DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH LANGAUGE TEACHING COMPETENCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THREE SOUTHERN BORDER PROVINCES

Abstract

This research aimed to study the English language teaching competence among primary school teachers in three southern border provinces of Thailand and to develop an assessment tool to evaluate this ability. A mixed-methods approach was employed that included a documentary analysis of related theories and previous studies, as well as interviews with five-award winning English teachers at the primary level who had been recognized between 2017 to 2023. The findings from the document analysis and interviews were synthesized and analyzed using content analysis techniques to determine English language teaching competence among primary school teachers. An assessment tool was developed to evaluate English language teaching competence for communication. The tool was validated by 5 experts and was tested for reliability. The findings showed that the English Language teaching competence for communication consists of 6 components: 1) Knowledge and skills; 2) Learning management and instructional activities; 3) Assessment and evaluation; 4) Instructional media; 5) Classroom environment and motivation; 6) Personality and attitude. The validated assessment tool with the IOC ranging from 0.80 to 1.00 can be used to evaluate the English Language teaching competence of primary school teachers in three southern border provinces.