Mark B. Ulla was a teacher-trainer at Yangon University of Education, Yangon,Myanmar as part of the English for Education College Trainers (EfECT) project of the British Council before he joined the Faculty of Engineering as a Research Fellow and English Lecturer in King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Ratchaburi Campus. He finished his degrees in Master of Arts in English language teaching and Bachelor of Arts in English at Mindanao State University, Marawi City, Philippines. He has been teaching for ten years now and has presented papers in both local and international conferences. He serves as the associate editor of the Linguistics Journal, a production editor of Asian EFL Journal, and is a reviewer of the TESOL International Journal. Phone: 0902837948 Address: Bangkok, Thailand
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Apr 23, 2021
ABSTRACT This study explored perceptions of university English language teachers in Thailand rega... more ABSTRACT This study explored perceptions of university English language teachers in Thailand regarding Thai English. Using purposive-convenience sampling, 60 teachers of English from two Thai universities answered a survey; 11 of which participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. An analysis of the survey and interview responses indicated that although the teachers would tend to embrace the legitimacy of World Englishes (WE) or English varieties and Thai English, especially in terms of different accents and the use of Thai English (along with inner circle Englishes) in media and in intranational and international communication, they still preferred American English and British English when they speak and write, and when they teach and use English in the classroom in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, examinations, and textbook preference. They were inclined to conform to the “native-speakerism” ideology enshrined in most educational institutions, although they agreed that Thai English exists as a localized variety of English, an indication that Thai English is slowly emerging or developing.
This brief research report aimed to explore the concept of pedagogical resilience and how teacher... more This brief research report aimed to explore the concept of pedagogical resilience and how teachers in Thailand and the Philippines build resilience in pedagogy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing the qualitative research design, the data were obtained from the focus group discussion (FGD) and semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers, 8 of whom were from 1 of the universities in the Philippines and another four teachers from a university in Thailand. The thematic analysis revealed that pedagogical resilience is influenced by teachers’ personal, professional, and social attitudes toward teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although teachers acknowledged that they had no experience in remote and online teaching, they demonstrated resiliency by being flexible and adaptive to the situation. Such an attitude allowed them to build a relationship with their colleagues and design teaching and learning pedagogy that addresses the issues in their online and remote teachin...
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language--TESL-EJ
Integrating social media into classroom language teaching has been argued to be beneficial for bo... more Integrating social media into classroom language teaching has been argued to be beneficial for both students and teachers. However, little is known about using two social media platforms in one online language class session, especially to support the teaching and learning process during the COVID19 transition to online teaching. This case study explores the use of Zoom and Facebook (henceforth referred to as Zoom-booking) as English language teaching support platforms during the COVID19 online teaching of a general English course by one English as a foreign language teacher (EFL) at a university in Thailand. We adopted the concept of teaching presence and netnography as a perspective. Findings from the online classroom observation, online traces (written text or posts, videos, PowerPoint slides, and images), and interviews revealed that our teacher-participant perceived Zoom-booking the online language classroom as personal and institutional. This suggests that while Zoom-booking su...
Cases on Teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) During COVID-19
While a number of studies have explored the challenges faced by teachers, little has been known a... more While a number of studies have explored the challenges faced by teachers, little has been known about how they navigated the teaching presence in online remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present investigation explores how two English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers in a university in Thailand facilitated online language teaching and supported students' language learning in an online environment. Findings from the online classroom observations and interviews revealed that classroom pedagogical skills, knowledge of the online teaching and learning platforms, and teaching presence played a crucial role in an emergency remote and online teaching environment. Despite the lack of training for online language teaching, teachers' ability to strategize the transition to online teaching and their strong sense of resourcefulness and focus on the use of online platforms allowed them to mitigate the issues and face the challenges of the sudden shift to online teachin...
While a number of studies have previously conceptualized hybrid teaching, often used interchangea... more While a number of studies have previously conceptualized hybrid teaching, often used interchangeably with blended learning during the pre-COVID19 pandemic, hybrid teaching has been undertheorized and unexplored during and post-COVID19 pandemic when schools have slowly opened their classrooms for students. This paper explores the concept of hybrid teaching (also referred to as hybrid classroom instruction and hybrid learning) and how such teaching methodology is different from blended learning, fully online, and remote teaching by presenting a teacher’s practice during the COVID19 pandemic. Although our goal is to identify clearly what hybrid teaching is, we do not intend to offer a definite conceptualization and practice of hybrid teaching as teaching is context-dependent. However, we argue that hybrid teaching has the potential to be one of the teaching methodologies in the post COVID19 pandemic education, especially when schools and universities are in the transition back to resid...
While a number of migration studies concentrated on the economic, political, and social issues fa... more While a number of migration studies concentrated on the economic, political, and social issues faced by immigrants both in their home and host countries, studies that attempt to connect migration, culture and sexuality, particularly the migration decisions among gay men and how such migration shaped and influenced their identity and sexuality within the Global South context are scarce. Using the theoretical frame of queer intercultural communication, this study aims to explore and understand the labor migration of two highly skilled Filipino gay men and how they construct or reconstruct their identity and sexuality in Bangkok, Thailand. Findings from the individual interviews revealed that personal, professional, and social factors shaped participants’ decision to come and work in Bangkok. Being highly skilled and having a job in Bangkok provides the participants the means not only to support their personal and family needs but also to participate in queer discourses and practises that allowed them to explore and understand their sexuality. This study highlights that looking at the issues on identity and belonging from the gay men’s perspectives enhances our understanding of the multiple gender identities that contribute to the study of queer intercultural communication and migration.
While a number of studies focused on identity construction, teacher attrition, and lived experien... more While a number of studies focused on identity construction, teacher attrition, and lived experiences among early-career teachers, studies on early-career English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ professional practices for teacher learning remain underexplored. Using the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework dimensions of professional practice as a framework and a narrative inquiry as a method, this study explores how early-career EFL teachers engaged in teacher learning through a reflective practice of their teaching beliefs, classroom practices, and professional values. Findings from the open-ended written interview questions and semi-structured individual interviews suggest that early-career EFL teachers’ experience and academic orientation influence their preconceived beliefs and professional values towards teaching. However, such beliefs and attitudes are negotiated and changed when teachers engage in teacher learning through a professional development program tha...
3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 2021
Although the pedagogical contributions of cooperative learning to improve the classroom teaching ... more Although the pedagogical contributions of cooperative learning to improve the classroom teaching and learning practices have been discussed extensively in the literature, little has been known about the use of group work for task performances in the classroom, especially with regard to the enhancement of English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ speaking performance. The present study reported a classroom teaching practice of a university teacher in Thailand and explored whether group work can positively impact the speaking performances of 106 first-year Thai university EFL students. The course was taught using the group work method in a task-based learning (TBL) framework for 12 weeks. Survey questionnaires and students’ in-class speaking performance scores were used as the data for this study. Findings revealed that although Thai students were new to the group work method, they held a positive attitude towards it. Students believed that performing in-class tasks and activities...
This paper is a descriptive literary study of the translated Meranao folksongs which embody the u... more This paper is a descriptive literary study of the translated Meranao folksongs which embody the unique and distinct culture of the Meranao as one of the minority groups in Mindanao, Philippines. There were only ten translated Meranao folksongs that were selected and included for the analysis and interpretation since they were rich in cultural practices that could describe the Meranao community. The folksongs that were used in this paper came from various secondary sources, published and unpublished works of some well-known Meranao and non-Meranao scholars. In addition, these songs had undergone text validation of the English translation by a native Meranao who is skilled in the English language to ensure the validity of the transcription. For many years now, lots of Muslim scholars try to preserve and compile the Meranao culture in any way possible thinking that the knowledge will no longer be available after many years. It is then compulsory to look back into the richness of the or...
Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, Apr 23, 2021
ABSTRACT This study explored perceptions of university English language teachers in Thailand rega... more ABSTRACT This study explored perceptions of university English language teachers in Thailand regarding Thai English. Using purposive-convenience sampling, 60 teachers of English from two Thai universities answered a survey; 11 of which participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews. An analysis of the survey and interview responses indicated that although the teachers would tend to embrace the legitimacy of World Englishes (WE) or English varieties and Thai English, especially in terms of different accents and the use of Thai English (along with inner circle Englishes) in media and in intranational and international communication, they still preferred American English and British English when they speak and write, and when they teach and use English in the classroom in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, examinations, and textbook preference. They were inclined to conform to the “native-speakerism” ideology enshrined in most educational institutions, although they agreed that Thai English exists as a localized variety of English, an indication that Thai English is slowly emerging or developing.
This brief research report aimed to explore the concept of pedagogical resilience and how teacher... more This brief research report aimed to explore the concept of pedagogical resilience and how teachers in Thailand and the Philippines build resilience in pedagogy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Employing the qualitative research design, the data were obtained from the focus group discussion (FGD) and semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers, 8 of whom were from 1 of the universities in the Philippines and another four teachers from a university in Thailand. The thematic analysis revealed that pedagogical resilience is influenced by teachers’ personal, professional, and social attitudes toward teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although teachers acknowledged that they had no experience in remote and online teaching, they demonstrated resiliency by being flexible and adaptive to the situation. Such an attitude allowed them to build a relationship with their colleagues and design teaching and learning pedagogy that addresses the issues in their online and remote teachin...
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language--TESL-EJ
Integrating social media into classroom language teaching has been argued to be beneficial for bo... more Integrating social media into classroom language teaching has been argued to be beneficial for both students and teachers. However, little is known about using two social media platforms in one online language class session, especially to support the teaching and learning process during the COVID19 transition to online teaching. This case study explores the use of Zoom and Facebook (henceforth referred to as Zoom-booking) as English language teaching support platforms during the COVID19 online teaching of a general English course by one English as a foreign language teacher (EFL) at a university in Thailand. We adopted the concept of teaching presence and netnography as a perspective. Findings from the online classroom observation, online traces (written text or posts, videos, PowerPoint slides, and images), and interviews revealed that our teacher-participant perceived Zoom-booking the online language classroom as personal and institutional. This suggests that while Zoom-booking su...
Cases on Teaching English for Academic Purposes (EAP) During COVID-19
While a number of studies have explored the challenges faced by teachers, little has been known a... more While a number of studies have explored the challenges faced by teachers, little has been known about how they navigated the teaching presence in online remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present investigation explores how two English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers in a university in Thailand facilitated online language teaching and supported students' language learning in an online environment. Findings from the online classroom observations and interviews revealed that classroom pedagogical skills, knowledge of the online teaching and learning platforms, and teaching presence played a crucial role in an emergency remote and online teaching environment. Despite the lack of training for online language teaching, teachers' ability to strategize the transition to online teaching and their strong sense of resourcefulness and focus on the use of online platforms allowed them to mitigate the issues and face the challenges of the sudden shift to online teachin...
While a number of studies have previously conceptualized hybrid teaching, often used interchangea... more While a number of studies have previously conceptualized hybrid teaching, often used interchangeably with blended learning during the pre-COVID19 pandemic, hybrid teaching has been undertheorized and unexplored during and post-COVID19 pandemic when schools have slowly opened their classrooms for students. This paper explores the concept of hybrid teaching (also referred to as hybrid classroom instruction and hybrid learning) and how such teaching methodology is different from blended learning, fully online, and remote teaching by presenting a teacher’s practice during the COVID19 pandemic. Although our goal is to identify clearly what hybrid teaching is, we do not intend to offer a definite conceptualization and practice of hybrid teaching as teaching is context-dependent. However, we argue that hybrid teaching has the potential to be one of the teaching methodologies in the post COVID19 pandemic education, especially when schools and universities are in the transition back to resid...
While a number of migration studies concentrated on the economic, political, and social issues fa... more While a number of migration studies concentrated on the economic, political, and social issues faced by immigrants both in their home and host countries, studies that attempt to connect migration, culture and sexuality, particularly the migration decisions among gay men and how such migration shaped and influenced their identity and sexuality within the Global South context are scarce. Using the theoretical frame of queer intercultural communication, this study aims to explore and understand the labor migration of two highly skilled Filipino gay men and how they construct or reconstruct their identity and sexuality in Bangkok, Thailand. Findings from the individual interviews revealed that personal, professional, and social factors shaped participants’ decision to come and work in Bangkok. Being highly skilled and having a job in Bangkok provides the participants the means not only to support their personal and family needs but also to participate in queer discourses and practises that allowed them to explore and understand their sexuality. This study highlights that looking at the issues on identity and belonging from the gay men’s perspectives enhances our understanding of the multiple gender identities that contribute to the study of queer intercultural communication and migration.
While a number of studies focused on identity construction, teacher attrition, and lived experien... more While a number of studies focused on identity construction, teacher attrition, and lived experiences among early-career teachers, studies on early-career English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ professional practices for teacher learning remain underexplored. Using the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework dimensions of professional practice as a framework and a narrative inquiry as a method, this study explores how early-career EFL teachers engaged in teacher learning through a reflective practice of their teaching beliefs, classroom practices, and professional values. Findings from the open-ended written interview questions and semi-structured individual interviews suggest that early-career EFL teachers’ experience and academic orientation influence their preconceived beliefs and professional values towards teaching. However, such beliefs and attitudes are negotiated and changed when teachers engage in teacher learning through a professional development program tha...
3L The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 2021
Although the pedagogical contributions of cooperative learning to improve the classroom teaching ... more Although the pedagogical contributions of cooperative learning to improve the classroom teaching and learning practices have been discussed extensively in the literature, little has been known about the use of group work for task performances in the classroom, especially with regard to the enhancement of English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ speaking performance. The present study reported a classroom teaching practice of a university teacher in Thailand and explored whether group work can positively impact the speaking performances of 106 first-year Thai university EFL students. The course was taught using the group work method in a task-based learning (TBL) framework for 12 weeks. Survey questionnaires and students’ in-class speaking performance scores were used as the data for this study. Findings revealed that although Thai students were new to the group work method, they held a positive attitude towards it. Students believed that performing in-class tasks and activities...
This paper is a descriptive literary study of the translated Meranao folksongs which embody the u... more This paper is a descriptive literary study of the translated Meranao folksongs which embody the unique and distinct culture of the Meranao as one of the minority groups in Mindanao, Philippines. There were only ten translated Meranao folksongs that were selected and included for the analysis and interpretation since they were rich in cultural practices that could describe the Meranao community. The folksongs that were used in this paper came from various secondary sources, published and unpublished works of some well-known Meranao and non-Meranao scholars. In addition, these songs had undergone text validation of the English translation by a native Meranao who is skilled in the English language to ensure the validity of the transcription. For many years now, lots of Muslim scholars try to preserve and compile the Meranao culture in any way possible thinking that the knowledge will no longer be available after many years. It is then compulsory to look back into the richness of the or...
The purpose of the study was to determine, identify, classify, describe and analyze the language ... more The purpose of the study was to determine, identify, classify, describe and analyze the language errors found in the compositions of the faculty respondents of FSUU. The inquiry’s results would hopefully shed light on the language problems of the participants. The information and insights gained could serve as basis or compass for the action plan--a crash Language Training Program to be included in the 5-day classroom management training conducted yearly at the start of the academic year by the University, which all the newly hired faculty members are required to attend. The respondents of the study were fifty (50) selected probationary faculty members of Father Saturnino Urios University, Butuan City. The study was conducted during the second semester of the school year 2011-2012. The following guide questions aided in framing and maintaining the focus of this study.
1. What local and global errors are found in the compositions of the participating faculty members? 2. What other types or classes of language errors at the morphological, syntactic and lexical levels are found in the corpus of data? What could account for the occurrence of these types of errors? 3. What action plan can be designed to address the problem revealed in the study?
The descriptive method was applied by the researcher through the use of the three-step procedure adopted from Corder (1971): Identification-Description-Explanation. The corpora of errors were derived from the composition written by the faculty respondents. The rubrics or categories used are from the taxonomy of errors developed by Burt, Kiparsky and Krashen (1972). In the data presentation, interpretation and analysis, the researcher used frequency and percentage distribution. Between the global or local errors in the compositions of the probationary faculty members of FSUU, the local errors are more preponderant or common. This general category registered an overall frequency of 118. Global errors had only a total frequency of 16. Of the local syntactical errors in the local category, preposition (misuse/omission of prepositions) was the area that recorded the highest occurrence. This was followed by verb (misuse/omission of verb) at the local lexical level. Local morphological errors were not a problem since only a few errors, mostly having to do with the subject-verb concord were discovered. Global errors that were found in the corpora of texts were mostly serious. They needed major repair work or revision because they hindered communication of the intended meaning. Of this category of errors, global syntactical errors involving pronouns (misuse/omission of pronouns) formed the largest group of errors followed by word order and prepositions (misuse/omission of prepositions). This was followed by global lexical errors which include noun (misuse/omission of nouns) and verb (misuse/omission of verb). The least number of errors was global morphological subdivision with plural markers (improper use of plural marker) forming the smallest group. Other types of errors that were found in the compositions of the faculty respondents were mechanical errors which were mostly misuse of punctuation marks (omission/misuse of punctuation marks), capitalization (misuse/omission of capitalization), and misspelling and other language errors involving conjunctions and word choice. For global mechanical errors, punctuation marks got the highest number of errors, followed by capitalization, and conjunction. In the case of local mechanical errors, punctuation marks had the highest number, followed by misspelling and word choice, conjunction, and capitalization. Most of the local errors discovered in their compositions are believed to be “slips” “lapses” or “careless errors”. In other words, these are performance--related. All the errors found in the texts examined for error analysis and presented may be attributed to the fact that most of the participants were not language teachers and their knowledge of the basics of language was limited. Most of the respondents have inadequate knowledge of forms and verb structures. Inevitably, this turned out to be among the areas in which they were most vulnerable or prone to errors. They lack mastery of the English language system. The facts also reveal that probationary faculty members cared less about the organization of their composition. They just wrote whatever things came to their mind and they did not review and edit their work. Thus, content organization is also a problem. Another factor behind the commission of language errors by these faculty respondents is their proficiency problem. Their global errors and some of their local errors at the syntactic level betray their low proficiency level or deficient competence in the English Language. These facts reveal that the probationary faculty members really need a refresher course on the basics of the language so that they could enhance their language ability. Finally, the most significant product of this study is the crafting or hammering out of a language enhancement training for the probationary faculty members to address the problem in the study.
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Papers by Mark B Ulla
The respondents of the study were fifty (50) selected probationary faculty members of Father Saturnino Urios University, Butuan City. The study was conducted during the second semester of the school year 2011-2012.
The following guide questions aided in framing and maintaining the focus of this study.
1. What local and global errors are found in the compositions of the participating faculty members?
2. What other types or classes of language errors at the morphological, syntactic and lexical levels are found in the corpus of data? What could account for the occurrence of these types of errors?
3. What action plan can be designed to address the problem revealed in the study?
The descriptive method was applied by the researcher through the use of the three-step procedure adopted from Corder (1971): Identification-Description-Explanation. The corpora of errors were derived from the composition written by the faculty respondents. The rubrics or categories used are from the taxonomy of errors developed by Burt, Kiparsky and Krashen (1972). In the data presentation, interpretation and analysis, the researcher used frequency and percentage distribution.
Between the global or local errors in the compositions of the probationary faculty members of FSUU, the local errors are more preponderant or common. This general category registered an overall frequency of 118. Global errors had only a total frequency of 16. Of the local syntactical errors in the local category, preposition (misuse/omission of prepositions) was the area that recorded the highest occurrence. This was followed by verb (misuse/omission of verb) at the local lexical level. Local morphological errors were not a problem since only a few errors, mostly having to do with the subject-verb concord were discovered.
Global errors that were found in the corpora of texts were mostly serious. They needed major repair work or revision because they hindered communication of the intended meaning. Of this category of errors, global syntactical errors involving pronouns (misuse/omission of pronouns) formed the largest group of errors followed by word order and prepositions (misuse/omission of prepositions). This was followed by global lexical errors which include noun (misuse/omission of nouns) and verb (misuse/omission of verb). The least number of errors was global morphological subdivision with plural markers (improper use of plural marker) forming the smallest group.
Other types of errors that were found in the compositions of the faculty respondents were mechanical errors which were mostly misuse of punctuation marks (omission/misuse of punctuation marks), capitalization (misuse/omission of capitalization), and misspelling and other language errors involving conjunctions and word choice. For global mechanical errors, punctuation marks got the highest number of errors, followed by capitalization, and conjunction. In the case of local mechanical errors, punctuation marks had the highest number, followed by misspelling and word choice, conjunction, and capitalization.
Most of the local errors discovered in their compositions are believed to be “slips” “lapses” or “careless errors”. In other words, these are performance--related.
All the errors found in the texts examined for error analysis and presented may be attributed to the fact that most of the participants were not language teachers and their knowledge of the basics of language was limited. Most of the respondents have inadequate knowledge of forms and verb structures. Inevitably, this turned out to be among the areas in which they were most vulnerable or prone to errors. They lack mastery of the English language system.
The facts also reveal that probationary faculty members cared less about the organization of their composition. They just wrote whatever things came to their mind and they did not review and edit their work. Thus, content organization is also a problem.
Another factor behind the commission of language errors by these faculty respondents is their proficiency problem. Their global errors and some of their local errors at the syntactic level betray their low proficiency level or deficient competence in the English Language.
These facts reveal that the probationary faculty members really need a refresher course on the basics of the language so that they could enhance their language ability.
Finally, the most significant product of this study is the crafting or hammering out of a language enhancement training for the probationary faculty members to address the problem in the study.