The problem is identified as the culmination of the researcher’s subjective observations and experiences. The students were often heardcomplaining about the Thai teachers. They complained of boredom in their Thai teacher classrooms and felt they were not learning. The students would show the research work they were expected to complete that was far higher than their current ability and they were constantly bombarded with non-context-based grammar exercises. They were also taught to constantly translate English into Thai in order to understand. As the researcher walked the corridors and worked in an office, the researcherfrequently heard English being taught in Thai and often saw students presenting information to their Thai teachers in Thai. The Thai teachers were nearly always sitting in the corner of the room maintaining distance and using the desk as a barrier.
Some of the teaching staff squarely blamed the inadequacies of the students on the students, simply stating that they were all lazy. In fact, during the researchers initial interview, the researcher was told not to expect much from the students as they were primarily from farming backgrounds. There was also a denial of the failings of undergraduate English education in Thailand, despite this being frequently identified and discussed in the public media and by the ASEAN community. The straw that broke the camel’s back was reading a promotional article suggesting that native English teachers were unnecessary in Thailandand that the advertiser’s English school offered Thai only teachers. Ironically, the article contained numerous grammatical errors.