Contrasting English Pedagogies in Indonesian and Thai Private Schools:
A Comparative Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22437/ijolte.v9i2.45683Keywords:
English language teaching, Private secondary schools, Comparative study, Systematic review, CEFRAbstract
English has become a crucial language in Southeast Asia, particularly in the context of ASEAN integration, where communication, education, and regional cooperation heavily rely on English proficiency. This study aims to compare English teaching approaches in private upper secondary schools in Indonesia and Thailand, an area of comparison that remains underexplored. The research employs a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA protocol, selecting 20 peer-reviewed articles published between 2018 and 2024 from Scopus, Google Scholar, and ThaiJo databases. A qualitative thematic analysis and basic quantitative mapping were used to identify trends and divergences across the two countries. The findings reveal similarities in the widespread adoption of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), with a mutual emphasis on learner-centered and communication-oriented pedagogies. However, the review also reveals significant differences in the integration of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), teacher training systems, and the extent of national policy implementation. Deeper challenges include a mismatch between curriculum policies and classroom realities, a lack of teaching resources, and uneven teacher readiness. The novelty of this article lies in its comparative ASEAN-focused lens and its integration of CEFR-based instructional analysis. The implications are substantial for curriculum designers, policymakers, and educators, particularly in enhancing regional collaboration, promoting continuous professional development, and integrating technology to improve the quality of English language teaching across Southeast Asia.
Downloads
References
Brown, H. D. (2015). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press.
CEFR. (2020). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Council of Europe.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Harmer, J. (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Republik Indonesia. (2017). Kurikulum 2013: Pedoman Implementasi.
Littlewood, W. (2004). The task-based approach: Some questions and suggestions. ELT Journal, 58(4), 319–326.
Ministry of Education Thailand. (2017). Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (A.D. 2008).
Nation, I. S. P., & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL Listening and Speaking. Routledge.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-Based Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Savignon, S. J. (2007). Beyond communicative language teaching: What's ahead? Journal of Pragmatics, 39(1), 207–220.
Suwanarak, K. (2019). English language teaching in Thailand: A paradigm shift or a policy illusion? Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 9(2), 401–409.
Syahri, I., & Susanti, R. (2020). The Implementation of CEFR in Indonesian EFL Curriculum. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra, 20(1), 56–65.
Tatzl, D. (2013). English-medium master’s programmes at Austrian business schools: Attitudes, experiences and challenges. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 12(4), 273–287.
Tomlinson, B. (2013). Developing Materials for Language Teaching (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, W. (2020). A Comparative Study of English Language Education in Asia. Asian EFL Journal, 24(6), 123–147.
Widodo, H. P. (2016). Engaging students in literature-based instructional materials for language learning. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 13(1), 29–54.
Yuwono, G. (2005). English language teacher reform in Indonesia: The influence of policy and practice. TEFLIN Journal, 16(1), 36–53.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Language Teaching and Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Authors submitting a manuscript do so on the understanding that if accepted for publication, copyright of the article shall be assigned to International Journal of Language Teaching and Education (IJoLTe) and Magister Program of English Education Department, Universitas Jambi as publisher of the journal. Copyright encompasses rights to reproduce and deliver the article in all form and media, including reprints, photographs, microfilms, and any other similar reproductions, as well as translations.
IJoLTe keep the rights to articles that have been published. And, the authors are permitted to disseminate published article by sharing the link of IJoLTe' website. Authors are allowed to use their works for any purposes deemed necessary without written permission from IJoLTe with an acknowledgement of initial publication in this journal.
IJoLTe and Magister Program of English Education Department, Universitas Jambi, and the Editors make every effort to ensure that no wrong or misleading data, opinions or statements be published in the journal. In any way, the contents of the articles and advertisements published in IJoLTe are the sole and responsibility of their respective authors and advertisers.
If the article was jointly prepared by more than one author, any authors who submitting the manuscript warrants that he/she has been authorized by all co-authors to be agreed on this copyright and license notice (agreement) on their behalf, and agrees to inform his/her co-authors of the terms of this policy. IJoLTe will not be held liable for anything that may arise due to the author(s) internal dispute. IJoLTe will only communicate with the corresponding author.
By submitting the article/manuscript to this journal, the authors agree with this policy and consciously agree that IJoLTe does not provide royalties or other fees to the authors for their published articles. By agreeing this policy, IJoLTe ensures that published articles are publicly accessible and will be free of charge for the readers. No specific document sign-off is required.
Users of this website will be licensed to use materials from this website following the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Please use the materials accordingly
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
.png){kind=logo}
