COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THAI LANGUAGE CURRICULUM AND TEACHING FOR CHINESE STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN CHINA AND THAILAND
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This research aims to analyze and compare Thai language curricula and teaching methods for Chinese students at educational institutions in China and Thailand, and to propose guidelines for developing Thai as a Foreign Language curriculum to achieve maximum effectiveness. The study employs comparative analysis of curriculum documents and related research from 2015-2025 across six educational institutions, comprising three institutions in China and three in Thailand. The analysis covers three dimensions: curriculum objectives, structure and content focus, and concrete outcomes in teaching methods and assessment. The research findings and discussion reveal clear differences between curricula in both contexts in terms of educational philosophy and instructional approaches. Chinese curricula are characterized by an emphasis on theory and language structure, aiming to produce high-level Thai language specialists with academic knowledge, while Thai curricula focus on practical application and communication, resulting in learners with high communicative fluency and cultural competence. This research concludes with recommendations for developing more effective Thai language teaching curricula by integrating the strengths of both contexts, and policy recommendations for establishing academic collaboration.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Articles in this journal are copyrighted by the x may be read and used for academic purposes, such as teaching, research, or citation, with proper credit given to the author and the journal.use or modification of the articles is prohibited without permission.
statements expressed in the articles are solely the opinions of the authors.
authors are fully responsible for the content and accuracy of their articles.
other reuse or republication requires permission from the journal."
References
Bray, M., Adamson, B., & Mason, M. (2014). Comparative education research: Approaches and methods (2nd ed.). Springer.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.
Celce-Murcia, M., Dörnyei, Z., & Thurrell, S. (1995). Communicative competence: A pedagogically motivated model with content specifications. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 6(2), 5-35. https://doi.org/10.5070/L462005216
Darasawang, P., & Reinders, H. (2015). Innovation in language learning and teaching: The case of Thailand. Palgrave Macmillan.
DeKeyser, R. M. (2007). Skill acquisition theory. In B. VanPatten & J. Williams (Eds.), Theories in second language acquisition (pp. 97-113). Lawrence Erlbaum.
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Junsawang, A. (2017). Thai Grammar Use Development for Chinese Students. (2018). Payap University Journal, 27(2), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.14456/pyuj.2017.17 (in Thai)
Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2013). How languages are learned (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Long, M. H. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. Wiley-Blackwell.
Malasri, T, & Wei, J. (2017). Teaching strategy for developin Thai students' Chinese listening and speaking skills. ARU Research Journal, 4(3), 79-88. https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/rdi-aru/article/view/144223 (in Thai)
Nation, I. S. P., & Macalister, J. (2010). Language curriculum design. Routledge.
Nicmanis, M. (2024). Reflexive content analysis: A methodological approach for qualitative research. Qualitative Research Methods, 15(1), 23-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069241236603
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2000). Effectiveness of L2 instruction: A research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50(3), 417-528. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.00136
Nukitrangsan, K. (2022, December). A preliminary study on Chinese students in Thailand (Full report). https://www.khonthai4-0.net/system/resource/file/kpfgo_content_attach_file_313_1.pdf?date=2022-02-22%2016:43:25.1 (in Thai)
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Office of Higher Education, Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing. (2025, July 18). Thai-China science. https://www.stsbeijing.org/contents/52809 (in Thai)
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C. (2013). Curriculum approaches in language teaching: Forward, central, and backward design. RELC Journal, 44(1), 5-33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688212473293
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Tomlinson, B. (2012). Materials development for language learning and teaching. Language Teaching, 45(2), 143-179. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444811000528
Zhang, M., & Bencharat, T. (2017). Teaching materials for Thai language learners in China: Current situation and needs analysis. Materials Development in Language Teaching, 5(2), 156-178.
