A study of communicative strategies ofThai and Filipino teachers of English

Abstract

There are many non-native English language teachers communicating with each other on a daily basis in English. This study investigated the communicative strategies used by Thai and Filipino teachers. This research focused on the teacher’s interaction, the framework of communicative strategies of ASEAN English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) speaker, and the lack of studies in communicative strategies. In addition, the study aimed to investigate the significant relationship and communicative strategies among intercultural teaching personnel. The sample group consisted of five Thai and five Filipino teachers of English. Two research tools were employed. One was observation via two speaking tasks and a jigsaw task. The other was a stimulated recall interview. All conversations and interactions were recorded and then transcribed. The results revealed that as listeners, “Listen to the message” was ranked the highest among the communicative strategies used by both the Thai and Filipino teachers. As speakers, “Non-verbal language” was ranked the highest for the Thai teachers while “Persuasion” was most frequently used by the Filipino teachers. A Chi-square test showed that there was a statistically significant relationship between communicative strategies used by the Thai and Filipino teachers. Based on the findings of the study, communicative strategies identified in this study should be incorporated into English curriculums and English language teaching in Thailand. Educators, teachers, and non-native English learners should adopt these communicative strategies to promote mutual understandings in the ELF context.

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