The emerging status of English as a lingua franca necessitates a paradigm shift in English language teaching from an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) orientation toward a Global Englishes (GE) perspective. In Thailand, existing GE-related research has primarily focused on teachers’ and learners’ perspectives, while comparatively little attention has been paid to other key stakeholders, particularly school administrators, who play a crucial role in shaping language curricula and policies. This mixed-methods study employed questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to examine secondary school administrators’ perspectives on incorporating GE principles into school language curricula and policies. The findings indicated that administrators generally expressed positive views toward the integration of GE principles, particularly in areas such as materials design, curriculum development, and professional development. However, their perspectives remained influenced by native-speaker ideologies, especially in the recruitment of teaching staff and in assessment practices. Several themes emerged, including an extensive use of standardized English proficiency tests and the adoption of exonormative curricula. Overall, while administrators demonstrated an awareness of the evolving sociolinguistic landscape of English, school language curricula and policies continue to be shaped predominantly by the native norms. Consequently, the traditional EFL paradigm will remain dominant, and the current positioning of GE appeared to have limited potential to drive substantial pedagogical change.

Authors:
Pongpol Suansri, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

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Posted by James Alexander Gordon

Last updated: 2023-02-23 23:45:00

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