Active Learning for Teaching French in Secondary Schools in the South of Thailand

Abstract

This study explores the perceptions and practices of French language teachers working in secondary schools in the southern region of Thailand regarding the set of teaching methods known as “active learning”. A mixed-method approach was applied, using three research instruments: a questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews. The questionnaire was sent out to a population of 28 French teachers in 20 secondary schools in 14 southern provinces of Thailand. A sample of 15 of these teachers was then selected, and invited to volunteer for classroom observations and interviews, in order to gain a more in-depth picture of their teaching practices. We identified 15 distinct classroom activities used by the respondents which were considered as "active learning", which were, in order (most frequently used first): Information search; French camp participation; Revising knowledge by themselves; Role plays; Group discussions; Presentations; Brainstorming; Simulations; Independent tasks and activities; Group activities with mixed ability level students; Watching videos then answering questions and discussing; Editing work by themselves; Listening to music then answering questions and discussing; French language games; and finally, Demonstrations. The results show that: 1)  Fewer than 80% of the respondents used what they consider to be “active learning” methodologies to teach French; 2) There was no statistically significant difference between the probabilities of French teachers under the age of 40, and those aged over 40, using active learning; and 3) There was no statistically significant difference between the probabilities of French teachers with over 10 years of teaching experience, and those with less than 10 years of teaching experience, using active learning methodologies. These results can help to better inform relevant teacher training programs as well as future research in this area.