TEACHING ISSUES TESOL Quarterly publishes brief commentaries on aspects of English language teaching For this issue, the editor focused on the theme of theorizing language teacher education He asked the authors to consider the following question: How would you place the teaching practicum in its worldly context? Edited by DWIGHT ATKINSON Purdue University The Teaching Practicum in Thailand: Three Perspectives CHATPONG PHAIREE, NALINEE SANITCHON, IRADA SUPHANANGTHONG, and STEVE GRAHAM Udon Thani Rajabhat University Udon Thani, Thailand JIDAPA PROMPRUANG Siam Teacher Training School (TEFL International) Rayong, Thailand FREEK OLAF DE GROOT Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University Nakhon Sawan, Thailand DAVE HOPKINS Asian University Chonburi, Thailand Ⅲ This article examines the teaching practicum in Thailand as it occurs in three settings: Rajabhats—four-year universities which offer an additional period of teaching practice, and where the vast majority of EFL teachers are educated; regular universities; and a TESOL short course certificate program for non-Thais preparing to teach English as a foreign language (EFL) It is important to note that these are local perspectives—they are based on the accumulated experience of seven EFL teachers, but should not be seen as more than that Variation in practicum design and implementation is apparent even in our collective experience TESOL QUARTERLY Vol 42, No 4, December 2008 655 in the same kinds of institutions, and our experience may not represent the full range of variation in the field THE TEACHING PRACTICUM AT RAJABHAT UNIVERSITIES The great majority of primary and secondary teachers in Thailand are graduates of the more than 40 Rajabhats—former teacher-training colleges located in the regional provinces which have recently become 4- or 5-year universities depending on the program Two of us teach at Rajabhats, and the following is based on our students’ accounts of their teaching practicum experience Rajabhat students spend 31⁄2 to years taking a variety of courses, some teaching related, others more general Teaching-related subjects cover linguistics, teaching methods, techniques, and language acquisition The language of instruction is generally Thai, although some courses—including English language courses—are taught in English Students are generally struggling to improve their English as they fulfill the curricular requirements For their teaching practica, Rajabhat student-teachers generally teach Mathayom (Grade 7–12) students In doing so, they follow the government-mandated curriculum, with the goal of preparing students to pass university entrance exams also set by the government The length of the practicum can vary from one semester to a full school year depending on the university Student-teachers teach 6–16 hours per week and often have some degree of freedom regarding the methods and materials they use, although some participating schools require them to strictly follow prescribed syllabi The classes they teach tend to be mixed-ability classes because Thai government schools not have streaming for EFL Observing their classroom teacher-supervisors (from the practicum school) as they teach proves invaluable as a benchmark for acceptable practice These teacher-supervisors are variably involved in supporting lesson planning and giving feedback to student-teachers on their own teaching Direct supervision of student teaching by teacher-supervisors and Rajabhat faculty supervisors varies from Rajabhat to Rajabhat and school to school Students seem to enjoy both teaching under the close supervision of expert teachers and teaching without such supervision, although they report that too much of either is counterproductive They generally prefer the practical feedback of the classroom teacher-supervisors to the more theoretical feedback of Rajabhat supervisors In general, Rajabhat student-teachers take their teaching practice seriously They work hard to improve their teaching by preparing lessons 656 TESOL QUARTERLY assiduously, self-evaluating, and devising new ways to engage their charges Practicum teaching not only allows student-teachers to put their university-acquired knowledge to practical use but also helps them confirm that they have chosen the right career The most commonly expressed problems during the practicum concern student-teachers’ anxiety over their limited English skills and the large class sizes they encounter They tend to be satisfied with their classroom supervisors and the amount of time they have to prepare lessons TEACHING PRACTICE IN UNIVERSITIES Although the major universities also have teacher education programs, a substantial number of the students in these programs are inservice teachers upgrading their credentials For example, in the parttime masters-in-TESOL program at Srinakarinwirot University, most if not all students are already teaching The closest they come to a teaching practicum is therefore peer teaching, in most cases of lessons which they have prepared to demonstrate a particular teaching method or technique Students first choose their lessons and materials, with some input from the professor, submit a lesson plan to the professor, and, after receiving the professor’s feedback, implement it in the classroom Both professors and peers then offer comments and critique on the lesson Because time is limited during this weekend course, practice teaching sessions are short Most students seem satisfied with this approach, and the emphasis is on developing student-centered, communicative teaching practices THE TEACHING PRACTICUM IN A TESOL SHORT COURSE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM SETTING A third setting in which the teaching practicum figures in EFL teacher preparation in Thailand is the TESOL certificate short course offered by specialized teacher-training organizations The TESOL certificate course in which one of us works—TEFL International Ban Phe—is a 4-week intensive training program for new teachers, mostly native speakers of English, preparing to teach in EFL environments, especially language schools catering to secondary school students and young adults The teaching practicum is the main event around which the 120-hour course, focusing on practical classroom skills, is organized—practicum-related activities comprise about half the program schedule Each trainee TEACHING ISSUES 657 teaches eight 60-minute trainer-observed lessons with real students Trainees spend from 3–5 hours preparing, reviewing, and practicing each lesson plan, with help from trainers and opportunities for peer teaching practice Trainees also make their own modeling materials such as audiotapes After each lesson the trainee completes a self-evaluation form and meets with their trainer for feedback and assessment This approach to the teaching practicum is highly structured Although TESOL certificate training does not substitute for more extensive teacher education, its very intensity and structure may provide interesting comparisons to the more varied and less top-down approach of the Rajabhats The specifications for teaching practice are detailed and how trainees meet them is documented carefully in trainee portfolios Actual teaching is done by trainees under the following conditions: (a) Class size is limited to 10–20 secondary-level students; (b) students are arranged in a semicircle; (c) trainees meet the same class only once; (d) target language structures and vocabulary are assigned by the trainers; and (e) teaching methods and activities are highly prescribed These characteristics make the practicum experience rather artificial, but the program’s rationale is that trainees require guided practice as a first step to becoming comfortable and confident in the classroom This approach differs considerably from the Rajabhat teaching practicum, where there is substantial variation and (often) substantial freedom to learn through exploration SUMMARY This short article has described practice teaching in three types of educational or training institutions in Thailand Rajabhat universities provide students with ample opportunity to experience real-life teaching situations, usually in schools This teaching takes place as the culmination of years of education and is viewed as an excellent opportunity for students to put their classroom-acquired knowledge into practice Regular universities like Srinakarinwirot University also give student-teachers opportunities to apply what they have learned through teaching practice, but the actual teaching is limited both in duration and realism—it involves limited peer teaching For their part, short-term certificate courses cater primarily to native speakers of English, who are therefore not distracted by the challenge of teaching in their second or additional language The practicum experience in this setting is highly controlled for the purpose of promoting comfort and confidence in the classroom In sum, teaching practice in each of these three settings is different, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses 658 TESOL QUARTERLY ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors acknowledge the contributions of the wonderful students at the rhajabahts in Udorn Thani and Nakkon Sawan who provided the critical information to make this article possible THE AUTHORS Chatpong Phairee, a fifth-year student from Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Udon Thani, Thailand, is now a trainee teacher at a secondary school in Udon Thani as well as a teaching assistant at his university His main English language interests are in the study of sounds and how to correct errors in English pronunciation Nalinee Sanitchon has been studying for a Bachelor of Education (English) at Udon Thani Rajabhat University in Udon Thani, Thailand, for years Now in the final year, she is a trainee teacher at a local school and a teaching assistant in the university language laboratory Her interests include syntax and English for academic purposes Irada Suphanangthong is an English language trainee teacher at a government school and a teaching assistant in the ELLIS room for the Language Center at Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Udon Thani, Thailand Her main interest is in the teaching of English in primary schools in the northeast of Thailand Steven Graham, originally from the United Kingdom, is an English language teacher and teacher trainer from the Language Center at Udon Thani Rajabhat University, Udon Thani, Thailand His main interests are in teacher training, English for specific purposes, and the general improvement in English language teaching in Thailand’s northeastern Isaan region Jidapa Prompruang has been involved in TEFL teacher training for years and has a bachelor’s degree from Utaradit University, Bangkok, Thailand She worked as a primary and high school English language instructor for years before being employed by TEFL International, Thailand She is currently completing an MA TEFL at Srinakarintarawirot University, Bangkok, Thailand Her challenging role as a TESOL trainer involves training teachers of all nationalities in preparation for careers in English language teaching in Thailand and around the world Her primary focus in the future will be Thai EFL-teacher training Freek Olaf de Groot is a lecturer in the department of English at the Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University, Nakhon Sawan, Thailand He holds a master’s degree in applied linguistics and second language acquisition He specializes in teacher education, and he is an active researcher in the fields of second language acquisition and learner psychology Dave Hopkins is a teacher and teacher educator who has been working with English language teaching for four decades He holds a master’s degree in intercultural training and management and a master’s degree in the teaching of languages He has worked extensively in teacher training, materials development, course design, and media in the classroom in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States He currently resides in Thailand and works at Asian University in Chonburi TEACHING ISSUES 659