The Development of Task-Based Activities for Culture-Related English Lessons to Enhance Students’ Communicative Skills
การพัฒนากิจกรรมการเรียนรู้สำหรับการสอนบทเรียนวิชาภาษาอังกฤษ
ที่มีเนื้อหาเกี่ยวข้องกับวัฒนธรรมโดยใช้วิธีการสอนแบบเน้นงานปฏิบัติเพื่อพัฒนาทักษะการใช้ภาษาอังกฤษเพื่อการสื่อสาร
Background of the study
The idea that foreign language teaching has a cultural dimension is not a new one (Saluveer, 2004). It is widely accepted that one of the main aims of foreign language teaching today is to develop learners’ ability to communicate with each other across linguistic and cultural boundaries (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEF), 2001: 3). Therefore, language learning today does not only focus on learning the language, but also learning other cultures. As English has become a global language, teaching and learning English in Thailand has become challenging since they have passed through EFL context and gained more EIL status. However, English learning in Thailand has not been very successful so far because most learners lack the opportunity to learn English in an English environment and for interaction in daily life (Wiriyachitra, 2003, p. 25). Hence, Thais’ level of English proficiency is low comparing to our neighbors in ASEAN: Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam (EF EPI English Proficiency Index) Another possible reason is that English lessons in Thailand are not challenging and interesting enough to motivate students to learn (Biyeam, 1997 cited in Wiriyachitra, 2003). As mentioned above, language and culture are closely linked; the teaching of culture is seen as an integral and organized component of language courses. Many English textbooks include various cultural topics from
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