The Teacher Development in English Skill According to the Rules Professional Capacity of Vibhavadi District Network School Suratthani Province

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: 1) to study the current state of teacher development in English skills according to the rules of professional competence; 2) to develop the English skills according to the rules of professional competence of teachers; and 3) to evaluate the teacher development in English skills according to the rules of professional competence of Vibhavadi District Network schools in Surat Thani Province. This study was an action research based on Kemmis and McTaggart’s model consisting of four steps including planning, action, observation, and reflection; and was carried out for two cycles. The participants were 10 teachers who did not graduate from English major. Data were collected by a questionnaire, a test, a training behavior observation form, a supervision form, a skill assessment form, and a satisfaction assessment form. The data were analyzed by percentage, mean, standard deviation, and content analysis.

          The research findings were as follows. 1) The current state of the teacher development in English skills showed that teachers who do not teach English courses were not developed in terms of English skills; even though, basic communication with students in the classroom is an  essential skill for teacher profession in the present. Basically, the schools primarily organized trainings and tests of English proficiency for English teachers only and planned to develop English skills for teachers, monitor the development, and report the development results at least two times. The schools have expected that the teachers would continuously develop themselves and desperately manage the teaching and learning. Therefore, an agency with potential to organize an English for communication training for teachers was employed and a cooperative development supervision was carried out at least once an academic year. 2) The teacher development in English skills carried out by workshop, self-development, and supervision revealed that all three methods were suitable for the teacher development in English skills according to the rules of professional competence. 3) The evaluation of the teacher development in English skills according to the rules of professional competence of Vibhavadi District Network schools in Surat Thani Province showed that, in regard to the comparison between before and after the self-development in English skills of the teachers, the average score was increased by 6.10 percent. Moreover, the evaluation by CEFR test revealed that the grammatical and vocabulary skill of two of the participants were in the intermediate level (B1) and the other participants were in the elementary level (A2). Regarding the listening skill, one of the participants was in the intermediate level (B1) and elementary level (A2), respectively, and the other participants were in beginner level (A1). In addition, the satisfaction towards the teacher development in English skills of the participants was in a high level.