Presentation Schedule
From Local Learners to Global Actors: Bridging the Learning Gap in Higher Education (108148)
Session Chair: Atinut Inthajak
Sunday, 10 May 2026 16:25
Session: Session 3
Room: Room G402 (4F)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
In an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, English serves as the primary vehicle for global citizenship, enabling individuals to participate in transnational discourse, advocate for social justice, and navigate the global knowledge economy. However, in some Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, a persistent proficiency gap threatens to marginalize a generation of learners from these global opportunities. This work examines the systemic pedagogical barriers within the Thai education system that might hinder the development of the communicative and rhetorical skills essential for global engagement.
Despite national mandates positioning English as a core subject, Thailand’s 2024 EF EPI ranking (106th out of 116) underscores a “Very Low” proficiency level that restricts students’ agency as international actors. This study identifies a critical disconnect while the rhetoric of globalization calls for critical thinking and expressive autonomy, the local curriculum remains anchored in rote grammar instruction and sentence-level error correction. By reducing writing to a static product rather than a cognitive process, the current framework stifles the development of the voice necessary for cross-cultural dialogue.
Using a case study from a university in Northern Thailand, the research analyzes how the lack of authentic communicative environments and a reliance on L1-heavy instruction prevents students from transitioning from local learners to global citizens. The paper concludes by proposing a shift toward process-oriented, communicative pedagogy through narrative writing. Such a transformation is framed not merely as an academic necessity, but as a sociopolitical imperative to ensure college graduates can contribute meaningfully to the global community.
Authors:
Atinut Inthajak, Western Washington University, United States
About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Inthajak is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Western Washington University, USA.
See this presentation on the full schedule – Sunday Schedule
Conference Comments & Feedback
Place a comment using your LinkedIn profileShare this Presentation
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress