Changing strategies and techniques in teaching English in a Thai university

Abstract

Scope and Method of Study: The study explored the teaching strategies used in different size classes as well as the rationale of the instructors for the choices of those strategies. In the reconstruction of the Foundation English course into the Fundamental English course, major changes occurred in the management and content of the course which the students are required to complete to graduate. Before the change, students attended two one-hour lectures and one-hour listen lab per week in classes of 40 to 50 students. After, the change, the students attended a two-hour large lecture (150-200 students) and a one-hour writing lesson (30-40 students) per week. Data were gathered over Academic Year 2008 through 24 classroom observations and 28 interviews of the instructors and students.

Findings and Conclusions: Data revealed the differences in the strategies and techniques between large and small classes. In the large classes, the instructors lectured using different questioning strategies and techniques in delivery. In the small classes, the instructors permitted the students to work in groups as suggested in the lesson plans with different strategies in asking questions. Frequency of interaction was less in large classes than in small classes. During the semester, some changes occurred as the instructors modified the way they taught. The instructors used different questioning strategies in teaching and getting responses from the students. Complementing the in-classroom strategies was the Learning Management System, a tool that provided additional learning sources for the students.