I use active learning, but my class is not always active: Secondary School English Teachers’ Perceptions of Active Learning

Active learning is highly appreciated as effective learning and it has been encouraged worldwide. This study aims at investigating secondary school English teachers’ perception and implementation of active learning in their situations. The participants were 10 secondary school English teachers in the northeast of Thailand who reported in the online survey that they were familiar with active learning and were willing to participate in the study. They were interviewed for in-depth information about active learning in their point of views and their practice. The interview results were analyzed for themes. Salient cases were also reported and discussed. The findings revealed both similarities and differences of the participants’ personal interpretation of what active learning is and is not. Most of them viewed that active learning covered both physical and cognitive aspects of learning suggesting that active learning is not always observable. Most of them also expressed concern that their classes were not always active. The teachers’ perceptions and implementation of active learning displayed complex and multifaced aspects of active learning that required more careful attention in both teacher education and teachers’ professional community.