Challenges Faced by Thai Tertiary Teachers in Designing and Delivering English Courses in the 21st Century

Abstract

This study reports preliminary findings from an ongoing investigation which aims to identify the challenges Thai university teachers face in designing and delivering foundation English courses. It also aims to explore Thai teachers’ perceptions of the concept of 21st century skills: (1) how they perceive their readiness as teachers of the 21st century and (2) how they assess their capabilities to incorporate 21st century competencies into classroom materials and activities. The study involves 21 Thai and foreign teachers with different amounts of teaching experience who are teaching a Foundation English course for non-English majors at a Thai university in Bangkok. A mixed-method approach, which includes online questionnaire surveys and focus groups, is used to collect the data. Findings from this study have already found that there are some groups of teachers who are willing to adapt and change themselves to be part of the globalized world. The research data shows that the teachers understand the concept of 21st century skills, that they are capable of incorporating 21st century competencies into the classroom, and these have been reflected in what and how the teachers teach in their real practice. It is hoped that the findings of this study would encourage other teachers in the Thai tertiary context to see the possibility of embedding 21st century skills in the English language classroom as well as methods for designing Foundation English courses for Thai university students who are non-English majors.