Effectiveness of Communicative Language Teaching in Thai Classrooms
Main Article Content
Abstract
The study investigates the effectiveness of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in Thai English classrooms. CLT emphasizes the development of learners’ communicative competence through interaction, real-life communication, and meaningful language use rather than rote memorization. This research examines how CLT impacts students’ speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills, as well as their motivation and confidence in using English. Data were collected through classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and assessment of student performance. The findings indicate that CLT significantly enhances students’ communicative abilities and engagement, though challenges such as large class sizes, limited resources, and traditional examination-focused practices can hinder its full implementation. The study concludes that with appropriate teacher training and supportive classroom environments, CLT can be an effective approach to improving English proficiency in Thai educational contexts.
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
References
Brown, H. D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching (6th ed.). Pearson Education.
Crystal, D. (2019). The Cambridge encyclopedia of the English language (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford University Press.
Hymes, D. (1972). On communicative competence. In J. B. Pride & J. Holmes (Eds.), Sociolinguistics (pp. 269–293). Penguin.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2012). English as an international language in Asia: Implications for language education. Springer.
Littlewood, W. (2014). Communicative language teaching and its legacy. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 507–522). Springer.
Nuangchalerm, P. (2017). Thai teachers' perceptions of communicative language teaching. International Journal of Instruction, 10(4), 87–102.
Office of the Basic Education Commission. (2019). Basic education core curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008) revised 2019. Ministry of Education, Thailand.
Phongpanich, N. (2016). Implementation of communicative language teaching in Thai secondary schools: An analysis of teachers' perceptions. Journal of Education Studies, 44(2), 35–50.
Richards, J. C. (2015). Key issues in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Srichanyachon, N. (2018). Problems of English language teaching in Thai classrooms. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 9(6), 1–8.
Wongsothorn, A., Hiranburana, K., & Chinnawongs, S. (2018). English language teaching in Thailand today. In H. Coleman (Ed.), Language and development: Asia-Pacific perspectives (pp. 144–157). British Council.