Concepts of Literacy of Thai Foundation English Teachers: A National Study

This dissertation investigated the concepts of literacy held by Thai teachers of university-level Foundation English courses, the connection between concepts of literacy and EFL literacy instruction, teachers’ literacy-teaching practices, and the challenges these teachers faced in teaching EFL literacy. The relationship between the concepts of literacy and the demographic backgrounds of the teachers (age, gender, highest degree earned, country where the highest degree was earned, institutions where the teacher worked, and professional development) was also addressed. Specifically, the participants in the study were 300 Thai teachers who taught Foundation English courses for undergraduate students. They held teaching positions in 23 universities that ranked among the 50 most-accessible web publication universities across Thailand. Also, case studies were conducted with 20 teachers in two universities (one university chosen from the middle-ranking universities and the other from the low-ranking universities). The instruments used in the study included paper-based surveys, face-to-face interviews, and classroom observations. All quantitative data were analyzed using PASW Statistics 18, and qualitative data were analyzed through coding and theming methods. It should be noted that qualitative analysis was performed only for further explaining the quantitative findings. The findings revealed that many participating teachers—with all types of degrees earned, types of institutions, years of teaching experience, and numbers of workshop, seminar, or conference participations—did not have a comprehensive view of literacy. They were found not to be familiar with or aware of the term and the theories of literacy, although in practice they implemented a variety of literacy practices in their Foundation English classes. The challenges and difficulties that the teachers faced in EFL literacy instruction were similar, and they were associated with teacher and student attributes, curriculum design, instructional methods, classroom management, and administrative support. Significantly, school policies and administration were a key problem that caused other unmanageable challenges in EFL literacy instruction, such as large class sizes, mixed ability language classes, insufficient facilities, and less-effective teachers