Communicative language teaching in Cambodian higher education: EFL teachers' beliefs and practices

Communicative language teaching in Cambodian higher education: EFL teachers' beliefs and practices

This thesis reports on a study that examined the landscape of communicative language teaching (CLT) in higher education in Cambodia. It assessed how practitioners’ beliefs about CLT influenced their practices and the challenges they faced in integrating CLT into English language teaching. The participants in the study were Cambodian EFL (English as a foreign language) university teachers, their supervisors (i.e. vice deans who also taught) and students who had English as a major. By employing a concurrent nested mixed methods design, the study collected data through semi-structured interviews, surveys and document analysis. The study found that, while interactive teaching activities were favoured, the teachers often explained grammar lessons in the native Khmer language and used instructional drills to reinforce learning. They defined CLT as a student-centred approach that promotes interaction among teachers, students and peers. They emphasised the benefits of CLT for key education stakeholders, including students, teachers and education institutions. Moreover, the leveraging of technology was found to be a common practice among the participants and was perceived to be beneficial for student learning. However, challenges were evident, including the students’ inadequate English language proficiency and the teachers finding it difficult to implement CLT. Other challenges were inadequate continuing professional development (CPD) on digital technology, insufficient access to authentic teaching materials and other contextual barriers. To promote the effective implementation of CLT through enhanced CPD for teachers, the participants suggested that seven thematic categories were considered for improvement. The study offers practical directions for pedagogical approaches and policy development for English language learning in Cambodian higher education. The study acknowledges its limitations and suggests areas for future research to advance language teacher education and pedagogical approaches and sets the stage for creating more effective language learning environments for students in Cambodia and elsewhere.

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