Repositioning English and teaching practices in global Englishes: A critical perspective from Thai higher education

Abstract

More English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) scholars are shifting attention to the Global Englishes (GE) paradigm and its attitudinal and functional impacts on English language education. Nevertheless, knowledge of this paradigm is seemingly unclear to many scholars, and there is an enormous knowledge gap on the practicality of GE implementation in Thai higher education. To minimize this gap, the current study explored the attitudes of 10 Thai EFL teachers in 10 universities across Thailand toward GE and the possibility of incorporating GE in teaching practices in Thai higher education. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews were analysed using content analysis. The results revealed that most participants had positive perceptions toward English varieties emerging from outer and expanding circles users with diverse linguacultural backgrounds even though their Englishes have distinctive linguistic features compared to inner circle Englishes. The participants further reported their non-opposition to incorporate GE in Thai higher education, mainly if such GE integration would introduce learners to the target cultures of different English varieties, transform performance assessment, introduce new learning materials of both local and global content, expose them to various English accents, and reformulate goals of English language teaching (ELT). This implies a need for a redesign of Thai higher education ELT policies and curriculums to incorporate the GE paradigm and English varieties from the inner, outer, and expanding circles while also avoiding any biases toward native English in teaching.