Does Thai English exist? Voices from English language teachers in two Thai universities

ABSTRACT

As studies of English language educators’ views on Thai English remain scant, this investigation explores the beliefs on the existence and legitimacy of Thai English of 11 English language teachers from two Thai universities who participated in individual semi-structured interviews. Qualitative analysis of the interview responses indicated that while the teachers generally agreed that Thai English exists and that using Thai English can be a means to express their local identity, they seemed to repudiate the legitimacy of Thai English in terms of its use in the classroom, for they have been relatively influenced by native speakerism (i.e. American English and British English), which has been maintained by educational infrastructures and cultural norms. Given this context, it can be assumed that Thai English’s potentials to develop in Thai society seem arduous and challenging. The study concludes with a note that in the changed and changing status of English, English language teachers need to appropriate and redefine standard varieties vis-à-vis the existence of nonnative varieties, which should not be placed in the ‘periphery.’ In this manner, language learners or users can foster affinity with different Englishes, including their own local variety, and develop critical metacultural and multi-varietal communication skills.

KEYWORDS:

• Asian Englishes
• English as a foreign language
• English language teaching
• Thai English
• World Englishes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.