert judgment was employed as a qualitative validation measure to ensure disciplinary relevance. The resulting LERWL was then evaluated against (a) the LERC, achieving 5.28% coverage, and (b) an independent corpus of approximately one million words from the same field, achieving 4.75% coverage. These findings indicate that the LERWL provides a substantial and pedagogically meaningful level of lexical coverage within the discipline.

Improving EFL Teaching in Higher Education: A Review of Challenges and Evidence-Based Recommendations

Yuliia Nenko — 2026-07-20

This study provides a narrative review of contemporary challenges in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in higher education across diverse international contexts. It synthesizes evidence from peer-reviewed studies published between 2020 and 2025. The analysis identifies six interrelated domains of difficulty: student-related factors (proficiency, motivation, anxiety), cultural and linguistic diversity, pedagogical and methodological constraints, community attitudes and perceptions, curriculum and assessment systems, and teacher, technological, and institutional limitations. Rather than representing isolated barriers, these challenges interact across policy, institutional, pedagogical, and learner levels. Positive attitudes toward English often coexist with critiques of inequality; Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is endorsed in policy but undermined by exam-driven curricula; and technology promises innovation yet exacerbates inequities without adequate training and infrastructure. The review argues that sustainable improvement depends on systemic coherence across policy, institutional governance, curriculum design, teacher development, and learner-centered practice rather than isolated interventions. Future research should expand comparative research across underexplored regions, employ longitudinal designs to assess the durability of reforms, and critically examine the role of emerging tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) in language instruction. By integrating evidence across diverse educational contexts into a coherent multi-level framework, the study contributes a holistic perspective on improving EFL teaching in higher education.

Experiences during the Practicum: Pre-service English Teachers Teaching Very Young Learners in Ecuador

Gabriela Galeas — 2026-07-24

Practicum programs provide pre-service teachers with the skills and competencies to navigate the teaching experience effectively. The insights gained from three pre-service teachers participating in a practicum program aimed at instructing very young learners within the Ecuadorian context are invaluable for understanding the iterative process that student teachers engage in and informing necessary adjustments to educational programs. This study involved six-semester students enrolled in the Pedagogy of National and Foreign Languages at an Ecuadorian public university, seeking to explore their experiences during the practicum. Data was collected through document analysis, written narrative with a visual component, and semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The findings revealed a cyclical process experienced by the pre-service teachers, beginning with their initial emotions and teaching beliefs and culminating in a sense of fulfillment regarding their experiences, consisting of six specific stages. Special emphasis was placed on psychological factors, such as managing emotions before and during the teaching experience. It also highlights the need to incorporate this emerging issue into teacher development within higher education programs. The study also emphasizes the importance of linking theory and practice as a continuous process to better prepare future English teachers for real-world classroom environments.

Unveiling Lexical Characteristics in Diverse Movie Genres through a Corpus-based Study

Kingkan Kornkamonchanok — 2026-08-05

This study investigates the vocabulary characteristics across eight movie genres, using a corpus of 2,318 movie scripts comprising 20,765,616 tokens. The research examines lexical profiling, lexical level, lexical variation, lexical density, and CEFR level of the vocabulary used in the movie corpus. The analysis reveals that romance movies have the highest percentage of General Service List (GSL) vocabulary at 87.62%, while action movies use the most Academic Wor d List (AWL) vocabulary at 1.31%. Animated movies exhibit the greatest proportion of Outside Word List (OWL) at 14.64%. Drama movies show the highest frequency of high-frequency words (95.51%), whereas animated movies utilise more medium- and low-frequency words, as well as off-list words. Horror movies demonstrate the greatest average lexical variation (16.88%), while animated movies demonstrate the highest lexical density, with content words accounting for 52.23% of the total vocabulary. In terms of CEFR levels, romance movies contain the most A1–A2 level vocabulary (94.09%), while action movies lead in B1-level words (1.68%). Animated movies display the highest percentage of B2, C1, and C2 level words. The study highlights the potential of movies as effective tools for vocabulary development, emphasising that genre selection should be aligned with specific language learning objectives to maximise vocabulary acquisition and enhance overall language proficiency.

“Nothing Lasts Forever”: Stories of Teacher Agency and Identity Construction in a TEFL Setting during a Time of Crisis

Puji Astuti — 2026-08-07

Previous studies on teacher agency have largely overlooked its manifestation in professional practices and its connection to professional identity construction, specifically how they are at play during crises. A narrative inquiry was conducted to address this gap and understand teacher agency as manifested in a female teacher’s English as a foreign language (EFL) instruction and how it played roles in constructing her professional identity during the times of crisis, i.e., the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing the design allowed for the construction of stories about her, which was made possible by doing a narrative analysis of data gathered through observations of remote instruction, reflective journals, in-depth interviews, and the examinations of relevant instructional documents. The stories portray the interplay of inquisitive, deliberative, responsive, moral, and recognitive agency in her day-to-day pedagogical practices. A new facet was recognized and thus incorporated into the stories, i.e., numinous agency, which means having and displaying a deep spiritual connection, on which the teacher participant based most of her pedagogical decisions and professional identity work. Evidence of her numinous agency is her “nothing lasts forever” stance toward the pandemic and seeing it as momentum for cultivating her professional capital to serve her students better. The stories suggest that teacher education programs and professional learning incorporate topics on professional identity construction, teacher agency, and its facets, including numinous agency. We invite future researchers to investigate whether numinous agency also manifests in teachers’ pedagogical practices and identity construction work in different educational and cultural contexts.

Motivational Factors Influencing Thai Undergraduate Students’ Effort in Studying Translation

Poowadol Srimalee — 2026-08-24

This mixed-method study aimed to investigate Thai undergraduate students’ motivation to study translation and examine the relationship between different motivational factors and their learning efforts. The participants were 114 English major students in a translation course at a Thai university. The study employed a motivation questionnaire to collect quantitative data on students’ learning efforts and motivational factors. The questionnaire was based on a combination of motivational frameworks, including the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) with its focus on the ideal self, the ought-to self, and the learning experience, as well as intrinsic motivation (interest and enjoyment), instrumental motivation, and English language mastery. Additionally, qualitative data were collected through a qualitative survey from 26 students who volunteered to give deeper insights into their motivations for studying translation. The findings revealed that English language mastery was the most prevalent motivator among the students. However, regression analysis indicated that only enjoyment, interest, and instrumental motivation significantly predicted students’ learning efforts in studying, accounting for 67.6% of the variance. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for designing translation courses that align more closely with students’ motivations, particularly by emphasizing enjoyment, interest, and instrumental motivation to create an engaging learning experience.

A Corpus-based Study of Lexical Bundles in Oral Presentations of Thai EFL Undergraduate Students

Soranut Kumdee — 2026-08-24

Lexical bundles play an important role in language production, improving individuals’ language proficiency (Hyland, 2008). While most previous studies have explored lexical bundles used in written discourse, little attention has been paid to analyzing lexical bundles employed in oral presentations. The present study aimed to investigate the use of lexical bundles in 30 oral presentations delivered by Thai English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduate students. Following Biber et al.’s (2004) taxonomy, the findings indicate that four-word lexical bundles serve various discourse functions. Discourse organizers were found to be the most dominant functional category, primarily used to structure ideas, manage the flow of information, and maintain coherence in spoken academic discourse. It was also found that verb phrase fragments were the most frequent structural pattern, reflecting students’ preference for formulaic expressions that support fluency and speech planning. However, the absence of several functional and structural categories suggests a limited spoken linguistic repertoire of academic formulaic language. Therefore, explicit instruction and practice in using a wider range of lexical bundles are recommended to enhance students’ fluency, coherence, and academic expression in spoken discourse.

Neural Machine Translations of Thai Culturally Specific Items into English: Audiovisual Text Experimented

Gritiya Rattanakantadilok — 2026-08-24

This study investigates the efficiency of three Neural Machine Translation (NMT) tools—Google Translate, Microsoft Bing, and Amazon Translate—in rendering culturally specific items (CSIs) at both lexical and sentential levels. Five CSIs, mae ya nang (แม่ย่านาง), lek lai (เหล็กไหล), ruesi (ฤาษี), pha yan (ผ้ายันต์) and palat khik (ปลัดขิก), from a selected Thai commercial, were categorised by Katan’s ‘Triad of Culture’ framework. A synthesized typology based on Dickins’s conceptual grid was employed to analyse the translation procedures of each NMT service. The FAR model proposed by Pedersen is employed to assess the subtitle quality. The selected segment of an audiovisual text from a Thai auto insurance commercial was input into the NMT services to evaluate their ability to enhance translation efficiency and quality. The findings revealed that the technical cultural frame predominantly influenced the NMT services, resulting in the focus on linguistic transfer over interpretation. At the lexical level, the NMT tools employed an exoticising strategy, resulting in the translations that were primarily oriented towards the source culture and the source language. At the sentential level, the performance of NMT systems deteriorated, with several mistranslations identified, though omission errors were not present. The outputs also lacked fluency, necessitating post-editing. Despite literature suggesting improvements in NMT output quality, these NMT engines have yet to significantly impact professional translation for the Thai-English language pair. For low-resource languages such as Thai, the role of the human translator remains indispensable and cannot be fully replicated by current machine translation systems.

A Reflective Account of Implementing the Problem-Centred Interview as a Method to Study Transnational Teacher Identity

Natalia Wright — 2026-08-24

The Problem-Centred Interview (PCI), developed by Andreas Witzel in the early 1980s, is a discursive-dialogic method that integrates narrative and semi-structured interviewing with elements of biographical approaches. Despite its growing use in German-language social research, PCI remains largely absent from TESOL scholarship and has not previously been applied to the study of transnational teacher identity. The purpose of this article is to present PCI as a suitable research method for exploring TESOL teacher identity and to reflect on its practical application in doctoral research on transnational identity formation among expatriate non-native English language teachers. Drawing on PCI principles, the study provides a step-by-step account of the method’s practical implementation, detailing adaptations made to suit the specific research context. The article outlines the main principles of PCI and comments on its differences and commonalities with related approaches, including narrative interviewing, semi-structured interviewing, and biographical approaches. The article also addresses the limitations encountered during the execution of PCI and concludes with recommendations for researchers in TESOL and related fields who are considering this approach. The article demonstrates the value of PCI in investigating the complexities of transnational teacher development and argues for its wider adoption in qualitative research on language teacher identity.

“Reading this way was Lively and Fun”: Improving Thai EFL Students’ English Reading Fluency Through Readers Theater

Pimrawee Ruengwatthakee — 2026-08-24

Despite the critical role of reading fluency in academic achievement, limited reading automaticity remains a significant challenge for many Thai university students. This quasi-experimental study attempts to examine the impact of Readers Theater (RT), a drama-based reading activity, implemented as an instructional treatment to improve the English reading fluency and motivation of Thai EFL students. Accordingly, a mixed-methods approach was employed. Two classes of first-year undergraduates were assigned to an experimental group (n = 25) and a control group (n = 20). The experimental group received RT–based instruction for 12 weeks, while the control group was taught using conventional reading instruction. Quantitative data were obtained from oral reading fluency pretest and posttest administered before and after the intervention. The results indicated that the experimental group showed a high increase in their overall reading fluency scores from the pretest (M = 1.61, SD = 0.70) to the posttest (M = 2.39, SD = 0.65), while the control group improved more modestly from the pretest (M = 1.33 SD = 0.40) to the posttest (M = 1.57, SD = 0.45). The improvement was statistically significant in both groups; however, the experimental group demonstrated a larger effect (t = 5.27, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 1.05) than the control group (t = 3.51, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 0.78). Qualitative data from open-ended questions also revealed that students who engaged in RT felt more enjoyment, confidence, and motivation. These findings suggest that RT is an effective approach for enhancing oral reading fluency among Thai EFL learners.

Using Literature Circles to Develop Critical Reading Skills: A Study of Thai and Chinese Students in an English Literature Classroom

Preeyapha Wangmanee — 2026-08-28

This study explores the use of literature circles in developing critical reading skills among Thai and Chinese students in an English literature classroom in a Thai university context. The objectives were (1) to compare the critical reading skills of Thai and Chinese students before and after implementing literature circle activities and (2) to analyze the students’ strengths and weaknesses in using literature circles to enhance critical reading skills. The population consisted of 46 third-year Thai and Chinese students in the English for International Communication (International Program) from a literary appreciation course. The study employed a mixed-method research design with simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected through critical reading tests, online questionnaires, and observations over one semester, during which students participated in Literature Circle activities following a six-week lesson plan. Quantitative data were analyzed using a t-test, means, percentages, standard deviation, while qualitative data were examined through descriptive tabular analysis. The results indicate that Chinese students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in post-test score, whereas Thai students did not show statistically significant gains. The questionnaire revealed that Thai students excelled in identifying facts from opinions, while Chinese students were better at analyzing the logic of content. However, Thai students struggled with evaluating information, while Chinese students faced challenges in researching and analyzing information sources. The findings suggest that while literature circles are valuable for developing critical reading skills, their implementation requires thoughtful adaptation to address cultural, linguistic, and logistical challenges, especially in multicultural classrooms.

Unveiling Needs for Grammatical Competence Assessment in a CEFR-Based Curriculum: Empowering Student Involvement in Assessment for Learning in Thailand

Nagorn Bunyarit — 2026-08-28

This study investigated university freshmen’s needs and expectations regarding the assessment of grammatical competence (GC) for communicative use within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)-aligned communicative language teaching (CLT) and assessment for learning (AfL) frameworks using a mixed methods needs analysis design. Data were collected from 950 first-year students enrolled in a recently implemented CEFR-based compulsory general education curriculum at a leading public university in Bangkok, Thailand. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, directional Likert-scale analysis, Friedman tests, correlational analyses, and thematic analysis of interview data. The findings indicated that students had moderate confidence in their GC and perceived it as a relative weakness that hindered their confidence in communication. Correlational analysis revealed a strong positive relationship between GC and overall communicative competence, underscoring the central role of GC in supporting communication within a CLT framework. Grammar-domain analysis further revealed uneven confidence across GC domains, with particularly low confidence in discourse-dependent structures (e.g., complex sentence relations and cohesive devices) compared with sentence-level forms (e.g., tense and aspect, subject–verb agreement, and basic clause structures). Students also expressed strong learning-oriented expectations for GC assessment. These findings reveal a gap in CLT implementation and provide diagnostic evidence to inform the development of AfL-oriented GC assessment in Thailand’s English as a foreign language (EFL) context.

Constructing and Reconstructing Teachers’ Professional Identity in a Professional Community of Practice: The Role of Collaborative Reflective Practice

Mohammad Hossein Arefian — 2026-08-29

Teachers’ reflections and professional identity (PI) are vital constructs for their professional development. As teachers could reflect to formulate, shape, and reshape PI, collaborative reflective practice (CRP) can add more benefits to influence teachers’ PI. Therefore, this study explored how English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ involvement in CRP influenced their PI development in a community of practice (CoP). Hence, 17 Iranian EFL teachers were selected conveniently to be explored through a qualitative method. The findings illustrated that CRP enhanced EFL teachers’ confidence, motivation, and autonomy. Professionally, CRP enabled teachers to observe and reflect upon their practices, beliefs, and identities in a dynamic manner. Collaborative reflection within the CoP prompted novel changes and adaptations in teachers’ personal and professional stances, awareness, and identity. The teachers’ professional identities were gradually modified and adapted through CRP in the CoP. The result of this study can influence pre-service teacher education programs and teachers’ in-service workshops to train teachers with CRP to enhance their PIs.

A Comparative Study of Generative AIs’ Capabilities for Metaphor Analysis: A Case Study of Fire Metaphors in English Online Discourse

Baramee Kheovichai — 2026-08-29

Recent advancements in generative AI technology have increased the role of AI in academic research. However, the capability of different generative AIs in analyzing metaphors has not been adequately investigated. The purpose of this paper is to compare the capability of ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek in analyzing fire metaphors in online discourse. Data were based on the iWeb Corpus, and 100 concordance lines of three verbs that potentially instantiated fire metaphors, namely, “spark,” “fuel,” and “dampen,” were collected for analysis by the human researcher. The data were then analyzed by each of the generative AIs. The analyses were compared against those of the researcher. Cohen’s Kappa was used to determine the intercoder agreement. The analysis reveals 14 target domains associated with the fire metaphors. The results indicate that there is substantial agreement between the researcher and each of the generative AIs. However, a closer look at the analysis of individual words reveals variation from moderate to almost perfect agreement, with DeepSeek scoring the highest. The implications of the roles of AI in metaphor research are discussed.

Exploring Sarcastic English Utterances in English in ‘Gilmore Girls’ TV Series Season 2

Jutatip Luechai — 2026-08-29

Sarcasm is inherently embedded in everyday communication, often going unnoticed, as its use shifts fluidly across different contexts. This study explored sarcastic utterances in English, focusing on sarcastic types and strategies in various relationship contexts. Adopting a mixed-method approach, the research categorized sarcasm into explicit and implicit types, examining seven strategies: incongruity, explicitation, reasoning, metonymy, metaphor, rhetorical question, and echoing (shift of focus), adapting from Tabacaru’s taxonomy of sarcastic English utterances (2017). Gilmore Girls TV series (Season 2) was selected to analyze sarcastic types and utterances occurred in close-symmetrical, close-asymmetrical, distant-symmetrical, and distant-asymmetrical relationship contexts. The findings revealed that explicit sarcasm accounted for 51% while implicit sarcasm accounted for 49%. Among these, 33% involved incongruity, 24% rhetorical question, 19% metonymy, 15% explicitation, 6% echoing, 3% reasoning, and 0% metaphor. It appears that the use of sarcastic utterances is dynamic. It depends on relationship contexts, with explicit sarcasm is more common in close or high-power relationships to signal solidarity or assertiveness, while implicit forms dominate distant or hierarchical contexts to maintain politeness and face. Notably, sarcasm also emerged as a subtle resistance tool among lower-power speakers. The study highlights sarcasm as a context-dependent communicative tool which is salient across diverse interpersonal communication settings.

Teacher Readiness for an Inclusive English Classroom in Bhutan: Opportunities and Challenges

Yangdon — 2026-08-31

Bhutan’s education system is shifting towards inclusivity, seeking to embrace and accommodate the diverse learning needs of all students. As the country advances its commitment to inclusive education, English teachers play a pivotal role in fostering an inclusive classroom culture. Therefore, it is essential to understand how prepared English teachers are for an inclusive classroom. Since there is no research on the topic in Bhutan, the present study aimed to identify and analyse the opportunities and challenges faced by Bhutanese secondary English language teachers in creating an inclusive English classroom. The study employed a qualitative design. Data for the study were gathered from nine English teachers teaching in secondary schools in urban and semi-urban settings. Six phases of thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2018) were employed to analyse the data. The findings highlighted that fostering inclusivity requires a multifaceted approach, including equal access to learning, activities, and resources for all students. The benefits of an inclusive English classroom included enhanced academic achievement, development of social skills, and global citizenship readiness. However, challenges such as inadequate knowledge, limited resources, and time constraints were identified, emphasising the need for ongoing professional development, access to diverse resources, and collaborative networks. It is recommended that training be provided and relevant resources be made available to English teachers to enable them to create an inclusive English classroom.

Chinese Student Mobility and the Capacity to Aspire: A New Wave of Self-Aspiration

Narita Chaithima — 2026-08-31

This article examines Chinese student mobility by focusing on mainland Chinese students pursuing higher education at Northern Thai universities. Moving beyond the limitations of the push-pull framework, the study applies Appadurai’s (2004) concept of capacity to aspire to understand how educational decisions are socially constructed and developed through transnational mobility. Drawing on qualitative data from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, the findings show that interactions between structural conditions in China and opportunities in Northern Thailand influence students’ decisions. The study also demonstrates that students actively interpret these conditions through aspirations shaped by family expectations, social class, and prior experiences. By highlighting these dynamics, the study positions Northern Thailand as an emerging regional hub in global higher education and offers a reconceptualization of student mobility as a socially embedded and dynamic aspirational process. The findings have implications for internationalization strategies and student support systems in Thai higher education.

Stigmatisation of Hidden Disabilities in India: Teachers’ Perspectives of Inclusive School Communities for Dyslexic Learners

Sonia Sawhney — 2026-08-31

Indian government policies and programs have expedited the inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream inclusive schools in India. However, various barriers plague the translation of the policies into practice. Set in Hyderabad, a city in southern India, this paper reports data gathered through an exploratory case study design. The paper examines the English-medium inclusive school community for dyslexic learners from the perspective of 16 English Language teachers (ELTs). Findings show that although a majority of the study’s participants were philosophically grounded in the rights-based approach, challenges posed by the school community impeded the practice of inclusive education in the sample schools. Most of the participants acknowledged that students with dyslexia faced social stigma, isolation and rebuke within the schools. They were denied their right to quality education and equal and full participation within their schools due to teachers’ lack of pedagogical skills and knowledge. Further, negative attitudes of the school community at large also impeded the implementation of inclusive practices within these schools. This paper argues that, alongside systemic support for inclusion through teacher training and education to develop inclusive pedagogical practices, addressing the cultural attitudes and beliefs that stigmatise children with dyslexia is essential. Additionally, the lack of training for teachers in the conceptual and pedagogical understanding of how to engage specifically with children with dyslexia needs to be addressed to ensure the inclusion of these students in mainstream, inclusive schools is productive and allows them to reach their full potential.

From the Editors

Lim Eng How — 2026-09-01