Thanis Bunsom

Dr. Thanis BUNSOM, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

PRESENTATION

Using English literary texts to cultivate intercultural literacy

English is regarded in Thailand as merely a tool for economic and professional advancement; hence, the pedagogical emphasis is heavily placed on language accuracy and American-like pronunciation. In this study, the presenter used a variety of English literary texts to promote his engineering students’ critical thinking and intercultural competence. Fostering those skills was done through class discussions, poem compositions, reflection writing assignments and book introduction presentations. To investigate whether literature can help promote intercultural literacy, the students’ poems and reflection writing assignments were analysed and thematised. The benefits of using literature in Thai EFL classrooms to promote intercultural literary will be discussed.