The second part of the article concerns
English approaches adopted in Thailand.
Approaches to Teaching English
Major approaches to teaching
English are
1. Grammar-translation
2. Communicative approach
3. Process and interactive approaches
(Flower and Hayes, 1981 and Carrell and
Eisterhold 1988)
4. Order of acquisition (Ellis, 2001:
1-35)
5. Functional grammar
In Thailand, many English teachers
are acquainted with most of the approaches
except for order of acquisition approach and
functional grammar. In the order of acquisition
approach, the idea is that a foreign language
should be taught after the order of a native
speaking person acquiring his or her language.
Various research methods such as different
types of testing have been administered to
different groups of informants to examine the
order of linguistic features acquired. However,
the research results are inconclusive.
Functional grammar is developed from
Hallidayûs(1973) systemic approach, which is
composed of ideational, interpersonal and textual
functions.
These two approaches have recently
arrived in Thailand through people who have
been trained overseas. Yet, they are not
well-known among Thai teachers.
The practice of English teaching in
Thailand is as follows:
In grammar-translation, the
characteristics of the approach are as follows:
1. Explanations of grammar are
rule -oriented.
2. Separate skills are taught
3. Studentsû native language is used
as a means of instruction.
4. Grammatical usage is focused.
Errors are not tolerated.
Criticisms
1. Rules are borrowed from Latin.
They are not practical.
2. Students who know rules cannot
use the language.
3. Students cannot integrate the skills
taught. For example, they cannot apply what
they have learned in their reading to writing.
Grammar-translation is harshly
criticized, yet it is widely practiced in Thailand
because it is easy for the teacher to explain the
English grammar rules in Thai.