(292) ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION TEACHER PREFERENCE: THAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH LEARNERS' VIEWS

摘要

The only available model for pronunciation teaching in the tertiary context in Thailand is exclusivelybased on the native-speaker paradigm. That is, English language teaching (ELT) should be informedby native speakers since they are believed to be ideal informants in language use and usage. Thispedagogical assumption has been adopted and practiced widely by parties involved in Englisheducation to the extent that only native English teachers (NETs) are qualified and allowed to teachcourses concerning aural and oral skills including pronunciation. However, the notion that nativespeakers are the ideal English language teachers has been questioned by a number of scholars,arguing that non-native English teachers (NNETs) can also make several positive contributions to thefield and are not inferior to NETs professionally. This study reports on findings of an investigation intolearners' attitudes to the question of whether Thai English teachers (TETs) can teach Englishpronunciation or can be good pronunciation models on the basis of two cross-validated researchmethods: the matched-guise test and semi-structured interview. Findings show that the ideologicalconstruct of idealized native speaker is still deeply rooted in the context of English education inThailand in the sense that TETs are always marginalized or treated as the second best teachers whenit comes to pronunciation teaching. The paper calls for the need to demythologize the construct ofnative speaker in the field of ELT by stressing the importance of professional credentials and expertiseover the native/non-native dichotomy.