Thai University Students Research Articles

Willingness to Communicate and Second Language Proficiency: A Correlational Study

This study attempts to answer one straightforward question: “what is the relationship between students’ proficiency level and their willingness to communicate?”, i.e., their “readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons”, using an L2. Understanding the link between proficiency and WTC is important as a great deal of effort is expended by teachers worldwide on encouraging learners to engage in L2, interaction more. If their willingness to do so depends (in part) on their proficiency level at the time, this may affect what type of activities and instruction are to be provided in class, especially compulsory English classes where students have less autonomy and motivation. To establish this relationship, we correlated 1836 Thai university students’ English Placement Test scores with their level of WTC as measured through a three-part survey instrument, with WTC operationalised as “self-perceived willingness to communicate”, “communicative self-confidence”, and “self-perceived L2 use”. We found a weak to moderate correlation between WTC and language proficiency, with the construct of “self-confidence” being the most strongly correlated. We discuss some of the implications of these findings in relation to EFL teaching.

The Production of Instructional Videos for Teaching Kammalor Drawing for Thai University Students Majoring in Arts Education

The purposes of this study were to develop instructional videos for Lai Kammalor Drawing, to assess their effectiveness, and to compare students’ ability before and after learning through instructional videos for Lai Kammalor Drawing. The participants in this study were undergraduate students who were majoring in Arts Education from a public university in Thailand. The study’s purposefully selected sample was divided into two groups: 1) the sample group, which consisted of 43 students, and 2) the treatment group, which consisted of 20 students. The descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) as well as the t-test for dependent samples were used in this study. Three major results arose as a result of the research. To begin, the evaluation of the instructional video creation for Lai Kammalor Drawing yielded findings that were much higher than the usual average of 3.50 (mean=4.76, SD=0.34). Furthermore, the content and design were at excellent levels. Second, the instructional videos for Lai Kammalor Drawing were 80.67/83.88 percent efficient, above the necessary set of 80/80 percent. Finally, the posttest score was significantly greater than the pretest scoreat the.05 level.

Antecedents Influencing the Adoption of Collaborative Learning Social-Media Platforms Among Thai University Students During the Covid-19 ‘New Normal’ Era

There are benefits and challenges related to the recent worldwide Covid-19-driven surge of social-media collaborative learning in higher education. This research examines the antecedents influencing this ‘new normal’ phenomenon among university students to provide a causal model of understanding. This study was based on a purposive sample; a questionnaire was completed by 371 university students. The analysis of the data obtained using applied structural equation modelling of the partial least-squares technique, it was found that the most influential antecedents included collaborative capability and perceived enjoyment. Based on the results, we recommend that, owing to the turbulent and changing requirements of social distancing and distance learning, educational institutions and stakeholders invest in the improvement of implied social-media collaboration and learning platforms.

OER as Language Online Lessons to Enhance Thai University Students’ English Language Skills in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era

With the growth and widespread availability of education technologies, English language teaching (ELT) needs to be shaped differently. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a disruption of education systems all over the world on a scale and scope never seen before. This paper aims to explore the potential of online lessons subcategorized as open educational resources (OER) in enhancing university students’ English language skills through the Moodle system. A total of 189 first-year humanities students from a medium sized university in Thailand participated in this study during a semester break. Prior to the OER exposure, the participants completed a questionnaire eliciting personal information, followed by a pre-test on five English language skills. Then, the students were encouraged to freely explore and exploit the online lessons for a period of 19 days. After the OER exposure, a parallel online post-test, a post OER exposure questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews were administered. The pre-test/post-test score comparison shows significant gain scores, suggesting the positive impact of the online lessons on the participants’ English performance. However, the questionnaire and interview data reveal intriguing findings about the students’ engagement and interaction with the online lessons , highlighting the notions of learner autonomy and self-regulated learning. This study, thus, represents a wake-up call for Thai ELT stakeholders to prepare to shift away from traditional teaching approaches, to modify teachers’ behaviours, syllabus, and curriculum, and to empower learners to successfully cope with the changing educational environment. Keywords: English language; learner autonomy ; online lessons; self-regulated learning ; Thai university students

THAI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS ELF IN CLASSROOM CONTEXTS: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY

English has long acted as a powerful language in the world since it is spoken by various people from diverse cultural backgrounds and places around the globe. As a number of non-native speakers (NNSs) are rapidly growing, English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) has become more widespread among English users. This study aimed to investigate Thai university students’ attitudes towards ELF. Particularly, attitudes towards learning English, varieties of English, and ELF used as a medium of instruction in the classroom were examined. Employed a mixed-methods research design, the questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used to collect the data. 23 undergraduate students studying at Xavier Learning Community (XLC), Chiang Rai, Thailand, participated in this study. The findings revealed that effective communication with other English speakers was the paramount goal of learning English. Moreover, the students have begun to express positive attitudes towards different varieties of English used in the classroom as they showed their interest in non-native cultures. This study suggested that supportive learning environments where the students could expose to various varieties of English both inside and outside the classroom would raise their awareness of ELF. Also, ELF teachers should adjust their teaching strategies to meet students’ needs in the future.

CULTURE SHOCK AND CAMPUS PROGRAM IN ELT FOR THAI UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT UNIVERSITY OF ISLAM SULTAN AGUNG AND UNIVERSITY OF AHMAD DAHLAN

The existence of culture shock is undeniably true for foreign students studying in other countries. This phenomenon becomes more common nowadays. It also happened with some Thai students who are studying at University of Islam Sultan Agung Semarang and University of Ahmad Dahlan Yogyakarta. The main objectives of this article are to find out the cultural transition and to analyze the influence of culture shock and campus programs in ELT for Thai Students. This research was under a mix-method combined between qualitative and quantitative research by using purposive sampling. Twentyfour (N=24) Thai university students participated in the study. The analysis technique applied an exploratory mixed-method research design by separating the result both quantitative and qualitative. The online interview along with questionnaires was used to collect information from the students by using zoom and Google form. Data collection was performed from October to December 2020. Based on the questionnaire and interview as the primary data collection, this mini research reveals two findings. Firstly, shock culture and campus programs have a great contribution to the cultural transition in ELT. Secondly, the Thai students coped with the shock by adapting their experiences in academic programs and campus traditions. Campus programs also played a critical role in lessening culture shock.

Enhancing English Communication Skills of Thai University Students through Google Apps for Education (GAFE) in a Digital Era during Covid-19 Pandemic

During the covid-19 dilemma, all educators worldwide have been alerted by the alarm clock of urgent online teaching and learning. This leads to a curiosity of which online tools are suitable for the online learning contexts, especially for English classrooms where there are more than just lecturing, but also practicing English skills. Google Applications for Education (GAFE) is one of the teaching alternatives to create collaborative learning and being used as major media in online teaching. Therefore, the aim of this quantitative study is to explore the opinions of Thai university students regarding the use of G Suite Applications namely Google Classroom, Google Meet, Google Docs, and Google Forms, in an English online course during the Covid-19 situation and to indicate how the applications can be integrated with online tasks that promote English skills. The participants of the study were students who enrolled in a fundamental English course which was conducted online at the time of the Covid-19 crisis by the researcher. The data were gathered from an online questionnaire consists of statements that represent key indicators of efficiency and validity of Integrated Technology and the information is interpreted by 5-point Likert Scale (Strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree). The results show that the students have a positive experience using the applications in their online learnings. They agreed that the combinations of this application based on the functions enable them to enhance all English skills and grammatical and lexical knowledge. There is also a guideline that suggests how to apply these applications to create learning activities and tasks in an online setting. All in all, it is believed that this research will be a starting point for English teachers to use Web 2.0 tools, particularly G Suite, to serve the needs of the learners in the future online during this covid-19 crisis.

A practitioner study on the implementation of strategy instruction for boredom regulation

This article recounts my experience in enhancing my students’ boredom regulation by designing, implementing, and evaluating a strategy instruction project. The project was undertaken with 25 Thai university students enrolled in my English oral communication course for 15 weeks. The project began with exploring how and why my students experienced boredom in my classroom and their habitual boredom coping strategies while examining and modifying the initial design of my strategy instruction. Between weeks 8 and 12, I implemented five boredom regulation strategy sessions by using reappraisals and boredom coping as key components. Students engaged in guided practice, developed their own boredom regulation strategy toolkit, shared their ideas with peers, and reflected on their strategy use. Triangulating data from whole-class surveys, focus group interviews, and the toolkits, I illustrate the positive impact of the project shown on my students’ boredom regulation and on my teacher-researcher development, despite the challenges associated with the complex nature of boredom regulation in an authentic instructional setting. This study sheds light on the ways that students and their teacher can work together to cope with boredom in second language (L2) classroom learning.

Personal and perceptual factors associated with the use of electronic cigarettes among university students in northern Thailand.

INTRODUCTIONAlthough Thailand has banned the import of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) into the kingdom, a range of evidence has revealed the widespread use of these illegal products, especially among university students. Too little is known about personal and perceptual factors for such behavior. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with the use of e-cigarettes among university students in Northern ThailandMETHODSA cross-sectional study was conducted with 792 university students in Northern Thailand between June and July 2020. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was implemented to collect relevant information. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to identify factors associated with the use of e-cigarettes in the last 30 days.RESULTSThe study revealed that 18.1% of the participants used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. The personal factors associated with e-cigarette use among Thai university students included: studying in non-health related faculties (AOR=11.21; 95% CI: 4.88–25.71); having a friend using e-cigarettes (AOR=10.48; 95% CI: 5.96–18.41); having a lower GPA than the mean (AOR=1.93; 95% CI: 1.14– 3.28); and having a monthly income higher than the mean (AOR=1.74; 95% CI: 1.09–2.78). Regarding perceptual factors, there was a significant link between e-cigarette use and the perception that these modern cigarettes are less harmful than conventional cigarettes (AOR=2.47; 95% CI: 1.50–4.07), and perception that using e-cigarettes in public is not illegal (AOR=1.93; 95% CI: 1.19–3.15).CONCLUSIONSE-cigarette use is widespread among Thai university students. Maintaining the enforcement policy on banning the importation of e-cigarettes into the country is thus needed. Also, further communication and public relations on the risks and legal prohibitions of e-cigarette use are needed among university students in the Northern Thailand.

Contact Lens Use Patterns, Behavior and Knowledge Among University Students in Thailand.

PurposeLittle is known about contact lens (CL) use in young generation. This study aimed to investigate the patterns, behavior and knowledge of CL wear and care in Thai university students.MethodsA cross-sectional study using online questionnaires was conducted during July 2019 to February 2020 in two Rajabhat universities, Bangkok, Thailand. Participant characteristics, CL information, knowledge and behaviors were collected. Factors associated with poor behaviors and CL-related corneal ulcers were analyzed using logistic regression.ResultsOf 493 students participating in the survey, 336 students (66.78%) were current CL users and completed the questionnaires. Mean age was 19.2 ± 1.4 years with female predominance (80.36%). All students wore soft CL with a major replacement schedule of monthly disposable (90.18%). Good CL wear and care behaviors were found in 190 students (56.55%). The most common poor CL behavior and poor CL knowledge were CL overuse (44.64%) and sleeping with lenses (31.85%), respectively. There were no correlations between behaviors and knowledge (r = 0.03). Purchasing lens from internet, wearing experience over one year, and long wear duration (> 12 hours) were significantly associated with poor CL behavior. Male gender and swimming with lens were significantly associated with history of corneal ulcers.ConclusionThe study pointed out a low compliance of CL wear and care in Thai university students. Good CL practices, awareness of CL-related complications and purchasing place should be carefully informed and regularly stressed to minimize preventable visual damage in young population.

“We Participate, Silently”: Explicating Thai University Students’ Perceptions of Their Classroom Participation and Communication

This study explores Thai university students’ perceptions of their reluctance in verbal classroom participation especially in situations where English is used as the medium for instruction. It is generally perceived that non-native learners particularly from high context cultures such as Thailand have the tendency to remain silent during discussion sessions or when they are asked to participate in activities related to expressing their opinions. By investigating this phenomenon through focus group meetings with Thai university students, this study reveals reasons that cause students to be hesitant speakers in class through the eyes of students themselves. The results confirm that though students agree to the common perception of Asian students being quiet learners, they did not agree that they were passive learners; they emphasized the fact that they used ‘silence’ as a tool to quietly yet attentively participate. The study also highlights that students’ silence can be seen as a way to harmonize with the environment and situation which is the cultural norm in the Thai context.

Media and suicidality during the surge of Thai student suicides in 2019: A hospital-based study

Background: During the 2 months of February and March 2019, more than 10 Thai university students were official reported to have committed suicide, which may impact on others' suicidality. Aims: This study aims to examine media and other factors influenced suicidal ideation among Thai university students, during the crisis of suicidal height in March–April 2019. Methods: The study was of a retrospective and cross-sectional design. Patients, who were university students and accessed the psychiatric outpatient clinic in March–April 2019, were recruited. Data collected by the hospital's databased system included patient profiles, perceptions of media influencing suicidality, and the Thai version of the suicide screening test. Results: Of the 68 participants, most participants were female (75.0%). They mostly stated that they were at a high risk of suicide (35.0%); whereas those who reported that the media influenced them were shown to have 3.5 times, higher risk of suicide (P = 0.012). Moreover, the moderate risk of suicide was statistically significantly associated with media, while other variables did not associate with suicidal risk (P = 0.03). Conclusion: During the crisis of copycat suicides, among Thai university students; most of whom were psychiatric outpatients, were at high risk for suicide. In addition, those who reported that the media had influenced them demonstrated a higher risk of suicide. Moreover, those who were at moderate risk for suicide were significantly associated with media.

Development of Online Learning Platform for Thai University Students

It is very challenging to regulate emerging innovations in the rapid evolution of online education, especially during the pandemic of Covid-19. Modern online learning systems must take both educational and technological factors into account. For learning purposes, universities have attempted to facilitate their students with online learning practices and phases using emerging technologies. In this study, the online student platform for humanities and social sciences students (HUSO-OPS) was developed using the user-centric, TPACK, and V-model design. Especially, the V-model mostly focused on the field of app engineering online learning network coordination. The 5-axis framework was to enhance the TPACK model to address online learning in more detail about pedagogy, content, movement technology, and the learner profile. The development also concerns the content as well as the context of learning. This research demonstrates the outstanding use of the HUSO-OPS platform during the global pandemic of Covid-19. They explain the different factors involved and the successful interconnections needed for optimum and efficient online learning implementation. The balance of the five parts on the online learning platform in design or consultation is a plural reflection matter.

The Effects of Blended Learning on Thai University Students’ Speaking Ability, Learning Motivation and Perceptions

This study aims to investigate the effects of blended learning on Thai university students’ speaking ability, students’ learning motivation, as well as to explore students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards blended learning. Utilizing a mixed-methods embedded experimental research design, 56 students in the treatment group received blended learning instruction. Meanwhile, the other 46 students in the control group received traditional teaching instruction. In this study, the pre- and post-speaking tests and students’ learning motivation questionnaires were used to collect the quantitative data. The qualitative data were retrieved from students’ online reflection blogs and students’ and teachers’ semi-structured group interviews. Both descriptive and inferential statistical methods were then used to analyze the data. The research results revealed that blended learning instruction helped improve students’ speaking ability. Furthermore, the results indicated that students’ learning motivation was at a high level. Additionally, a great majority of both student and teacher participants had positive perceptions towards blended learning. The research results, therefore, conclusively proves that blended learning implementation is effective in improving students’ speaking ability and in attaining a high level of students’ learning motivation.

Anxiety and Suicidal Thoughts During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Country Comparative Study Among Indonesian, Taiwanese, and Thai University Students.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of university students.ObjectiveThis study examined the psychological responses toward COVID-19 among university students from 3 countries—Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand.MethodsWe used a web-based, cross-sectional survey to recruit 1985 university students from 5 public universities (2 in Indonesia, 1 in Thailand, and 1 in Taiwan) via popular social media platforms such as Facebook, LINE, WhatsApp, and broadcast. All students (n=938 in Indonesia, n=734 in Thailand, and n=313 in Taiwan) answered questions concerning their anxiety, suicidal thoughts (or sadness), confidence in pandemic control, risk perception of susceptibility to infection, perceived support, resources for fighting infection, and sources of information in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsAmong the 3 student groups, Thai students had the highest levels of anxiety but the lowest levels of confidence in pandemic control and available resources for fighting COVID-19. Factors associated with higher anxiety differed across countries. Less perceived satisfactory support was associated with more suicidal thoughts among Indonesian students. On the other hand, Taiwanese students were more negatively affected by information gathered from the internet and from medical staff than were Indonesian or Thai students.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that health care providers in Thailand may need to pay special attention to Thai university students given that high levels of anxiety were observed in this study population. In addition, health care providers should establish a good support system for university students, as the results of this study indicate a negative association between support and suicidal thoughts.

Effects of Integrating Movie-Based Mobile Learning Instruction for Enhancing Thai University Students’ Speaking Skills and Intercultural Communicative Competence

This research aimed to: 1) investigate the effects of Movie-Based Mobile Learning (MBML) instruction in enhancing Thai EFL university students’ speaking skills; 2) investigate effects of Movie-Based Mobile Learning instruction in enhancing Thai EFL university students’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC); and 3) examine the students’ attitude towards integrating Movie-Based Mobile Learning instruction for enhancing students’ speaking skills and intercultural communicative competence. This study employed a mixed-methods approach and a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent pretest-posttest control group design. The participants were the first year university students learning General English in the Faculty of Nursing at a private university in Bangkok. The students in the experimental group were taught through Movie-Based Mobile Learning instruction while the control group was taught following the university-based instruction. Research instruments consisted of MBML instruction with teaching materials, speaking test, the Intercultural Communicative Competence Questionnaire, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaire, and the interview. The results revealed that Movie-Based Mobile Learning instruction developed Thai university students’ English speaking skills and Intercultural Communicative Competence, and that the students had positive attitude towards the implementing of MBML instruction in their English classroom.  The findings implied that MBML instruction is effective in enhancing EFL students’ speaking skills and intercultural communicative competence. The study suggests that relevant English language education should emphasize the potential of using the English movies and Mobile Learning in EFL curricula and that MBML instruction can be applied to promote learning in other similar EFL contexts.

Measuring Intercultural Sensitivity of Thai University Students: Impact of their Participation in the US Summer Work and Travel Program

As we are now approaching the first quarter of the 21st century, the impact of globalisation has increased the importance of intercultural competence. This study aims to measure the degree of intercultural sensitivity of 30 English major students who have participated in the US Work Travel program. In this study, an online survey adopted from Chen and Starosta (2000)’s Five-Factor Model of Intercultural Sensitivity was used to collect the data. Although participants were English majors who had high level of English proficiency, the level of their intercultural sensitivity was not high enough to claim that it resulted from the program. In addition, they reported not to have much confidence and motivation to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the program might not actually benefit and help Thai students to develop intercultural skills, the skills needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It is hoped that this study could be useful for teachers, or even parents, to decide whether or not, they would support the students to participate in the program in the future.

Shifting attitudes towards native speaker and local English teachers: an elaborative replication

ABSTRACT Students’ attitudes towards native English speaking teachers (NESTs) and local English teachers has been a fertile area of research for many years, but the commonly used surveys focusing on students’ explicit attitudes have been criticised because of the influence of prejudice. An alternative is to use social psychology instruments such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT) to investigate both explicit and implicit attitudes as in Watson Todd and Pojanapunya (2009. “Implicit Attitudes Towards Native and Non-native Speaker Teachers.” System 37: 23–33. doi:10.1016/j.system.2008.08.002). This article is a direct replication of Watson Todd and Pojanapunya (2009), but, because the sociolinguistic context in Thailand has changed with greater use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) since the original study, we aim to look for differences between the findings of the original study and those of the current study rather than confirm the original, a process we term elaborative replication. Using an IAT with 439 Thai university students, the results show that, in contrast to our expectations, students’ implicit and explicit attitudes towards NESTs have become more positive in the ten years since the original study, a finding that casts doubt on the wider social impact of the ELF movement.

Nalysing the Correlation between English Proficiency and Academic Performance among Thai University Students

nalysing the Correlation between English Proficiency and Academic Performance among Thai University Students

The Impacts of Future Time Perspective on the Academic Delay of Gratification among Chinese and Thai University Students

This study explored the relationship between future time perspectives and academic delay of gratification among university students in China and Thailand. Specifically, a cross-cultural perspective was employed to establish a structural equation model between the two variables. Surveys were distributed to 200 randomly selected students from five universities in China and Thailand. All resulting data were sorted using SPSS 22.0, while statistical analyses were conducted using the AMOS 17.0 software. Results showed that future time perspectives had a significant impact on the academic delay of gratification among Chinese university students, but there was no significant influence among Thai university students. Future time perspectives and academic delay of gratification among university students are highly relevant topics in the field of development and educational psychology. The following article discusses the practical significance of these results in regard to mental health education. These findings should also provide a valuable point of reference in the general pedagogical context. Therefore, it provides evidence for improving the competitiveness of future college students and cultivating first-class international talents, in order to play the value and role of application in university education. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.18.11.6