Implementing CA-T Model Lessons in Schools: A Preliminary Study in Southern Border Provinces of Thailand

Abstract

Encouraged by previous studies which recommended incorporating insights from Conversation Analysis (CA) into English conversation teaching to improve EFL students' oral proficiency, this paper reports on the findings from Phase I of a longitudinal study designed to investigate the impact of employing a CA-informed teaching (CA-T) model to improve Thai students' oral English proficiency. The aim of Phase I of this study was to engage local teachers in co-developing and piloting the CA-T model. In this phase, 16 purposively sampled primary and secondary English teachers from Thailand’s southern provinces participated in an intensive 6-day workshop designed to (1) familiarize them with the instructional value of CA insights and key features of the CA-T model and (2) assist these teachers in creating CA-T lesson plans. Following the workshop, teachers piloted the lesson plans, provided feedback on the implementation process, reported on the perceived effects of the lessons, and offered recommendations for improving the CA-T model. This paper describes the content of the workshop, shares teachers' feedback about the CA-T lessons and implementation process, and presents preliminary findings as to the potential challenges and benefits of employing the CA-T model in Thai primary and secondary classrooms.