A Research On Development Of English Education In Thailand

In Nov 2008, the author was invited to participate in the Thai Studies held by Chandrakasem Rajabhat University in Bangkok. During the study, the author got some information of English education in university from the teachers and students in this school and collected some related documents, which provides a great help to this thesis writing.In Thailand, for over one hundred years, English has been taught as a foreign Language (EFL) in schools. This was started when an American missionary came to Thailand and started to teach English. English was reviewed as a medium language used in communicating with the outside world, especially with the western countries. As a developing country, Thai government pays great attention to English. This language is used to acquire new knowledge and technologies to develop the various aspects, and to keep up with the world of globalization. In order to encourage the nation to study English, Princess Sirindhorn registered an English blog on the website of British Council. In 2006, the Thai Ministry of Education implemented curriculum reform that introduced English education from grade 1 to popularize the English education widely. The quality of teacher is an important factor that affects the effect of teaching. Thus, the MOE announced a new plan that aimed to train the English teachers in a communicative way. Office of National Education Committee also planed to organize an activity called"Teachers train Teachers"to improve the teaching skills.At present, there is seldom research on English education in Thailand in China, so it is worth doing further research.This thesis is composed of six parts:The first chapter is an introduction which presents the writing intension, signification and innovation of this study.The second chapter is literature review. Since there is seldom research on English education in Thailand in mainland of China, this chapter introduces some studies on this object done by the western scholars and Thailand educators since the new century.The third chapter is a historical review of English education in Thailand. It starts with establishing relationships with western county, then presents the kings'attitude to the introduction of English language and their policies. In addition, English as a subject took changes in the procedure of education development after the formal education flouring.The fourth chapter analyzes the current situation of English education in Thailand. The various school running, frequency of international exchange and communication, English organizations and English materials are introduced.The fifth chapter analyzes the problems in English education and proposes corresponding solutionsThe sixth chapter is the conclusion. The summary of this study is presented first, then points out the limitations and further researches of this study.