“Teacher, I Don't Know How to Describe ‘Tom Yum Kung’ in English, but I Know ‘Hamburger’ and ‘Pizza’:” Will Global Englishes Language Teaching be a Beacon of Hope or a Recipe for Disaster in Thai ELT?

Abstract

The emerging linguistic landscape of English as a global language calls for practitioners in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) to move beyond monolingual instruction and adopt a more plurilingual pedagogy. Despite substantial research on implementing global Englishes language teaching (GELT) across the three circles, a research gap persists, especially in secondary education. To bridge the gap, this qualitative study explored the possibility of GELT integration in English classrooms from the lens of 18 students, nine teachers, and nine administrators at nine secondary schools in southern Thailand through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. The data from the qualitative content analysis revealed participants’ positive perceptions of GELT since it was viewed as instrumental in preparing learners to take a practical approach when utilizing English beyond specific forms and norms. However, challenges remained in establishing GELT, especially in contexts dominated by native-speakerism and linguistic imperialism ideologies. Achieving this goal demands coordinated efforts among TESOL practitioners at all levels. These initiatives involve both policymakers who shape English education through top-down directives and educators, who implement these strategies from the bottom up. The success of this collaboration is critical in revisiting English learning aims, repositioning English proficiency assessment, embracing sociocultural relevance in ELT, introducing translanguaging pedagogy for ELT, and redefining English instructional models to reflect the global diversity of English more accurately.