However, according to Geringer (2003), the most important factor in student learning progress is the teachers,
and teacher quality outweighs other factors such as motivation, funding, and class sizes. Qualified teachers can
create the best environment for learning. As for Thailand (Education in Thailand, Wikipedia), a survey, in
collaboration with the University of Cambridge, measuring the qualifications of four hundred Thai teachers of
English, found that a full 60% of them had knowledge of English and teaching methodologies below that of the
syllabus level at which they were teaching. Of the remaining top 40%, only 3% had a reasonable level of fluency,
and only 20% were teaching class-levels for which they were both qualified and competent. Noopong (2002)
also reported that 65% of primary school teachers who were teaching English had not taken English as their
major of their studies, and only around 70% of secondary school English teachers graduated with a bachelor’s
degree in English. Dhanasobhon (2006) explained that at the secondary level, there is a shortage of teachers of
English because English majored graduates love to work in other higher salary jobs such as flight attendants, or
in hotel and tourism businesses, or with private companies.
In addition to the lack of qualified teachers, it is widely understood that what is expected from teachers these
days is multi-faceted. They are required to teach effectively in challenging environments; to make effective use
of information and communications technology (ICT) in their teaching; to cater to a variety of learning styles (as
elaborated in Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, 1993); to conduct research aimed at improving the
quality of their teaching; and to deal effectively with multitudinous administrative tasks -- all of which to meet
up with the requirements for ‘Quality Assurance.’ Moreover, most Thai teachers of English, especially at the
secondary level, have to teach at least eighteen hours a week on average and often take on additional classes
outside regular school hours in order to supplement their relatively meager salaries. Because of overloaded
burden, their teaching styles start to fossilize into ones of rote-learning, teaching grammar and translation with
Thai as the medium of instruction, teacher-centered classroom activities, spoon-feeding, and so on.