Filipinos as EFL Teachers in Bangkok, Thailand: Implications for Language Education Policy in the ASEAN Region

RELC Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 003368821987977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Ulla

In response to the increase in demand for teachers of English in Thailand, many Filipino teachers are now working as English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Bangkok. This study explores the perceptions of 56 Filipino teachers about the conditions and challenges of being EFL teachers in Bangkok, Thailand. A modified questionnaire and an individual follow-up interview were used to collect the data. Likewise, a qualitative content analysis was performed on the data in the study. Findings revealed that teacher-participants held a positive view with regards to being EFL teachers in Bangkok. Some reasons why they came to teach in Bangkok include good salary rates, a chance to provide for their families’ financial needs, an opportunity to widen their teaching experience, and a chance to work with people from different cultural backgrounds. However, some professional and personal issues like the perceived lack of teachers’ professional development programmes, cultural differences, language barriers, and absence from family celebrations and other important occasions were also noted. The findings suggest that although the experience was generally positive, Filipino teachers encountered some personal and professional issues, including those which stemmed from their status as so-called ‘non-native speaker teachers’ (NNEST) of English.

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 222
Author(s):  
Huyi Intan Sari ◽  
Choiril Anwar

Anxiety is a topic mostly investigated in the field of foreign language education. Unfortunately, the main focus of the studies on the aforementioned topic has primarily been provided in relation to anxiety suffered by students not teachers. Anxiety in speaking English while teaching has been proven to be a separate obstacle to the success of the language teaching and learning. This still happens to teachers who even have years of teaching experience. This study aims to investigate the English language teaching anxiety as experienced by the pre-service teacher at the department. The FLTA questionnaire consisting of 27 out of 45 items was adopted to collect data. Since this study was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, the questionnaire was distributed to the participants via email. The analysis was then made by implementing the qualitative descriptive approach and simple quantification to support the description. The results show that there were five factors of anxiety occur during the program. They were teaching inexperience, self-perception of language proficiency, fear of negative evaluation, lack of student�s interest, and difficulty with time management. These findings are expected to become a reference for the efforts of developing an internship preparation program.


Author(s):  
Yustinus Calvin Gai Mali

This paper discusses three main projects and their related activities that students do in a Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) classroom at English Language Education Study Program, Dunia University Indonesia. The practical discussions in this paper will be an interest of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in Indonesia who look for practical ideas to teach the use of CALL in EFL classrooms, feel interested in integrating CALL into their classroom practices, and wish to explore ideas about how their students can benefit from technology. At the end of the paper, I address voices to support the use of CALL in teaching and learning in Indonesia.  


2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumari Damayanti Joshi ◽  
Laxman Gnawali ◽  
Mary Dixon

Professional Development (PD) for teachers in developing countries isan emerging emphasis despite limited resources. Evidence regarding theteachers’ experiences of PD activities in developing countries, includingNepal, are not well known. This study aimed to identify and discuss PDstrategies employed by Nepalese English as a foreign language (EFL)teachers and experiences. The study employed a qualitative researchdesign for data collection among 45 EFL teachers recruited from 15 highschools and colleges across the districts of Kathmandu and Lalitpur. Dataon teachers’ age, gender, academic qualification, teaching experience (interms of number of years), and teacher training, their experiences aboutPD and the perceived benefits of the different learning strategies of PDwere collected using a questionnaire. The findings are presented in termsof the four main groups of PD strategies - self-directed, professionrelated,peer-supported and study-(research-) focused. We report that theNepalese EFL teachers have positive experience towards different PDstrategies. The EFL teachers have been benefited mostly from selfdirected(own teaching experience and self -monitoring), professionrelated (workshops, seminars and conferences), and peer-supported(learning from colleagues) PD strategies. The study recommends thatthere is a need for on-going PD activities for EFL teachers in Nepal.


Author(s):  
Yuliah Abdul Haris

This paper mainly discusses the relationship between language and culture. Language and culture are closely related. If one does not understand the cultural backgrounds, he or she cannot learn the target language really well because any language is an integral part of its culture. Moreover, misunderstanding between the speaker whose first language is English and the speaker whose first language is not English occur between them.  The writer believes that there is still an important cultural element missing from foreign language education in Indonesian EFL classes in such as in STMIK Handayani Makassar. Therefore, English learning in STMIK Handayani Makassar should not only to learn the language, but also to learn its culture. To improve students’ sensitivity for cultural difference between the West and the East and to raise their cultural awareness, English teachers at schools are required not only to teach language but also to impart cultural background knowledge and further to deal with the relationship between language and culture well. This article starts with the necessity of teaching cultural awareness in English teaching at schools, and then this paper discusses some common cultural language mistakes by English Foreign Language learners in STMIK Handayani Makassar.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arab World English Journal ◽  
Ladaci Naima

In the realm of language education, technology has reshaped the state of the teaching/learning framework in different ways and there is no surprise how a number of classes around the world have now turned from chalk and board classes to technology-based ones. However, whether teachers adopt or reject technology in their teaching depends primarily on the way they perceive it. Consequently, the current paper intends to capture the various perceptions of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from the department of English at Chadli Bendjedid University, El Tarf (Algeria) towards the use and the integration of technology in their teaching practices. It also aspires to answer the question: to what extent is technology used in their teaching? In order to collect data for this study; a questionnaire was administered to ten teachers from the above-cited department. Although the findings revealed that all the participants have a positive attitude towards technology; they all face different barriers that impede them from integrating it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Daniel Pearce

As of 2020, foreign language as a subject has become compulsory for upper grades in Japanese elementary schools, and MEXT recommends the use of assistant language teachers (ALTs) in foreign language classes. While ALTs represent diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, MEXT documents for Japanese teachers portray them as homogenous monolingual native speakers of English. To better understand the linguistic repertoires of ALTs, this study investigates the languages ALTs know. The findings suggest that, contrary to MEXT portrayals, most ALTs have ability in at least one language other than English. With reference to the goals of foreign language education, this paper argues that MEXT should more accurately represent the diversity of ALTs in their literature and actively promote the inclusion of their other languages in classroom practice. 2020年度より、日本の小学校高学年には教科としての外国語が必修化された。文部科学省は外国語の授業における外国語指導助手(Assistant Language Teachers: ALTs)の積極的な導入を勧めている。多くのALTが様々な言語や文化的背景を持っているにもかかわらず、文部科学省の教員向け資料における記述の多くは、未だにALTをモノリンガルの英語母語話者としてのみ想定している。ALTの運用可能な言語について調査した先行研究が不足しているため、本研究は、小学校勤務のALTを対象に、使用言語に関するアンケート調査を実施した。結果として、ALTのほとんどが英語以外に1つ以上の言語を使用できることが判明した。本論文は、外国語科目の目標に照らして、文部科学省のALTに関する資料の更新の必要性を示すとともに、ALTの持つ英語以外の言語の知識をも外国語の授業に取り入れることの重要性を主張する。


2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1611-1616
Author(s):  
Atay Derin ◽  
Çamlıbel Zeynep ◽  
Ersin Pinar ◽  
Kaşlıoğlu Özlem ◽  
Kurt Gökçe

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Economidou-Kogetsidis ◽  
Helen Woodfield ◽  
Christine Savvidou

AbstractThe present study investigates the nature of email requests to faculty produced by non-native speaker (NNS) teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL), the importance attached by these teachers to linguistic forms designed to achieve email politeness and status-congruence, and the extent to which perceptions and evaluations by the NNS teachers and native-speaker (NS) lecturers might differ with regard to these emails. The study found that the non-native speaker teachers (NNSTs) evidenced a developed sense of sociopragmatic knowledge in high imposition L2 requests for action, and employed politeness strategies that were indicative of a concern to maintain social and face relationships in virtual consultations. It is argued that despite their advanced English language proficiency, the teachers’ reliance on directness, excessive formality, and lengthy grounders could still put them out-of-status and render their emails as pragmatically inappropriate. The study further confirmed significant differences in how the two groups perceive appropriateness and politeness in direct and unmodified student email requests to faculty. Overall, while the NSs judged the emails primarily according to their content and, to a lesser extent, according to their form and framing devices, the NNSTs focused almost exclusively on form and framing devices (in/formality, in/directness, nature and extent of mitigation, opening/closing moves, forms of address).


RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822098177
Author(s):  
Thomas S C Farrell ◽  
Connie Stanclik

This article presents a case study that examined the principles and practices of one novice English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher at a prominent English language institution in Central America. This qualitative study sought to contribute to the discussion of the perceived interdependent influences of EFL teachers’ thoughts, identities, and behaviors through five stages of self-reflection in Farrell’s framework for reflective practice. The EFL teacher engaged in conscious reflection to subject their beliefs to critical analysis and interpretation expressed through their philosophy, principles, theory, practice, and beyond practice. Overall, the findings confirm that reflections in all five stages are connected to several common themes, but simultaneously reveal a complex relationship between the teacher’s stated principles and actual practice. The discussion explores potential reasons for convergence and divergence in teachers’ beliefs and classroom actions, concluding that the results correlate with previous research in the field of language education and teacher reflection.


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