Who ‘owns English’ in our changing world? Exploring the perception of Thai university students in Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the rapid spread of English nowadays as an international language, this study seeks to investigate the perception of Thai English major university students in Southern Thailand towards the ownership of English and itsa relationship to effective English teaching. Twenty students across different universities in Southern Thailand participated in this study. A semi-structured interview was employed for data collection, after a semi-structured questionnaire analysis. Qualitative content analysis was utilized for data analysis. The findings show that English is no longer the sole property of any particular country, nationality or external appearance but is a global lingua franca. The participants illustrate that every English user has the right to claim ownership of English and to utilize it in their preferred way without emphasizing the native speaker norms. Additionally, the findings indicate that there is no relationship between the native backgrounds of the teachers and their teaching (in)effectiveness.