Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn: Lessons from a Thai EFL Teacher

Abstract

This study investigates the challenges faced by an experienced Tha English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher when she attempted to integrate the Western teaching methodologies she acquired in an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) program in the U.S. into language classrooms in Thailand. Also, how the program in the U.S. impacted her subsequent teaching practices is dicussed. The researcher conducted a gap between the theories she acquired in her program in the US and the current practices in her EFL classrooms in Thailand. The teacher regarded the characteristics of Thai EFL learners as one of the major factors that hinders the successful implementation of the Western ideologies. However, the theories enabled her to make well-informed decisions about her current teaching practices.