The objectives of this study were to investigateEnglish teaching methodology,
problems and needs of English teachers in elementary schools in the upper northern region
of Thailand. The respondents were 222 English teachers in elementary schools in 2010 who
completed the questionnaires which were statistically analyzed by descriptive statistics:
percentage, mean and standard deviation. The results revealed that the teaching methods
used most were not a communicative approach; for instance, students looked for the
meanings and the pronunciation of new words in the dictionary; the teacher explained
grammar and gave examples and asked the students to do exercises. In terms of class
evaluation, students received scores from the assignments and different paper tests at the
end of the units or the end of semester. To increase atmosphere of learning English,
vocabularies and picture cards were posted around the classroom and surrounding areas.
The most common problem found was that students lacked motivation and thought that it
was not necessary to learn English. For the needs of teachers, most teachers want to
develop their teaching skills.