A STUDY OF ENGLISH ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES USED AMONG THAI EFL STUDENTS OF DIFFERENT ENGLISH PROFICIENCY LEVELS: A CASE STUDY OF FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS, SRINAKHARINWIROT UNIVERSITY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2018.42.15281545Keywords:
EFL Students, English Proficiency, Oral Communication, Communication StrategiesAbstract
Being able to communicate effectively is the highest goal of all language learners. Most of people preferred to communicate orally, however, it is not easy for ESL/ EFL students to communicate proficiently (Surbhi, 2015). Therefore, Communication Strategies (CSs) are brought up to cope with the difficulties. This research aims to investigate CSs used in oral communication among Thai EFL students of different English proficiency levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced level, when speaking English in real context. The findings attempted to answer what CSs Thai EFL students of different levels utilize, and are there any significant differences of CSs used among the three levels students, and also between the students in Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.). The subjects were 89 first year English major students of Srinakharinwirot University which consisted of 70 B.A. students and 19 B.Ed. students. The obtained data were analyzed based on the framework of Communication Strategies proposed by Tarone (1977). The finding indicated that there were significant differences of CSs used among the different level students. However, the students of different programs did not have differences in the use of the CSs. It also showed the strategies that are least used by each level of students: Approximation by beginning, Language switch by intermediate and Topic avoidance by advanced. The finding in this study corresponded to the research of Chuanchaisit and Prapphal (2009) which reported that the advanced level students preferred risk taking strategies such as Circumlocution and Clarification request, whereas the beginning level tended to employ Topic avoidance and Body language. The results from this study will provide recommendations for English teaching and learning for communicative competence of EFL/ ESL students.
References
Aksornkul, N. (1980). EFL planning in Thailand: A case study in language planning (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States.
Bialystok, E. (1990) Communication Strategies: A Psychological Analysis of SecondLanguage Use, Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Binhayeearong, T. (2009). Communication strategies: A study of students with high and low English proficiency in the M.3 English program at Attarkiah Islamiah School. Unpublished Master’s thesis, Prince of Songkla University
Canale, M. (1983). From communicative competence to communicative language Pedagogy. In J.C. Richards & R.W. Schmidt (Eds.), Language and communication. Harlow: Longman, 2-27
Charter of the association of South East Asian Nations. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.mfa.go.th/asean/contents/files/asean-media-center-20121203-180519958411.pdf
Cheng, T. Y. (2007) Taiwan students’ perceived English oral proficiency in relation to communication strategies. Retrieved April 25, 2017 from Proquest on the World Wide Web: http://proquest.umi.com
Chopra, A. (2015). Importance of English in our life. Retrieved from http://www.importantindia.com/15478/importance-of-english-in-our-life
Chuanchaisit, S., & Prapphal, K. (2009). A Study of English Communication Strategies of Thai University Students. Manusya Journal of Humanities, 17, 100-126.
Clark, N. (2014). Education in Thailand. Retrieved from http://wenr.wes.org/2014/03/ education-in-thailand
Corder, P. (1981). Error analysis and interlanguage. UK: Oxford University Press.
Dörnyei, Z. (1995). On the teachability of communication strategies. TESOL Quarterly, 29, 55-85. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587805
Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. (1997). Communication strategies in a second language: Definitions and taxonomies. Language Learning 47, 173–210. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.51997005
Education First English Proficiency Index. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ef.co.th/epi
Faerch, C., & Kasper, G. (1983). Plan and strategies in foreign language communication. In C. Faerch & Kasper (eds), Strategies in interlanguage communication. London: Longman.
Foley, J.A. (2005). English in Thailand. RELC Journal, 36(2): 223-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688205055578
Herscovitch, B. (2016). English is the language of the Asian century. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/news
Interpret your Toeic score. (n.d.). In Toeic-training. Retrieved from http://www.toeictraining.com
Nakatani, Y. (2005). The effects of awareness-raising training on oral communication strategy use. Modern Language Journal 89: 76–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0026-7902.2005.00266.x
Preedatawat, W. (2010). An Investigation of Communication Strategies of International Undergraduate Students in Bangkok. King Mongkut’s University of Technology North, Bangkok.
Suetae, J. (2010). Lexical errors in the written compositions of Thai EFL students. Unpublisg master’s thesis, University of Malaya. Retrieved from http://studentsrepo.um.edu.my/id/eprint/3225
Surbhi, S. (2015). Difference between oral communication and written communication. Retrieved from http://keydifferences.com/difference-between-oral-communication and-written-communication.html
Tarone, E. (1977). Conscious communication strategies in interlanguage : In Brown, H. D., Yorio, C. A. & Crymes, R. H. (Eds.). On TESOL Quarterly’77. Washington D.C.: TESOL.
Tarone, E. (1981). Some thoughts on the notion of communication strategy. TESOL Quarterly,15, 285-295. https://doi.org/10.2307/3586754
Tarone, E. & Yule, G. (1989). Focus on the language learner. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wiriyachitra, A. (2002). English Language Teaching and Learning in Thailand in this Decade. Retrived from http://www.reo14.moe.go.th/en/images/upfile/english% 20language%20teaching%20and%20learning%20in%20thailand.pdf
Wongsothorn, A., K. Hiranburana & S. Chinnawong (2003). English language teaching in Thailand today. In H. Wah Kam and R.L. Wong (Eds.) English Language Teaching in East Asia Today: Changing Policies and Practices. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press [441- 453].
Wright, W. E. (2010). Foundations for teaching English language learners: Research, theory, policy, and practice. Philadelphia: Caslon Publishing.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2018 Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
