Publications

Publication details [#56203]

Darasawang, Pornapit and Richard Watson Todd. 2012. The effect of policy on English language teaching at secondary schools in Thailand. In Hashim, Azirah and Ee-Ling Low, eds. English in Southeast Asia. Features, policy and language in use. (Varieties of English Around the World G42). John Benjamins. pp. 207–220.
Publication type
Article in book
Publication language
English
Language as a subject
Place, Publisher
John Benjamins

Annotation

In Thailand, education is the main area in which language policy is enacted, and this paper investigates foreign language policy and practice, especially concerning English, in an attempt to shed light on language policy. The paper identifies seven sources of English language education policy, namely, the National Education Act, national education standards, Ministry of Education recommended textbooks, isolated Ministry of Education initiatives, demand-driven changes in the types of schools, test washback, and decentralised decision making. It is shown that these sources present conflicting versions of language policy. To examine how the policies are implemented in practice, the study interviewed principals and teachers at four representative government secondary schools. The findings show awareness of the various policies but a great diversity in how they are implemented.