A case study on the development and implementation of thematic units in Thai university EFL classes: Connecting language learning to other academic disciplines.

摘要

This case study described the development and monitored the implementation of thematic units as English for Science and Technology (EST) materials at Suranaree University of Technology. The intent of this case study was to document the development of thematic units, to examine the teacher and student reactions, and to explore the nature of classroom interactions during the thematic lessons. The study was composed of four phases: material development, teacher training, implementation of thematic units in the classrooms, and material evaluation. The participants included eight teachers and 24 students from English I courses. Journals, classroom observations, videotaping, and interviews were used for data collection. Two thematic units for students, teacher's manuals, and the final assessment were developed for this study.;The data revealed that the thematic units development process was non-linear, dynamic, and time consuming. Developers needed collective experiences and knowledge, especially content knowledge, to make appropriate decisions on content selection. Bragger and Rice's model was practical in providing a concept for gradual integration of content and language. In addition to the language and content difficulty, the complexity of a task was also needed to take into consideration.;The data also revealed that the majority of teachers and students positively reacted to the thematic units because of the appropriate level of content complexity and language difficulty, logical sequences of teaching steps, thematic organization, variety of exercises, and appealing appearance. Consequently, students became more motivated to learn language through content and teachers were more confident in teaching language through unfamiliar content. Data from classroom observations showed that teachers needed both theoretical and methodological training to enhance the success of the implementation of thematic units in classrooms.;The results of this study provided a better understanding of the development and implementation process of thematic units at the university level in English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Suggestions for future implementation and research were provided.