THE SUSTAINABILITY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE ERA OF THAILAND 4.0

Abstract

In the paradigm shift to Thailand 4.0, English language teaching and learning in higher education inevitably plays a crucial role in this economic transformation as it is one of the key drivers of development and innovation. Without efficient English proficiency of its citizens, Thailand’s economy will not be able to transform to a high-income nation or compete with other countries in the global market. Therefore, it is a challenging task for higher education to produce a new generation workforce with high English language skills, in addition to other skills, namely stronger problem-solving, analytical reasoning, and ICT, which are in line with the Thailand 4.0 era. This paper reveals the trends, especially online learning, in English language teaching and learning in the era of Thailand 4.0. Challenges in utilizing those trends in the context of language teaching and learning in Thailand will be addressed. However, those challenges are taken as an opportunity for change in English language teaching and learning toward Thailand 4.0.