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Teaching English in the Era of English Used as a Lingua Franca in Thailand

Abstract EnglishhastakenanobviousroleasalinguafrancainThailandasthemajorityofEnglishconversationsareprimarilymadebyThaiEnglishuserswithnon-nativeEnglishspeakers,particularlypeoplefromAsiancountries.Inaddition,whentheASEANEconomicCommunitywillbeofficiallyformedin2015,ThaipeoplehavetoworkandinteractmorewithaconsiderablenumberofpeoplefromtheASEANmembercountriesanditscounterparts.Therefore,toachieveeffectivecommunicationintheEnglishasalinguafrancacontext,masteringEnglishskillsandknowledgetoonlycommunicatewithnativeEnglishspeakers is inadequatesinceThaiEnglishusers’interlocutorsintheworkplacesarenotonlynativespeakersofEnglish.Hence,thenativespeakermodelofteachingshouldplayalesserroleinEnglishlanguageteaching,particularlyspeakingskillinThailand.Asaresult,thisarticlesuggeststhatThaiEnglishteachersneedtoputlessemphasisonteachingEnglishgrammarandpronunciationbasedonthenativeEnglishspeakingmodel.Instead,moreattentionshouldbepaidtoexposingstudentstoavarietyofEnglishaccentsandpromotingthelearners’interculturalcommunicativecompetence inELTclassroomstoreachtheeffectivecommunicationgoal.

บทคดยอ ภาษาองกฤษมบทบาทชดเจนในฐานะภาษากลางทคนไทยใชสอสารกบชาวตางชาตซงสวนใหญไมไดเปนเจาของภาษาโดยเฉพาะชาวตางชาตทมาจากประเทศในภมภาคเอเชยยงไปกวานนเมอประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยนดำาเนนการอยางเปนทางการในป2558คนไทยจะตองทำางานและสอสารกบคนจากประเทศสมาชกของประชาคมเศรษฐกจอาเซยนและประเทศคเจรจามากขน ในการสอสารใหประสบความสำาเรจในบรบทดงกลาว ความรและทกษะภาษาองกฤษเพอใชสอสารกบเจาของภาษาเพยงอยางเดยวอาจไมเพยงพอเนองจากคสนทนาสวนใหญในสถานททำางานไมไดมเพยงเจาของภาษาดงนนการสอนภาษาองกฤษโดยใชโมเดลของเจาของภาษากอาจมบทบาทนอยลงในการสอนภาษาองกฤษในเมองไทยบทความนจงไดเสนอวาครสอนภาษาองกฤษคนไทยอาจจะตองเนนสอนไวยากรณและการออกเสยงภาษาองกฤษโดยยดแบบแผนของเจาของภาษาใหนอยลงในทางตรงกนขามควรใหความสำาคญกบการแนะนำานกศกษาใหรจกสำาเนยงทมความหลากหลายของคสนทนาและเพมพนความรความสามารถในการสอสารระหวางวฒนธรรมของตวผเรยนใหมากยงเพอจะไดสอสารไดอยางมประสทธภาพตอไป

Wilaiporn Kongkerdwilaiporn.k@bu.ac.th

Bangkok University

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Introduction English is widely used as a communicativedevicebypeopleacrosstheglobe.Crystal (2008)statesthatthenumberofEnglishusersworldwideis estimated to reach twomillionpeople.Crystalfurtheraddsthatthefigureofnon-nativespeakersofEnglishissignificantlygreaterthanEnglishnativespeakers’.Thus,thestatusofEnglishismorenoticeableas a lingua franca over the world. In Thailand,Englishalsoplaysaleadingroleasalinguafranca(Baker,2009)becauseitismostlyusedbyThaistointeract with peoplewhose first language is notEnglish, particularly in the Thai tourism industry(Todd,2006).Furthermore,thiscanbemostobviouslyseenwiththeestablishmentoftheASEANCommunityin2015,whenEnglishwillbecomeanofficialtoolfor communication among the ASEANmembercountriesanditscounterparts. Thus, English is extremely important forThaisforcommunicatingwithpeoplefromvariouscountriesandmulticulturalbackgrounds.InordertoprepareThaisforthissituation,developingeffectiveEnglishusersforinterculturalcommunicationhastobetakenintoconsideration.ItcanbesaidthatThaiEnglishteacherswhoareinchargeofprovidingThaistudentswithknowledgeandskillsforcommunicationin English may have themost significant role.Consequently,thispaperproposessomeimportantrecommendationstoThaiEnglishteachersinprovidingstudents with skills and knowledge for moresuccessful intercultural communication in theeraofEnglishasalinguafrancainThailand.The Roles of English as a Lingua Franca in Thailand Inordertoobtainaclearerunderstandingofthe roleofEnglishasa lingua franca inThailand,defining the term of English as a lingua franca isnecessary.Englishasalinguafrancacanbedefinedas“anyuseofEnglishamongspeakersofdifferentfirstlanguagesforwhomEnglishisthecommunicativemedium of choice, and often the only option”,

(Seidlhofer, 2011, 7). Seidlhofer (2011) furtherexplains that native speakers of English appeartobeaminoritygroupduetothelargerfigureofnon-nativespeakersusingEnglishasalinguafranca;therefore,nativeEnglishmodelscannotplayakeyroleasalinguisticreferencenorm.AlthoughEnglishasalinguafrancahasgainedalotofattentioninthefieldsofappliedlinguisticsandEnglishlanguageteaching(ELT)(Kuo,2006),manypeoplestilldonothaveclear ideas as to thenatureof English as alinguafrancaandhowitisdifferentfromEnglishasaforeignlanguage.Jenkins(2009b)presentssomedifferent features between English as a foreignlanguage(EFL)andEnglishasalinguafranca(ELF).Forexample,sheexplainsthatpeopleholdingtheEFLparadigmviewbelievethatL2users’errorsarecausedbytheirEnglishabilitydeficit,whileerrorsintheELFparadigmarethoughttobeanELFvariant.Shefurtherpointsoutthatcodemixingandcodeswitchingoccurringamong second languageusersare considered to be interference errors in EFL,whiletheyareunderstoodtobebilingualresourcesaccordingtotheELFparadigm(Jenkins,2009b). Englishasalinguafrancahasbecomeamuch-debated issue in applied linguistics and Englishlanguageteachingthankstothegreaternumberofnon-native speakers of English involved in globalcommunication. Some scholars in the field haveproposedthatanEnglishaslinguafrancacorebeemployedinELT.Forexample,itwassuggestedbyJenkins(2002)thatthiscorecanbeusedinteachingphonology in international English classrooms.Jenkins (2002) points out that the teachers andthe learners can obtainmany benefits from thisteachingmodel,namelypromotingintelligibility,itsappropriatenessforregionalEnglishcommunicators,andbeingeasytoteach.However,somescholars(e.g.Kuo,2006;Timmis,2002)donotsupportthisview.TheyclaimthatstudiesshowthatthemajorityofparentsandEnglishlearnersstillholdtheviewthatthenativespeakingmodelistheirpreferablenorm

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inteachingandlearningEnglish.Kuo(2006)furtherindicates that teaching English as a lingua francamodelisnotwidelyacceptedforseveralreasons,includingstandardization,popularity,andapplicationinELT.DespitethefactthatadoptingEnglishasalingua francamodel inELTappearsunacceptabletomany scholars, it has raised important issuesregarding communication features and culture inEnglishasalinguafrancacommunicationandthiswill be useful for English teachers to consider inequippingstudentswiththeappropriateknowledgeandskillsforinterculturalcommunication. RegardingtheroleofEnglishasalinguafrancainThailand,Baker(2009)indicatesthatThailandisanexpandingcirclecountry,accordingtoKachru’sthree-circle classificationmodel, and English generallytakesonaroleaslinguafrancainThailand.Similarly,Todd(2006)pointsoutthatThaiswhoworkintheThaitourismindustrymainlycommunicateinEnglishas a lingua franca with foreign tourists who areprimarilynon-nativespeakersofEnglish.Todd(2006)addsthatapproximately70%oftouristswhovisitThailandareAsian.Hence,EnglishisclearlyusedasalinguafrancaintheThaitourismindustry.However,Englishhasavitalrolenotonlyincommunicationwithforeignersinthetourismindustrybutalsointheinter-nationalbusinessfield.AccordingtotheWorldBank(2010,ascitedinSimpson,2011),ThailandisexpectedtobethesecondmostattractivecountryinASEANindrawinginternationalbusinessinvestmentusingEnglishasacommunicativedevice.Consequently,English has become a tool for internationalcompanies based in Thailand.More importantly,Englishwill play a role as themain language forinteraction between the ten ASEAN membercountriesintheASEANCommunityin2015.Thus,EnglishisclearlyinuseasalinguafrancainThailand.

English Teaching and Learning in Thailand WhileEnglishwillinevitablybecomepartofThai people’s lives, English teaching and learning

inThailandislikelytobeineffective inproducingperfectThaiEnglishusers.Prapphal’sstudy(2001)revealsthattheEnglishabilitystatusofThaigraduatesisrankedeighthamongASEANmembercountries,accordingtotheCU-TEP(ChulalongkornUniversityTestofEnglishProficiency).Additionally,Wiriyachitra(2002)emphasizesthatthelackofeffectiveEnglishskills of Thais communicating in the workplace,particularlyintheThaitourismfield,tendstogiveforeignersanegativeattitudetowardsThailand.OneofseveralfactorsleadingtothisproblemistheEnglishteachingsysteminThailand.AccordingtoSimpson(2011), English teaching in Thailand concentrateson grammar and accuracy and teachers primarilydeliver English lessons using the Thai language;therefore,studentsarenotsufficientlyintroducedtospeakingandlisteningskills.Asaresult,ThaishaveproblemswithEnglishlanguagespeakingandlistening.SomeresearchershaveattemptedtoexploreotherfactorscontributingtounsuccessfulEnglishteachingandlearning inThailand.Forexample,Mackenzie(2002) foundthatbeing tooshytospeakEnglish,having nomotivation to communicate in English,worryingtoomuchaboutaccuracy,andrelyingonrotememorizationarecharacteristicsofThailearnersthatleadtoineffectiveEnglishlanguagelearning. ThelackofEnglishcommunicationproficiencymentionedabovehasworriedtheThaigovernmentforalongtimeandtheyhavemadeagreatdealofeffortintodealingwiththisproblem.AsPunthumasen(2007)indicatesthatthegovernmenthaslaunchedvariousstrategiesandpoliciestohelpThaistudentstomasterbetterEnglishskillsofoveraperiodoftwodecades.Punthumasen(2007)furtheraddsthatthe Thai government has allowedmany schoolsthroughout Thailand to set up English programswith the increasedemploymentofnativeEnglishteachers. In addition to this, several teaching ap-proachessuchascommunicativelanguageteaching(CLT)orstudentcenterednesshavebeenadoptedto improve Thai English learners. However, these

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teaching pedagogies appear unsuccessful due tomanyreasons.Forinstance,adoptingcommunicativelanguage teaching (CLT)approachwasconsideredinappropriatefortheThaisettingduetoThailearners’culturesofunquestioningandobeying the seniorpeople(Wangkijichinda,2011).Regardingtoadoptingstudentcenteredness,itseemsnottofittheThaiculture since Thai English teacherswere familiarwithbeingthecenteroftheclassroomandactingas knowledge providerswhile the studentswereaccustomed to listening to teachers and taking aroleasknowledgereceiversintheirmeanoflearningin the classroom.Consequently, students donotseem to realize that learning can occur outsideof theclassrooms.Although it isessential for thegovernmenttotakeEnglishskillsdevelopmentasaprioritytopromoteEnglishcommunicationsuccessininterculturalcontexts,otherskillsandknowledgesuch as intercultural communicative competencealsoneedtobeaccountedfor.

Intercultural Communicative Competence Thai speakers need to use English as animportantmedium to interactmainly with non-nativespeakersofEnglish.Consequently,otherskillsapartfromEnglishmaybenecessaryforsuccessfulintercultural communication. Referring to Baker(2011), possessing only linguistic knowledge suchaslexis,grammar,ortheculturalnormsofEnglishnative speakers appears not to be sufficient forcommunicationwithpeoplefrommultilingualandmulticultural backgrounds. Baker further explainsthat it is necessary to understand a variety ofcontexts and cultures for success in interculturalcommunication inEnglishasa lingua franca.Asaresult,developinginterculturalcompetenceshouldbetakenintoconsiderationaspartofEnglishlanguageteachingandlearning.InterculturalcompetenceorinterculturalcommunicativecompetenceisdefinedbyByram,Gribkova&Starkey(2002,11)as“theabilityto ensure a shared understanding by people of

differentsocialidentities”andthe“abilitytointeractwithpeopleascomplexhumanbeingswithmultipleidentitiesandtheirownindividuality”.Inaddition,Byram, Nichols & Stevens (2001) further proposefivekeycomponentsofinterculturalcommunicativecompetence: attitudes (savoir etre), knowledge(savoirs), skills of interpreting and relating (savoircomprendre), skills of discovery and interaction(savoirapprendre/faire),andcriticalculturalawareness(savoir s’ engager). Thus, these knowledge, skillsandattitudeshouldbedevelopedamongEnglishlanguagelearnersandEnglishteachershaveacrucialroleinpreparingstudentsforeffectiveinterculturalcommunicationlateron.

Teaching English in the Era English Used as a Lingua Franca To succeed in intercultural communication,ThaiEnglishusersmayberequiredtopossesseveralskillsandknowledge.Thus,Englishteacherswhoareresponsiblefordevelopingtheknowledgeandskillsintheirstudentsmayhavetoadjusttheirteachingrolesandtheirteachingfocitoprovidethestudentswithappropriateskillsandknowledgeforeffectiveintercultural communication in the lingua francacontext.SomeinterestingrecommendationstoThaiEnglishteachersinteachingEnglishinThailandwillbepresentedinthefollowingsection.

Teaching English Grammar and Pronunciation EnglishgrammarhasbeenthecenteroftheinterestinELTinThailandformanyyearsasmostformaleducationalinstitutionslargelyequiplearnerswithgrammaticalknowledgeandtheyevaluatethelearners’learningachievementwithEnglishgrammarknowledge they acquire. However, this teachingfocusappearsnottohelplearnerssucceedinEnglishinteractionintheworkplace.TheevidenceisthatThaiEnglishusers’Englishcapabilitycannotmeetworkplace communication requirements, eventhoughtheyhavebeentaughtEnglishgrammarsince

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primaryschool.Thus,placingtoomuchemphasisonEnglishgrammarmaynotenablelearnerstoemployEnglishintheirdailylivesanditalsotendstoreducelearners’ confidence andmotivation. As a result,EnglishteachersmayneedtoencouragelearnerstolearnEnglishtofulfillcommunicationneedsratherthantoacquirenativeEnglishgrammaraccuracy. Itthereforefollowsthattheimprovementofthe learners’ necessary English skills, particularlylisteningand speaking skills shouldbe taken intoconsideration to produce effective English users.Onefactortoimprovelearners’speakingabilityisteaching the learners English pronunciation. ThaiEnglishteachersshouldreconsidertheuseofnativespeakingmodelsinteachingEnglishpronunciationsincethemaininterlocutorsforThaispeakersarenotfromEnglishspeakingcountries.AccordingtoBaker(2012),ThaiELTshouldnotfocusprimarilyonnativespeaker varieties of English because Thai Englishspeakersdonotmainlyinteractwithpeoplefrominnercirclecountries;therefore,preparingstudentstobereadyformanydifferentvarietiesofEnglishesis indispensable. Nevertheless, this idea tends tobedifficulttoapplyintheELTclassroomasnon-native English teachers and English learnersmaygenerallydesiretoachievetheaimofsoundinglikeanativespeaker(Kramch,1993,ascitedinJenkins,2000),eventhough,itisconsideredanunreachablegoalforEnglishlearners(Cook,1999,ascitedinUr,2010).ThisisbecauseparentsandEnglishlearnersoftenstillholdtheviewthatEnglishteacherswithnon-native accents are less knowledgeable or‘authentic’thanEnglishteacherswithnativeaccents(Butler,2007). As a consequence,many English teachers,including Thai teachers, are unlikely to abandonthismodelforteachingEnglishpronunciation.Forexample, when English pronunciation teachersteachstudentstopronouncethewords“the”and“holdon”intheclassroom,theyexpectstudents

topronouncethemaccuratelyinaccordancetoanativemodel.Many Thai students are unable topronounce/ð/,intheword“the”anddonotpro-duceconnectedspeechinthephrase“holdon”.This teaching focus candisappoint both teachersand learners. Students may feel embarrassedaboutmaking Englishpronunciationmistakes andsubsequently lose confidence andmotivation tospeakEnglish.Asdiscussedabove,manyThaispeakersare not proficient in English, particularly in termsoftheirspeakingskills.Hence,movingawayfromafocusonaccuracyandnativepronunciationmodelsmayhelptoalleviatethisproblem.Thismayenablelearners to speak English confidently andworrylessaboutEnglishaccuracywhilespeaking. From personal experience, it is clear thatdifficultieswithEnglishnativespeakersmodelsofpronunciationhappentoothernon-nativespeakersofEnglish.Jenkins(2000citedinSeidlhofer,2005)interestinglypointsoutthatmispronounceofsomesoundssuchas“/ð/”or“/θ/”normallyoccursinELFusersanditisnotconsideredaseriousconcernsinceitdoesnotaffectinternationalintelligibilityamongELFusers.Similarly,Seidlhofer(2005)proposesthatsomefeaturesthatdonotinterruptintelligibilitymaynotneedtobetaughtwherepeopleuseEnglishasalinguafranca.Therefore,notbeingabletopronouncewordsasnativespeakersmaynotcauseanyproblemsforEnglish learnerswhouseEnglish in the linguafrancacontext,suchasmostspeakersinThailand.Asaconsequence,teachingEnglishpronunciationwithnativevarietiesofEnglishappearstobelessnecessary forThaiEnglish languageusers.On thecontrary,teacherswhoteachEnglishpronunciationorspeakingmayhavetoignoresomesmallmistakesinspeakingclassesaslongas intelligibilitycanbeachievedinthecommunicationprocesssinceitcanencouragelearnerswholackconfidenceandmotiva-tionandareafraidofmakingmistakestospeakandpracticeEnglishmore.

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Besides,givingstudents feedbackwhenevertheymakecommonmistakesneedstobeconsideredcarefully. IfEnglishteachersrelystrictlyonnativemodelsandEnglishgrammarinteachingspeakingorpronunciation,theymaytakecommonpronunciationandgrammarerrorsasseriousmistakesandprovidestudentswiththedirect feedbackwheneversucherrorsaremade.Thiscauseslanguagelearnerstofeel embarrassedwhen speaking anddiscouragesthemfromspeakingEnglishandtheymaynotwanttopracticeorspeakEnglishanymore.Thus,placinglessemphasisonthenativenormspositivelyaffectsthewayEnglishteacherscorrectstudents’Englishgrammar or pronunciation in the conversationclassroom.Asaresult,studentsfeelpositiveaboutspeakingandpracticingEnglishintheclassroom. Exposing Thai Students to Different Accents EnglishaccentisanotherissuethatshouldbementionedinteachingEnglishpronunciationintheELFcontext.Asalready stated, avastnumberofpeoplemaypreferReceivedPronunciation(RP)orGeneralAmerican(GA)accentstotheirownnativeaccentsinspeakingEnglish.However,Jenkins(2009a)indicates from empirical studies that non-nativeaccents are perceived by non-native speakers ofEnglish to bemore understandable than RP andGAaccents. Additionally,Jenkins(2005)furtherpointsoutfromherstudythatspeakingEnglishwiththelearners’L1 accent can present speakers’ own identitiesandthismaybeonereasonwhysomenon-nativeEnglishusersdesiretomaintaintheiraccentswhenspeakingEnglish.Therefore,itseemsacceptablethatThaiEnglishusersandEnglishteachersshouldnotbeoverlyconcernedabouttheiraccents.SpeakingandteachingEnglishwiththeirownaccentcanbeagoodwaytopresent themselvesasaThaiandtheydonothavetostrictlyimitatenativemodelsofpronunciation.Nevertheless,itisundeniablethattheThaieducationsystemhasreliedheavilyonthe

nativespeakermodel.Consequently,EnglishteachersmaymostlyexposetheirstudentstoBritishorAmericanaccents in the classroom. This can causemanyThaiEnglishusers’difficultyintryingtounderstandnon-nativeEnglishspeakerswhentheyhavetouseEnglishintheauthenticsituationsanditmayaffectthecommunicationandrelationshipsofThaipeopleinworkplaceslateron.ItcanbesaidthatteachingstudentstohaveanativeaccentisnotasimportantasteachingthemtounderstandavarietyofEnglishaccentssinceEnglishiswidelyusedasalinguafrancainThailand. SometeachersmayarguethatitisimpossibletointroducestudentstoeveryEnglishaccentinELTclassroomsbecausetherearesomanyEnglishusersacrosstheglobe.However,theyshouldtrytoexposestudentstoasmanyaccentsaspossible,particularlytheaccentsofpeoplewhoarelikelytobestudents’futureinterlocutorsintheirworkplace,suchaspeoplefrom Asian countries or the ASEAN community.Interestingly, Sharifian (2011)proposes theuseofFacebookasa tool toexpose learners tovariousEnglishformsandaccentssinceteacherscanpostvideoclipsforstudentstoaccesseasily.Thus,ThaiEnglishteacherscanusetheInternetandwebsitessuchasFacebookandYouTubetopresentstudentswithavarietyofEnglishaccents. Anothereffectivewaytoofferstudentsmoreopportunity to experience different accents ofpeopleintheinterculturalcommunicationprocessistoassignstudentstodotasks,oractivitiesthatinvolve realandvirtualcommunication inEnglishasalinguafrancasetting.Thesekindsofactivitiesenablestudentstobeexposedtovariousaccentsorpronunciationsfromtheirrealcommunications.Additionally,encouragingstudentstodointernshipsinworkplaceswhereEnglishisspokentendstobeaneffectiveapproachthatpossiblybroadensstudents’viewsontherealuseofEnglishintheirfuturecareers.It helps studentsperceive the authentic use andproblemsofEnglishatwork.Furthermoretheywill

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haveachancetoexperiencecommunicatingwithnativeornonnativeinterlocutorsintherealworkplace.StudentsmaybeabletocopewithaccentdifferencesmoreeasilywhentheyhavetouseEnglishfortheirreallifeinthefuture.Hence,EnglishteachersshouldhaveanotherroleofexposingstudentstoavarietyofEnglishaccents,particularlypeoplefromASEANcountrieswhowillbetheirimportantinterlocutorsinthenearfuture. Promoting Intercultural Communicative Competence Beingproficient inEnglish knowledge tendsto be insufficient for success in interculturalcommunication,withotherfactorssuchasinterculturalcompetence playing a key role. As a result, ThaiEnglish teachersmayhave to raiseThai learners’awarenessofissuesofinterculturalcommunication.Baker(2012)notesthatasThaismayhavetointeractwith people from multilingual and culturalbackgrounds,improvingThais’Englishskillsisobviouslynotenough.Englishlinguisticknowledge,pragmaticcompetence,aswellas interculturalcompetenceshouldbedevelopedinThaiEnglishuserssincetheyare equally important for successful interculturalcommunication(Baker,2012).Simpson(2011)pointsout that a lack of communication strategies andintercultural communication skills is seen as anobstacle to intercultural communication throughEnglish intheThaitourismindustry.Weber(2003,as cited in Damnet, 2008) adds that developingstudents’ intercultural competence is necessaryto avoid several intercultural communicationproblemssuchasmisinterpretation,prejudiceandmisunderstandingswhichcanoccurininterculturalinteractions. In addition, Ramjee (n.d.) notes thattherearedifferentcultural issues in termsof theinterpretation of eye contact, body language orunfamiliar phrases that possibly contribute tomisunderstanding in intercultural situations in theworkplace.

The“smile”inThaiculturemaybeaclearexample ofmisunderstanding occurring due todifferentinterpretationsofnon-verbalcommunication.AccordingtoDamnet(2008),the“Thaismile”canconveymanymeaningsnamelyhappiness,pleasure,and all kinds of embarrassment. Thus, differentinterpretationsofa“smile”inThaiandotherculturesmayeasilyleadtomisunderstandings.Forinstance,Thaistudents’smilesofguiltandembarrassmentforbeinglateforclassmaybewronglyinterpretedby their foreign lecturers whomay believe thatstudentsdonotfeelguiltyforbeinglatesincetheyarestillsmilinghappily.Asaresult,foreignteachers,particularlyfromwesterncountrieswhoareunfamiliarwithThaiculturemayhavenegativeattitudestowardsThai students due tomisinterpretations of theirsmiles. It seems thatmisunderstandings of thenon-verbalaspectsofcommunicationofdifferentculturesmaycontributetocommunicationproblems.Thisisbecausepeopletendtointerpretverbalornon-verbal communication based on their ownculturesandnorms(Damnet,2008). Itcanbeseenthatbeingawareofone’sownculture and the culture of interlocutors play animportantroleinsuccessfulcommunication.There-fore, English learners’ intercultural competenceshould be taken seriously. Although interculturalcompetencetendstobesignificantforsuccessfulcommunicationinThailand,ThaiEnglisheducationhasnotpaidmuchattentiontothisissue.Damnet(2008) states that intercultural competence andintercultural learning have gained less attentioninThaiEnglishclassroomsasa resultofapplyingcommunicativelanguageteaching(CLT)totheThaicurriculum.ThismaybebecauseCLTfocusesmainlyondevelopingEnglishskillsandculturalknowledgeofthetargetlanguage.AccordingtoAlptekin(2002),communicativecompetenceusedinCLTapproachesis based on native speaker norms; therefore, itencouragesEnglishuserstounderstandthetargetcultures in order to communicate successfully in

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English with native speakers. However, Alptekin(2002) does not agreewith this approachwhereEnglishhasbecomealinguafranca.Alptekinstatesthat intercultural communicative competenceshouldbemorestronglyemphasizedwhenteachingEnglishlearners.Currently,itisacruciallyimportanttimetoraiseThaiEnglishlearners’awarenessofotherpeople’s cultures, particularly the knowledge ofpeople fromtheASEANcountrieswhowillcomeandworkfreelyinThailandwhentheofficialestab-lishmentoftheASEANCommunitywillbeginin2015. ThaiEnglishteacherscanplayaroleinenhancingtheinterculturalknowledgeofstudentsinanumberofways.Mediasuchassocialsites,movies,orsongscanbeemployedinELTclassroomssincestudentsnowadaysareabletoaccesstheInterneteasilyandtheyspendalargeofmountoftimeontheInternet.Therefore,Englishteachesmayusethischanneltoraise students’ intercultural communicative com-petence. For instance, Thai English teachersmayshowstudentsVDOsfromYouTubeandmoviesfromdifferent countries and ask students to discussandshareideasabouttheirperspectivesonothercultures in the classroom. As Ekahitanond (2013)suggestedthatmediasuchasmovies,song,andTVcommercialscanbeusedinETLclassroomstohelplearnersincreasetheirleaningmotivation,creatingthe language learning Environment, enhancingcriticalthinkingskillsandculturalawareness.Ekahi-tanond(2013)furtherpointsoutmoviesmayoffergreat benefits to learners since facial expression,differentgesturesandauthentic languageusearepresentedinthemovies.Moviesnotonlygiveexposuretoauthenticvocabulary,visualmannersandgestures,butalsoincreaseinterestingculturalknowledgeandlearners’criticalthinkingskillsEkahitanond(2011).Therefore,movies possibly become a key toolforThaiEnglishteacherstouse intheclassroom.Thai English teachersmay therefore have to paymore attention to raising the awareness of ThaiEnglish learners’ regarding intercultural issues so

that they can use English to reach the goal ofsuccessfulinterculturalcommunicationinThailand.

Conclusion Inconclusion,itisobviousthatEnglishhasaclearroleasalinguafrancainThailand,thetraditionalgoal of learning and teaching English to interactprimarilywithnativespeakersmayhavetobechanged.ThaiEnglishteachershavetoadjusttheirrolesandteachingfoci.Emphasizingonlynativespeakernormsin teachingpronunciationand focusing toomuchon teachingEnglishgrammar in teachingspeakingor pronunciation seems ineffective in promotinglearners’Englishskillsandknowledgesinceitmaynot help promote Thai learners’motivation andconfidenceinspeakingEnglish.However,itdoesnotmeanthatthisarticlesuggesttheteacherstoteachEnglishbasedontheEnglishasalinguafrancamodelsinceitisunderstandablethattherehasbeenalotofargumentsonapplicationofEnglishasalinguafranca form. However, the writer proposes thatteachingstudentstoreachthegoalofintelligibilitymaybebetterthanaccuracyindevelopingThais’Englishspeakingsinceitappearsdifficultforlearnerstoachievethenative-likegoal.Inparticular,inThailandwherestudentsseemshyofspeakingEnglish,makingmistakes and lacking English learningmotivation.As a consequence, this teaching approachmaybeeffectiveinenhancingthelearners’motivationand confidence in speaking well. In addition tothis, exposing learners to a variety of Englishesand accents is important for English as a linguafranca communication, particularly with peoplefromASEANmembercountries.Finally,interculturalcompetenceshouldbedevelopedinThailanguagelearnersinordertoavoidmisunderstandingsduetoculturaldifferences.Inshort,ThaiEnglishteachersmay have to realize the three important rolesmentionedtohelptheirstudentscommunicateinEnglishasalinguafrancaeffectivelyinThailand.

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12 วารสารนกบรหาร Executive Journal

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