Given the fact mentioned above that CLT appears to continuously fail to equip Thai learners with adequate
interactive competence, its applicationin the country merits review. As suggested by Islam and Bari (2012),
despite its popularity, the CLT approach should be investigated to find out whether there is a mismatch between
theory and practice. In fact, Aliakbari and Jamalvani (2010) also inferred that the failure of CLT in practice may
be the reason for the introduction of task-based language teaching (TBLT). Along similar lines, while embracing
the goal of improving CLT application in Thai ELT, this paper proposes that CA, a sociological approach to
studying everyday conversation, in conjunction with aspects of CLT, can be used to produce better competent
speakers of English. It is particularly argued that CA can be employed to both enhance learners’ conversational
abilities and serve as a diagnostic tool to pinpoint communication challenges encountered by students and
teachers during an interactionin a Thai EFL classroom (cf. Martin, 2000)..