internationalization and neo-liberal economic policies. As a
result, English has eventually become the new language of
academia, the language of research, scholarship, and academic
transactions on the internet. [1] In Thailand, there are widescale
pushes to increase English language programs (often,
simply referred to as “International Programs”) at the
undergraduate and graduate levels as well as great increase in
English proficiency amongst Thai students. Chinnaworn
Boonyakiat, Thailand’s Minister of Education, bemoans the
fact that not only Thailand ranked 47th out of 58 countries in
the quality of higher education by the Institute for
Management Development, but it also ranks 54th in English
language proficiency based on TOEFL testing 2012.
Inadequate development in international capabilities,
specifically, language capability is a major challenge facing
education and human resource development in Thailand.
Former President of the Suranaree University of Technology,
states that the first competence in a borderless world is
language and communication with English becoming a must
for international communication. [4] The significance of one
language or dialect infiltrating foreign cultural systems is the
irrevocable bond between cultural groups and their selfexpression
through language. [3] Languages are not isolated
or self-referential and instead are social fields of force, power,
and privilege constructed within particular social contexts. [5]
Therefore, international students from China, Vietnam or
elsewhere in Thailand have experienced that one’s cultural
identity and expression could be significantly inhibited if not
allowed to be constructed or presented in one’s own language
or cultural norms. However, authors such as Hofstede and
Hofstede (2010) articulate the notion that we are all culture
bound and are collectively programmed in different ways
from one another based on culture, although there are
different dimensions of culture (language being one of them)
and defining each dimension and consequence of cultural
values is essential in all places, including the workplace. [2]
Anne Wil-Harzing, Professor of International Management at
the University of Melbourne, has indicated in her studies that
instituting English as a common corporate language will not
necessarily lead to cultural accommodation or loss of cultural
diversity in the workplace at multinational companies,
although language barriers at the workplace can increase
anxiety, uncertainty, and loss of productivity if headquartersubsidiary
relationships are not managed well. [6] In all,
standardizing frameworks and systems with mediums
constructed within only one cultural context for use or
reflection within different cultural contexts does have
consequences. Therefore, as internationalization of higher
education progresses, the utilization of language both within
curricula and through instruction should be a carefullyadministered
process and one that maintains cultural
sensitivity.
B. International Curriculum Development in Asia
An internationalized curriculum is considered the heart of
the internationalization process by key Western scholars. [7]