Investigating the Perceptions of Thai University EFL Students towards English as a Medium of Instruction at a Tutorial School: A Case Study
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study investigates the use of English as the medium of instruction (EMI) by a non-native speaker as part of shadow education. Data were collected from a group of Thai students (n = 5) enrolled in an English course at a local tutorial school during their last year of tertiary education. Specifically, the study focused on the perceptions and experiences of the participants' being tutored under EMI by a non-native teacher. Email interviews were conducted with the participants and were later transcribed. In addition, three essays were collected from each of the participants, totaling 15 pieces and analyzed focusing on global, morphological and syntactical levels. Also, interaction behavior and attitudes towards English were observed. Salient findings are as follows: 1) the participants appeared to display positive perceptions towards EMI instruction; 2) drastic improvements were observed in terms of word choices and more correct syntactical structures and 3) most participants were willing to speak English more often among themselves. Limitations were reported and implications discussed about teaching performances.
Article Details
References
Bautista, M. L. S., & Gonzalez, A. B. (2006). Southeast Asian Englishes. The handbook of world Englishes, 130-144.
Barkhuizen, G., Benson, P., & Chik, A. (2014). Narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning research. Routledge.
Bennui, P., & Hashim, A. (2014). English in Thailand: Development of English in a non-postcolonial context. Asian Englishes, 16(3), 209–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2014.939810
Bolton, K., Bacon-Shone, J., & Botha, W. (2022). EMI (English-Medium Instruction) across the Asian Region. World Englishes, 42, 392 - 404. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12620
Bray, M., & Lykins, C. (2012). Shadow education: Private supplementary tutoring and its implications for policy makers in Asia (No. 9). Asian Development Bank. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/29777/shadow-education.pdf
Byun, S., & Baker, D. (2015). Shadow education. In R. Scott, S. Kosslyn, & N. Pinkerton (Eds.), Emerging trends in the social and behavioral sciences: An interdisciplinary, searchable, and linkable resource (pp. 1-9). Wiley-Blackwell.
Canagarajah, A. S. (1999). Interrogating the “native speaker fallacy”: Non-linguistic roots, non-pedagogical results. Non-native educators in English language teaching, 7792.
Chaiyasat, C., & Inthakaew, A. (2023). Why keep silent? Voices from Thai EFL students in an English-medium instruction university. Asian Englishes, 25(3), 485-498.
Chou, C. P., & Yuan, J. K. (2011). Buxiban in Taiwan. IIAS Newsletter, 56.
Deng, L., & Wannaruk, A. (2021). A contrastive study of rhetorical move
structure of English medium instruction lectures given by native
English and Chinese lecturers. LEARN Journal: Language Education
and Acquisition Research Network, 14(2), 451–477. Retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/article/view/253276
Doiz, A., Lasagabaster, D., & Sierra, J. M. (Eds.). (2012). English-medium instruction at universities: Global challenges. Multilingual matters.
Jenkins, J. (2006). Current perspectives on teaching world Englishes and English as a lingua franca. TESOL quarterly, 40(1), 157-181.
Kaewmahit, S. (2023). Shadow education: A survey of the teaching goals, methods, and techniques of English tutors in mainstream schools. [Unpublished M.A. thesis]. Language Institute, Thammasat University.
Ku, I., Lee, H., & Kim, J. E. (2022). Does shadow education contribute to inequality? Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2022.2114424
Lavankura, P. (2013). Internationalizing higher education in Thailand: Government and university responses. Journal of Studies in International Education, 17(5), 663-676.
Lee, H. Y., Hamid, M. O., & Hardy, I. (2023). English and regional identity in ASEAN, World Englishes, 42, 239–253. https://doi.org/10.1111/weng.12571
Macaro, E. (2018). English medium instruction: Language and content in
policy and practice. Oxford University Press.
Nunan, D. (2003). The impact of English as a global language on educational policies and practices in the Asia‐Pacific Region. TESOL quarterly, 37(4), 589-613.
Srimalee, P., Manyanont, P., Bamroongkit, S., Pinchai, P., Thongpanich, P.,
& Wanson, T. (2025). Thai undergraduate students’ motivation
towards learning English in the EMI context. The New English Teacher, 19(1), 1 – 15.
Suante, K., & Bray, M. (2022). Displacing the schools: Default privatization
and “school-less” arrangements for shadow education in
Myanmar. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 1–14.
https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2022.2122022
Terasawa, T. (2024). Relationship between English proficiency and
socioeconomic status in Asia: Quantitative cross-national analysis.
World Englishes, 1-25.
Thippayacharoen, T., Hoofd, C., Pala, N., Sameephet, B., &
Satthamnuwong, B. (2023). Assessing language or content? A
systematic review of assessment in English Medium Instruction
classrooms in different contexts. LEARN Journal: Language
Education and Acquisition Research Network, 16(2), 548–571.
retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/LEARN/article/view/266971
Yano, Y. (2001). World Englishes in 2000 and beyond. World Englishes, 20(2), 119-132.
Yung, K. W. H. (2015). Learning English in the shadows: Understanding Chinese learners' experiences of private tutoring. TESOL Quarterly, 49(4), 707-732.
Yung, K. W. H. (2019). Investing in English private tutoring to move socially upward: A narrative inquiry of an underprivileged student in Hong Kong. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41(10), 872–885. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1660667
