Thai teachers' perceptions of the prescribed English textbooks in the secondary schools in Ratchaburi

This research study was intended to examine teachers' perceptions towards the English textbooks that were selected from a list prescribed by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) and used in public secondary schools within Ratchaburi province. It also aims to identify the factors influencing the decision-making process and to explore how teachers adapt or supplement the prescribed textbooks to meet students’ learning needs. The data was collected from a sample of 31 Thai secondary school English teachers utilizing questionnaires and open-ended questions. The data was calculated for descriptive statistics using MS Excel in order to see the frequency and the percentage of the responses. The open-ended answers were analyzed for themes. The results revealed that overall, most of the teachers have good opinions on the textbooks used in their school, especially for the design, content, and alignment with the curriculum. They also highlighted that they appreciated the supplementary materials for lesson planning and student learning. However, there are limitations such as a lack of real-life activities, communicative tasks, and challenging grammar content, which can be challenging for students’ understanding. Factors which influenced textbook selection include content relevance, ease of follow-up, and supplementary resources. Teachers also reported adapting the textbooks to meet students’ learning needs through additional exercises, multimedia, and interactive activities. While teachers considered textbooks effective classroom material, their usage varied. Overall, teachers found the prescribed textbooks useful. However, there are areas for improvements to better support effective teaching and learning.

本研究旨在探讨教师对泰国叻丕府公立中学所采用、由基础教育委员会（Office of the Basic Education Commission，OBEC）指定书单中遴选的英语教材的认知态度。同时，本研究亦旨在识别影响教材选用决策流程的相关因素，并探究教师如何调整或补充指定教材以适配学生的学习需求。研究通过问卷调查与开放式问题，从31名泰国中学英语教师的样本中收集数据。研究采用MS Excel开展描述性统计分析，以计算受访者反馈的频次与占比；针对开放式回答，则采用主题分析法提炼核心主题。研究结果显示，整体而言多数教师对本校所使用的教材持有正面评价，尤其认可教材的设计、内容设置以及与课程标准的契合度。教师们还提及，他们十分感谢用于备课与辅助学生学习的配套补充材料。不过，现有教材仍存在一定局限：例如缺乏贴合现实生活的课堂活动、交际任务以及难度偏高的语法内容，这些都会给学生的理解造成挑战。影响教材选用的因素包括内容相关性、教学跟进便捷性以及配套补充资源。教师们还表示，他们会通过增设额外练习、多媒体资源以及互动活动来调整教材内容，以满足学生的学习需求。尽管教师们认为教材是高效的课堂教学材料，但实际使用情况各有差异。整体而言，教师们认为指定教材具备实用性。不过，教材仍存在可优化的空间，以更好地支撑高效的教与学活动。