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Language Teaching Research
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Becoming a teacher of English in Thailand

David Hayes

Brock University, Canada, dhayes{at}brocku.ca

This paper explores the motivation and circumstances of a group of Thai teachers in government schools which influenced their becoming teachers of English. Through data derived from in-depth interviewing it seeks to privilege the perceptions of the informants and thus illuminate features of teachers' experience of their educational systems, in this particular case how they entered the teaching profession. The paper contends that the reasons why individuals who are non-native speakers decide to teach English as a foreign language has been little studied in the TESOL professional discourse, but that such research is crucial for any educational discipline, given that initial motivation and personal circumstances may have a significant impact upon future classroom practices and long-term commitment to teaching. The findings here suggest that individuals may choose to become members of their state teaching systems first and foremost and that their choice of subject to teach is a secondary consideration, simply arising from their own school performance in and aptitude for that particular subject.

Key Words: English as a foreign language teachers • non-native speakers • motivation to teach • state education systems

Language Teaching Research, Vol. 12, No. 4, 471-494 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1362168808097160
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