Untitled - GSLC NIDA

ICLC2015 Organizing Committee

Conference Co-Chairs

Assistant Professor Dr. Compol Sawangboonsatic

Assistant Professor Dr. Khwanchira Sena

Associate Professor Hiroki Goto

National Institute of Development Administration,Thailand

Keynote Speakers

Associate Professor Dr. Ji Deqiang

Communication University of China (CUC), PRC

Professor Dr. Junko Majima

Osaka University, Japan

Preface

The proceedings of the International

Conference on Language and Communication

2015 is an internationally peer-reviewed

conference proceedings publication which

aims to be the source promoting contributions

of a variety of researchers’ perspectives in

“Advancing Research in Language,

Communication and Culture: Towards a

Sustainable Asia”.

On behalf of the organizing committee and

editorial board, I would like to express my

sincere gratitude to all ICLC 2015

participants, paper reviewers and GSLC

staff for their hard work and effort in these

academically valuable proceedings.

Khwanchira Sena

Editor, ICLC2015 Proceedings

May 27, 2016

The 7th International Conference on Language and Communication

“Advancing Research in Language, Communication and Culture: Towards a Sustainable Asia”

PROCEEDINGS ICLC 2015

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Editor in Chief

Assistant Professor Dr. Khwanchira Sena

National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand

Editorial Board

Internal Referees

Assistant Professor Dr. ML. Jirapa Abhakorn

Assistant Professor Dr. Jesse Owen Hearns-Branaman

Assistant Professor Dr. Hugo Yu-Hsiu Lee

National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand

External Referees

Professor Dr. Junko Majima

Osaka University, Japan

Professor Dr. Colin Sparks

Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong

Professor Dr. Hu Zhengrong


Associate Professor Dr. Ji Deqiang


Associate Professor Dr. Nisakorn Charumanee

Prince of Songkla University, Thailand

Associate Professor Dr. Junko Kono

Ryukoku University, Japan

Assistant Professor Zhang Lei


Copyright © 2015 the Graduate School of Language and Communication (GSLC) at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Bangkok, Thailand

And Authors/Contributors. All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents

Cinematic Journeys through Bangkok in the Early Sound Film Period: 1 Exploring James A. FitzPatrick’s Siam to Korea (USA 1931) and Serene Siam (USA 1937) Alexander J. Klemm

Written Comments on Drafts of an Independent Study: 17 A Case Study Apinya Tiyingdee Woravut Jaroongkhongdach

Acculturative Stress, Perceived Social Support, and Nationality Differences: 33 Factors Affecting Thai and International Exchange Students’ Cross-Cultural Adaptation Chatchawan Chaiyasat

Exploring the Complexity and Dynamics of the Willingness to 50 Communicate in English during Group Interaction Douglas Mulvaney

A Study of Thai Graduate Students’ Use of Cognitive and 75 Metacognitive Reading Strategies in Reading Comprehension Tests Kiatipong Rerkwanchai Kanyarat Getkham

Validity Issues in Media Research Applying a Cultural Approach 115 Lalita Jitkaroon

A Comparative Study of Thai and Chinese Business Negotiation 130 Styles in Renewalable Energy Companies Nichapha Attapum Narathip Thumawongsa The Study of Public Signage in Chiang Mai: 147 Key Concepts for Public Communication Nithat Boonpaisarnsatit Lexical Differences and Similarities inthe Humanities and the Sciences 156 Punjaporn Pojanapunya Richard Watson Todd A Study of Thai High School Text Books from an ELF Perspective 172 Rajeevnath Ramnath Online Dating Profile Analysis: the Self-Portrayal of Thai Women 183 Supapon Srisuwan Wannapa Trakulkasemsuk Needs Analysis and Course Evaluation of the ESP Courses 200 Provided for Banking Customer Service Representatives Tipkrita Phumkumarn Prapaipan Aimchoo Walaiporn Chaya

The Intersection of Language and Culture: 215 English as an International Language and its Impact on Inter-cultural Communication and Inter-cultural Integration Valentin Valentinov Tassev English in Thailand: From EFL to ELF 226 Wannapa Trakulkasemsuk Are Thai and English News Stories Structured Differently? 237 Watcharee Wongthanet, Richard Watson Todd Citation Practices of Thai Graduate Students in Applied Linguistics 252 Woravut Jaroongkhongdach “Sing-in-Interaction”: An Interpersonal Analysis of Zhuang dialogue folk songs in China 264 Yushan Lu

International Conference on Language and Communication 2015 Proceedings

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Cinematic Journeys through Bangkok in the Early Sound Film Period: Exploring James A. FitzPatrick’s Siam to Korea

(USA 1931) and Serene Siam (USA 1937)

Alexander J. Klemm Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand

Abstract

Representations of Thailand in western films have received little attention by film scholars, notable exceptions being widely popular films such as Anna and the King of Siam (USA 1946), The King and I (USA 1956), and The Beach (USA & UK 2000). This gap in research is astonishing, given the fact that the first western films made in Thailand date back to the emergence of the travelogue film genre in the 1910s. Travelogues are documentary-style scenic films engaging with cultures and peoples around the globe. During the silent film period (1895-1927), western films depicting Siam were almost exclusively travelogues. They sought to entertain and ‘educate’ western audiences about this ostensibly ‘exotic’ Asian nation. The 1930s marked the first decade of the sound film period and coincided with the beginning of Hollywood’s Golden Era, when travelogues became more sophisticated and voiceover narration took on a central role. This paper seeks to make an original contribution to the study of western visual representations of Siam in the 1930s. To this end, its objects of interest are western films made in Siam during that decade. The paper focuses on two travelogues in particular: Siam to Korea (USA 1931) and Serene Siam (USA 1937). Both films were made by James A. FitzPatrick, aka ‘The Voice of the Globe’. The paper discusses and contextualizes these two films’ representations of Bangkok, Siamese society and culture, focusing especially on their chosen subjects and FitzPatrick’s guiding voiceover commentaries. Keywords: James A. FitzPatrick, Siam, travelogue, film, voiceover, representations of cultures


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Introduction

In the 1930s several western films were shot in Siam to document the country, its people and their culture. With the exception of two short films by British Pathé, The Palace of Spires – Bangkok (UK 1932) and Round the World with the “Pictorial” Cameraman on “The Empress of Britain”, (No. 9) (UK 1933), apparently no other European films were made in Siam during that decade. Reasons for this lack of European cinematic engagement with Siam were the reconstruction of European national film industries after World War I (1914-1918), the lasting effects of the Great Depression on the global economy, and the rise of nationalistic sentiments in many European countries in the late 1920s to the early 1930s that made those countries focus inward rather than look to distant lands. The technical limitations of dubbing films into other languages for the international market was also a significant reason for the increasing emergence of national cinemas in continental Europe.

However, several U.S. American films were shot in Siam during the silent film period, and the trend for U.S. American film companies to make short documentaries in Asia, including Siam, continued in the sound film period. With the exception of the full-length Hollywood production Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks (USA 1931), which includes a Siam segment, these films are short travel documentaries, each under nine minutes long. Some films are widely available today, but others are difficult to get hold of, and still others are lost. The decimation of the body of western films set in Siam is unfortunate; nonetheless, the films that are available give considerable insights into the representations of this Southeast Asian nation. The Siam-set travelogues that are available online include Drums of the Orient (USA 1932), Jewel of Asia (USA 1937), as well as the two films that are the subjects of this paper: Siam to Korea (USA 1931) and Serene Siam (USA 1937). Both films are part of a long-lasting series of travelogue films produced and directed by James A. FitzPatrick.

James Anthony FitzPatrick was born on 26 Feb. 1894 in Shelton, Connecticut (IMDb.com, online). He became a famous American filmmaker, producer, writer, journalist, traveler, and narrator. He graduated from Yale and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. (Arora, online).After working with varied success for film companies from 1916 to 1924, he founded his own independent film company FitzPatrick Pictures in 1925 and produced short film series on historical and biographical subjects, such as ‘American Holidays’ and ‘Famous Composers’. His films were distributed globally. In 1929 FitzPatrick began producing the ‘Traveltalks’ film series and in August of that year he released


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the first travelogue, the one-reel short Barcelona to Valencia (1929). In 1930 eleven more Traveltalks films followed. They introduced the viewers to destinations such as Hong Kong, India, Japan, Ceylon, Java, Cuba and Egypt. His films were distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer under the catchy names ‘The Voice of the Globe’ and ‘Fitzpatrick Traveltalks’. The latter series was filmed in Technicolor.

All in all, FitzPatrick produced 274 films from 1925 to 1955, and directed 78 films from 1916 to 1955 (based on data on IMDb.com, online). On 8 February 1960 FitzPatrick received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. He passed away on 12 June 1980 in Cathedral City, California (IMDb.com, online).

FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks documentaries Siam to Korea and Serene Siam were filmed in and around Bangkok. They are the only two films he made in Siam and are significant for our understanding of U.S. American perspectives of Siam during the 1930s. Thus, the following analysis seeks to explore the representation of Bangkok in these two films and the role of FitzPatrick voiceover commentaries. Patterns in FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks films As of yet, no comprehensive academic study of FitzPatrick’s films has been undertaken. Therefore a close viewing of ten of his travelogues of the 1930s was conducted for this paper in order to determine their common features and recurring patterns, and to find out whether the representations of Bangkok in Siam to Korea and Serene Siam follow or divert from subordinate to these features and patterns. The films reviewed were Madeira: A Garden in the Sea (USA 1931), Charming Ceylon (USA 1931), Romantic Argentina (USA 1931), Java, the Fragrant Isle (USA 1931), Bali, the Island Paradise (USA 1932), Fiji and Samoa: The Cannibals Isles (USA 1933), Norway: Land of the Midnight Sun (USA 1933), Colorful Port of Call (USA 1934), The Island Empire (USA 1934), and Cruising in the South Seas (USA 1934).

In short, the analysis revealed that all ten films follow a structure that includes 1) an arrival scene, 2) a flurry of impressions of places, people and their activities, modes of transportation, and animals during the main part of the film, and 3) a closing scene. Sometimes the arrival scene is preceded by one or two rudimentary maps to help the viewer locate the film’s setting, and each film can be divided into two, three or four thematic segments.


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The films also rely on stylistic features, such as background music, digetic sounds, and title and/or closing credits that foreground FitzPatrick’s name and seek to consolidate his status as an authority on foreign cultures. Many visual impressions are accompanied by FitzPatrick’s voiceover commentary. The cinematography is also marked by certain patterns, such as unhurried pans, the positioning of the camera on moving vehicles, and generally an unhurried editing style.

The combination of the narrative structure, stylistic features, and unobtrusive cinematography indicates the intention to produce travelogues that are entertaining, semi-educational, and balanced in their portrayal of places, peoples and cultures around the world. However, it is important to note that these portrayals are also limited by the patterns in narrative structure, stylistic features, cinematography, and voiceover. More variations would likely have led to more diverse and thought-provoking cinematic representations.

Siam to Korea Siam to Korea was produced and distributed by FitzPatrick Pictures and theatrically released in the US in January 1931. It runs for 8 minutes 27 seconds, which include the title credits (30 sec.) the Bangkok segment (4 min. 15 sec.), the Seoul segment (3 min. 35 sec.), and the final credits (7 sec.). The sound mix is mono, and the colors are black and white. The cinematographer was Hubert Dawley, and the musical accompaniment was provided by Nathaniel Shilkret’s Traveltalk Orchestra.

The film consists of two parts, the first one giving impressions of Bangkok and vicinity, the second one documenting life in Seoul. One may take issue with the title because it promises images of Siam and Korea. However, the film material was merely shot in and around the cities of Bangkok and Seoul and not in other parts of these countries. The title thus suggests that Bangkok stands for Siam and Seoul for Korea, and the viewer is led to accept these reductive representations.

Although the combination of impressions of two cities is rather ramdom, other travelogue films of the 1930s also take this approach. For instance, FitzPatrick’s Home Sweet Home, the World Over (USA 1932) includes impressions of five places: Ireland, USA, China, Japan and Ceylon. And the feature film Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks (USA 1931) visits Hawaii and half a dozen countries and cities in Asia, including Bangkok.


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The Bangkok-set part of Siam to Korea shows a Chinese chunk on the Chao Phraya River, Paknam Railway Station at Samut Prakan, a woman holding a baby, and a man feeding a young child. From a leisurely moving train departing from the port of Bangkok, one sees a small river and boats on it, huts along the river banks and the people that live in them, railroad tracks, and Bang Djak railway station. In Bangkok the film shows Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall (Parliament building), in front of it the statue of King Chulalongkorn sitting on a horse, Siamese people in uniform and westerners in colonial style white clothes, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew), a group of Siamese people leaving a temple, a toddler and a young girl, (here, a small part about the Pasteur Institute appears to have gone missing from the film), Wat Arun, and the view of Chao Phraya and its shores as seen from high above this famous edifice. Following these impressions the film continues in Seoul.

In terms of cinematic aesthetics and techniques, the Bangkok-segment is undemanding. The chosen subjects are mostly places and people. The film includes an establishing long shot of a Chinese Chunk, taken from aboard a ship, followed by several long and very long shots, panoramic shots, tilt shots, and even tracking shots where the camera is mounted on a train. There are only three shots of Siamese people: a medium shot of a woman posing for the camera together with a baby on her arm, a long shot of a man feeding a child in a busy market, and a medium close-up of three children and a horse statue. The absence of close-ups and the limited number of impressions of Siamese people is significant. The viewer sees only a few Siamese faces, especially those of children, and they are not given a ‘voice’ ‒ they remain an incidental part of the scenery.

The inclusion of maps for audiences to locate in their imagination the place they are about to see appears to have been common practice in the travelogues of the early 1930s. For instance, the Siam-set films Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks and Jewel of Asia include maps. Many Traveltalks films of the early 1930s also open with one or two maps, which is typical for FitzPatrick’s narrative and aesthetic formula. The practice of including maps was dropped with the transition to Technicolor in 1934.

In general the first map gives a simplified glimpse of an entire continent or a recognizable region. The following map offers a closer view of the region. The maps are crude as they ignore many borders and place names. Only some countries, larger regions, and oceans are labeled. Some maps are animated when a white line that moves from one place to another symbolizes FitzPatrick journey by land and sea.


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Siam to Korea adheres to these patterns. Before the arrival scene there is a map showing a great part of Asia, from Burma in the west to Japan in the east, yet only the borders of Siam are clearly demarcated. Ocean has replaced the landmasses of the island nations The Philippines and Taiwan, and only six names are given: ‘Asia’, ‘China’, ‘Siam’, ‘Korea’, ‘Japan’, and ‘Pacific Ocean’. The second map is a close-up of the first one. It is equally simplistic, naming only ‘Siam’ and ‘Bangkok’, leaving out the names of Siam’s neighbors on the peninsula, i.e. British India and Burma, French Indochina, and Malaya.

On the one hand, one may argue that in Siam to Korea and in most of the Traveltalks films set in Asia, South America and North Africa during the 1930s, the radical simplifications and distortions presented by these maps are indicative of the West’s colonial/imperialistic mindset of actual and symbolic ownership of other nations. On the other hand, there are also early Traveltalks films set in parts of (western) Europe that show equally crude maps.

Serene Siam The U.S. production and distribution company Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer released Serene Siam in the U.S. on 29 May 1937. The technical specifications are as follows: Runtime: 9 minutes. Sound mix: Mono (RCA High Fidelity Recording). Color: Technicolor. Aspect ratio: 1.37 : 1. Negative format: 35 mm. Printed Film Format: 35 mm. (IMDb.com, online). The cinematographer was Winton C. Hoch (1905-1979). The musical score was provided by Nathaniel Shilkret.

The titles of Traveltalks films are significant. Just like the title Siam to Korea, the title Serene Siam is also misleading, as the film focuses merely on the city of Bangkok. Furthermore, this is the only Traveltalks film title where a place is described as ‘serene’, probably because of the alliteration of ‘serene’ and ‘Siam’. Indeed the film presents Bangkok as a laidback city, but the title also implies that all of Siam is peaceful and quiet, which is a romantic notion typical in the western imagination of the East.

Many of the film titles define a place with an adjective, e.g. by including the word ‘colorful’: Colorful Jaipur (USA 1932), Colorful Port of Call (USA 1934), Colorful Guatemala (USA 1935), Colorful Bombay (USA 1937), and Colorful Curacao (USA 1939). Other popular adjectives in Traveltalk film titles are ‘picturesque’, ‘historic’, ‘sacred’, ‘quaint’, ‘oriental’, ‘floral’, ‘modern’, ‘beautiful’, ‘rural’, and ‘ancient’.


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Serene Siam is a more detailed and carefully crafted film than Siam to Korea. It shows many places and landmarks and consists of four parts.

The first scene in every Traveltalks film attempts to give the viewers a sense of arrival at their destination. Quite often this is done through the arrival of a ship along a coastline. The camera is staged on a ship and/or on a vista point on land. From such elevated positions the viewer can overlook the coast. Another frequently used approach to the opening scene takes place on a busy city street or town square and the viewer is supposed to be catapulted right into the middle of this lively environment. Serene Siam adheres to this approach. It begins with establishing panorama shots of Bangkok Railway Station (opened in 1916, officially known as Krung Thep Station and often referred to as Hua Lampong Station) with traffic (rickshaws, bicycles, cars, a tram,) and people moving about in front of the station building. Right away the viewer has the impression that Bangkok is a city where tradition meets modernity. The establishing shots are followed by several minutes of impressions of the exterior of the Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew) and various temples and spires within the Grand Palace compound. Almost all shots are panoramic pans with a few upward and downward tilts included. Most of these pans use long or medium long shots. Only at the end of this segment is the pattern interrupted by a close-up of two small demon statues.

The second part uses a combination of mostly long, medium long, and medium shots to show a group of dancers performing the Ramakien dance. In some of the shots, the camera moves slightly back and forth or tilts so as to follow the dancers’ movements.

The third part briefly returns to the Grand Palace, showing massive temple guard statues in medium to long shots.

The final part moves to Bangkok’s waterways, i.e. to the khlongs and the Chao Phraya River. It begins with Wat Arun; then, several panoramic shots, some tracking shots (with the camera staged on a boat), and some medium to extra long shots show houses along the water, busy people transporting goods on boats, as well as the naked backs of two young boys sitting on a pier. In the final shot the camera is staged on a boat that is slowly moving into the jungle.

Regarding the cinematography, the absence of close-ups is remarkable because panoramic shorts are clearly favored. Only the Ramakien dancers are shown from quite a close distance due to the necessity of capturing the details in their makeup, costumes, and movements. The other Siamese people shown in the film remain ‘faceless’ extras just like they do in Siam to Korea.


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FitzPatrick’s voiceover commentaries Unlike the scenic films of the silent period, which had to rely on the expressiveness of their images and comments presented through intertitles, the travelogues of the sound period could make use of voiceover narration. Tom Bronzini even posits that “FitzPatrick may have been the first producer to use the technique of off-screen narration in films” (Bronzini, online). This cannot be verified here. But certainly, in the early stage of the sound era ‘talk’ was the novelty and was therefore heavily foregrounded. This is the case with FitzPatrick’s voiceover, which is always distinct and sometimes dominates the pictures. This dominance is surely felt by today’s viewer, but maybe it was not experienced as such by his contemporaries. In general, travelogue filmmakers sought to educate and at the same time to entertain their audiences, and the idea of travel was at the films’ center. In FitzPatrick’s films the importance of his ‘voice’ was made equal to the importance of travel. The very name Traveltalk suggests a combination of a journey and the talk about it. Moreover, FitzPatrick was promoted as ‘TheVoice of the Globe’ [emphasis added]. Jennifer L. Peterson has appropriately pointed to the limiting effect of a narrating voice on the imagination of the viewers, and has noted that travelogues underwent a number of changes from the 1910s to the 1920s and again more changes to the 1930s because they became connected with the personality of their presenters (Peterson, p. 270). The promotion of FitzPatrick as an authority of any culture and place confirms this development in early documentary filmmaking.

The analysis of ten of FitzPatrick’s Traveltalks films revealed his standard approach voiceover narration. He gives background information and comments about places and people, using unpretentious vocabulary so as not to overwhelm the viewer. His recurring subjects of interest include the history and discovery (made by western explorers and adventurers) of the city and/or country being presented, as well as the life and culture of the natives. He often outlines people's manners, customs, traditions, and style of dress. Moreover, he comments on western influences (particularly those of colonial powers), and things that the natives enjoy doing and must do to secure their daily livelihood. Where religion plays a major role, he rudimentarily outlines its roots and describes people’s ways of worship.

His voiceover monologs are delivered as some sort of lectures. He never asks a question, not even a rhetorical one, but simply accompanies the images with semi-informative talk. By doing so he leads the viewers’ understanding of the images, not giving them any room for their own interpretations. For instance, generalizations about the character of entire peoples are commonly made. Also, he often emphasizes the simplicity of life in the place being


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documented. Some of his commentaries can be considered politically incorrect from today’s perspective, whereas others suggest that he was misinformed.

In the voiceover narration that accompanies Siam to Korea, FitzPatrick comments on the images and gives background information about Siam and its people. He explains that many of Bangkok’s earliest settlers came from the Chinese province of Mongolia, Siamese men have many wives, the first wife is always the head of the household, mothers do not kiss their children, and husbands do not kiss their wives but to express affection they rub faces together. He explains that most traveling in Siam is done on waterways and that agricultural products, such as rice, sugar cane and fruits, are transported to Bangkok via the country’s intricate network of rivers and canals. When the scene moves to Bangkok, he says that it is a huge city with a spread only surpassed by London. Comparing Asian cities to European metropolises was a practice adopted by western writers who wrote about their experiences living in and traveling through Asia. (Somerset Maugham is just one of many who comes to mind here.) Filmmakers such as FitzPatrick adopted this practice. He also describes Siam as a modernizing nation, mentions the King of Siam (but does not give the name of the then reigning King Prajadhipok) and his great number of brothers and sisters, and calls the Siamese “an artistic people” (Siam to Korea) whose architecture, arts and crafts have been influenced by Indo-Chinese art.

He then moves to the topic of Buddhism, calling it “the Orient’s most powerful religion” (Siam to Korea), rudimentarily outlining its Indian roots and the teachings of Buddha, and posits that Siamese women are the most faithful followers of the national religion. He mentions the Pasteur Institute, where research of snakes, venom, and vaccine production is conducted. As the film continues with impressions of Wat Arun, he continues to explain the role of Buddhism, referring to the great number of monasteries and temples in Siam, and mentions that the King too has to spend part of his life in monkhood.

In many Traveltalks films FitzPatrick uses specific words to achieve an effect. For instance, he repeats adjectives such as ‘picturesque’ and ‘romantic’ in reference to places, ‘primitive’ and ‘simple’ to describe peoples, and ‘peculiar’ to comment on customs and traditions different from those practiced in the West. This strategy of using adjectives for the purpose of authorial definition is in line with the use of adjectives in many Traveltalks film titles (see the title discussion of Serene Siam above). In Siam to Korea, the repeated usage of the world ‘little’ cannot be missed. As the maps are shown at the beginning, FitzPatrick explains: “In a remote corner of our earth stands the little Kingdom of Siam. One of the last


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of the world’s absolute monarchies where ten million people live their lives in partial seclusion from the outside world” (Siam to Korea. 00:00:29 – 00:00:42; emphases added). Introducing the Kingdom of Siam with a diminutive form ‒ one could call it a minimization ‒ suggests a patronizing stance. Later FitzPatrick calls the peninsula (Rattanakosin Island) also “little”, and in an attempt to add humor to his account he refers to a scene on a busy train platform where a man is feeding a baby in front of a food stall as “this little banquet”. While FitzPatrick’s commentaries are usually neutral, here they are clearly evaluative, catering to the expectations of the viewers and showing the intention to present a place and people as non-threatening to western colonial powers.

Interesting is also the praise for “the courageous engineers who conquered this tropical jungle with the first railway in Siam” (Siam to Korea, 00:01:45 – 00:01:51). Such a statement reveals the western fascination with the tropical jungle and the idea that it is right and necessary to conquer foreign (threatening) lands with modern (western) technology.

At the end of the Bangkok-segment of Siam to Korea, FitzPatrick uses the pronouns ‘we’ and ‘our’ to give the viewers the impression that they are part include in the story. At the same time he creates a dichotomy between East and West when he compares religions:

As we think of this strength of this faith called Buddhism, with its millions of followers, and compare it to our own, we cannot help but feel a certain embarrassment in presuming to think that our particular religion is the only one in the world of any importance. And it is with this thought that we leave Siam and continue our voyage to Korea, where the same Buddhism is supported by another seventeen million souls. (Siam to Korea 00:04:27 – 00:04:55)

In selected parts of Serene Siam FitzPatrick’s comments are similar and even identical

to those in Siam to Korea. Beyond the similarities, he talks about the importance of Bangkok’s railway station and about the city as a railway hub and a link to Indochina. He talks about Bangkok as being Siam’s only metropolis, and its vast size. He lingers extensively on the topic of Buddhism, gives details about its roots, the teachings of Gautama Buddha, and refers to the great number of monasteries and temples in Siam.

During the second part, showing the Ramakien dance performance, he highlights the significance of dance as the Siamese people’s main form of entertainment, points out the


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intricate makeup of the female dancers, and explains some of the meanings of the performers’ expressive movements.

During the last part, he comments on the statues at Wat Pho, Siam’s infrastructure and transportation, the country’s main agricultural products, the network of water ways through Bangkok, the economic significance of the Chao Phraya River and the canals as the source of life, sustenance and prosperity, the annual recurrence of floods, and Wat Arun as the country’s most famous temple.

Other statements are again interesting because of the choice of words, e.g.:

And now we come to the everyday life that is typical of Bangkok, a city that has been called the ‘Venice of Asia’ because of its vast network of picturesque canals upon which almost a million inhabitants ply their trades and live their lives. (Serene Siam 00:05:02 – 00:05:18)

And: The larger temples of Siam are called ‘wats’ and perhaps the most famous of these is Wat Arun on the banks of the Menam River, one of the many picturesque sites that help to make a boat trip on the river an unforgettable experience, for here may be seen a panorama of life that is typical of serene Siam. (Serene Siam 00:06:58 – 00:07:16)

FitzPatrick uses the clichéd description of Bangkok as ‘Venice of Asia’, which was also

established by 19th-century travel novel writers. Wanting to make sure that the audiences sees the images of and along the Chao Phraya River as picturesque, Fitzpatrick even repeats this word. Moreover, he calls the experience of a boat trip on the Chao Phraya River ‘unforgettable’. The word ‘typical’, also repeated, is noteworthy because it generalizes the subject it describes. The notion then is that all people in Siam lead the same kind of life rather than individually different lives.

FitzPatrick concludes each film with a farewell phrase that often mentions the film’s title, for instance: “And it is with this thought that we reluctantly say farewell to romantic Argentina” (Romantic Argentina, USA 1931); “And it is here that we say farewell to the island empire [i.e. Japan]” (The Island Empire, USA 1934); “And it is with these impressions that we sail from Madeira over clouding seas to other lands and other peoples” (Madeira: A Garden in the Sea, USA 1931); and “Far out beyond the horizon of this peaceful sea, a semi-civilized


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world is calling us back to the more practical things of life. And it is with great reluctance that we conclude our cruising in the South Seas” (Cruising in the South Seas, USA 1934). The purpose of such farewell phrases is to repeat the name of the place documented in the film and to use a kind of ending that could easily be recognized as that of a Traveltalks film.

According to Petersen, travelogues often end with “something picturesque”, e.g. a sunset. This is true in the case of Siam to Korea, which ends with three Korean men standing at the top of the stairs to a temple and bowing goodbye to the camera. FitzPatrick accompanies this last scene with the formulaic phrase: “And it is here that old Korea bows to us in gracious farewell” (Siam to Korea).

The farewell phrase in Serene Siam is slightly different. The film ends with a view taken from a boat that is slowly entering a jungle on a quiet creek. FitzPatrick’s comments that accompany this final impression of Bangkok are the following:

And it is here that we conclude our visit to the Royal Kingdom of Siam where twelve million souls live their lives in partial seclusion from the outside world apparently at peace with nature and content with the simpler things of life. (Serene Siam 00:08:17 – 00:08:33, emphases added.)

The word ‘we’ seeks to include the viewer in the journey, and the word ‘souls’ has a

poetic (and almost biblical) connotation. The statement also suggests that there is a separation between Siam and ‘the outside world’, i.e. the world as the western audience knows it. Thus, through this comment the film establishes a dichotomy between ‘us’ (the West) and ‘them’ (the Siamese). In the end, the Siamese are claimed to be people who all live in harmony with nature and are satisfied with living a simple life. This generalizing statement marks them as traditional rather than modern people, romanticizes their way life, and sees in it an ideal that may be lost more rapidly modernizing western world. A desire for a rural and pastoral idyll is inherent in FitzPatrick’s final sentence.


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Conclusion This paper has analyzed the films Siam to Korea and Serene Siam to gain insights into their representations of Bangkok. Both films are travelogue documentaries and were made by James A. FitzPatrick. The former film was shot in black and white, Technicolor technology was used for the latter. Siam to Korea includes two parts, the first one set in Bangkok and explored in this paper, followed by a second one set in Seoul.

The study has shown that both films adhere to narrative structures and stylistic features that are to a great extent also employed by ten other FitzPatrick travelogues of the 1930. For instance, all films include an arrival scene and a concluding farewell scene.

It could be established that FitzPatrick’s voiceover narration plays a significant role in the viewers’ reading of the images of Siam to Korea, Serene Siam, and his other films. In the two Bangkok-set films his voiceover guides the viewers’ interpretation of the places and people seen on the screen to such an extent, that they are given hardly any room to develop their own reading of the images. Thus, while the voiceover comments seek to be informative, they can also be seen as manipulative, and they certainly play a critical role in the films’ overall portrayal of Bangkok.

All in all, Siam to Korea presents Bangkok as a vast but still rural Asian city, where life is governed by the belief in the national religion of Buddhism and by trade on waterways. The viewer is given the impression that Siam is an ‘exotic’ and secluded kingdom. Serene Siam presents Bangkok in a somewhat livelier manner. It suggests that temples are omnipresent and that Bangkok is a modernizing city in which rural peacefulness can still be enjoyed.

The maps shown at the beginning of Siam to Korea are significant as they can be understood as a manifestation of the western desire to take ownership of Siam. In the imagination of the West, Siam was often colonized. This can be seen in much of 19th-century travel novels by British, French and other European authors. Apparently, this desire of ownership found its way into travelogue films such as those by FitzPatrick.

Although FitzPatrick never adopts a paternal tone and he never mentions democracy and/or the political pressure on Siam to modernize and democratize, the final image of Serene Siam is that of the jungle, an entity rife with symbolism. For U.S. American and British audiences in the 1930s the jungle would likely stand for wilderness, chaos, danger and threat, and they would be suspicious of people living in it or close to it. For many westerners with colonial/imperial sentiments, a wild place such as the jungle (and by extension Siam) as a whole


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must be explored and conquered, and in its place western democracy must be established and the people converted to Christianity.

The scope of the analyses presented here is inevitably limited. More could be said about the films and their representations of Bangkok, for instance by placing and discussing them in the 1930s contexts of Hollywood film production practices and competition, U.S. American geopolitical ambitions, and British and French colonial histories in Southeast Asia. The inclusion of other Siam-set travelogues of the 1930s, such as Drums of the Orient and Jewel of Asia could generate further insights.


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References Arora, Namit. (2010, Nov.).James A. FitzPatrick’s India. In: Shunya. Retrieved from:

http://www.shunya.net/Text/Blog/FitzPatrickIndia.htm Around the World with Douglas Fairbanks.(USA 1931). Elton Corporation. Dir. Douglas

Fairbanks and Victor Fleming. The Actors: Rare Films of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Vol. 6. Classic Video Streams.DVD.

Bronzini, Tom. (1980, June 23). James A. FitzPatrick. In: Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/james-a-fitzpatrick/

“Cinema: voice Unglobed”. (1941, June 30). Time Magazine. Retrieved from: http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,851267,00.html Drums of the Orient. (USA 1932) [video file]. Prod.: The Van Beuren Corporation. The Travel

Film Archive (n/d). Retrieved from: http://www.travelfilmarchive.com/item.php?id=13063 “James A. FitzPatrick”. (n/d). Internet Movie Database. Retrieved from:

www.imdb.com/name/nm0280534/ Jewel of Asia. (USA 1937). [video file]. “1910-1930 Siam”. Prod.: Bray Studios. thanita01, 29

April 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHFHGQFL4WQ Jewel of Asia. (USA 1937). [video file]. “BRAY JEWEL OF ASIA”. Prod.: Bray Studios.

tvdays, 7 Nov. 2007. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RAOeL4yT_8.

Palace of Spires - Bangkok, The. (UK 1932). [video file]. Prod.: British Pathé. Retrieved from: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-palace-of-spires-bangkok/query/Change

Peterson, Jennifer Lynn. (2013). Education in the School of Dreams: Travelogues and Early Nonfiction Film. Durham and London: Duke UP.

Round the World with the “Pictorial” Cameraman on “The Empress of Britain”, (No. 9). (UK 1933). [video file]. Prod.: British Pathé. Retrieved from:

I)http://www.britishpathe.com/video/round-the-world-no-9-with-the-pictorial-cameraman/query/Siam, and II) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiVntuRYYZA

Serene Siam. (USA 1937). [video file]. Prod.: Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer. “ประเทศไทยในอดด 2480”. 13siamthai, 16 Mar. 2010. Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1q0AWiqPgY


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Siam to Korea.(USA 1931). [video file]. “Siam to Korea 1931”. Prod. FitzPatrick Pictures.travelfilmarchive, 21 April 2008. Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_98jT7XmZw


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Written comments on drafts of an independent study: A case study

Apinya Tiyingdee

Woravut Jaroongkhongdach King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract Comments given to students, while they are writing up a research paper, can be an essential element for the student’s success. However, it seems that our understanding of comments is still limited. This paper then aims to explore types of written comments given on drafts of an independent study. The data consist of comments, which were given by a supervisor, for three graduate students’ drafts in the Master’s Program in English for Professional and International Communication between April 2014 and July 2015. To identify the types of comments, we categorized them all into three main categories: Focus, Direction, and Evaluation. These three main categories consist of eight sub-categories (i.e. Content, Organization, Language, Direct, Indirect, Positive, Negative, and Neutral). The findings show that under the three main categories, the Content, Direct, and Neutral comments were the most used. The implication is that supervisors may need to be aware of what and how comments can be given to the students. Keywords: written comments, graduate studies


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Introduction A written comment is a form of communication between students and teachers, which aims to encourage the students to enhance their learning and improve their work (Hyland & Hyland, 2006). Learning can be varied, depending on the students’ level and their work can include written assignments or research projects. Thus, written comments can be used with different levels of students; for example, at high school, undergraduate or graduate levels. At the graduate level, students are generally required to write an assignment or a research paper and they receive oral and/or written comments from their research supervisors. Comments can be in oral or written form. Oral comments might be given before or after students produce their texts. In contrast, written comments are provided after students submit their drafts to the teachers (Bitchener, Basturkmen, & East, 2010).

While both types of comments are important, in this paper we pay particular attention to written comments at the graduate level, for two reasons. Firstly, written comments play a vital role in a supervisory environment as they let students see a reaction from other people about their written work and learn from them (Hyland & Hyland, 2006). The students will also have opportunities to compare their work with a standard benchmark (Brookhart, 2008; Dempsey & Sales, 1993). Secondly, “there is a small literature base reporting analyses of written comments” (Bitchener et al. 2010, p.83), especially related to research projects. However, there are only a few studies investigating this issue. For example, Kumar and Stracke (2007) analyzed written comments on a first draft of a Ph.D. thesis. Hyatt (2005) investigated comments on Master’s level assignments. Bitchener et al. (2010) investigated written comments on the thesis/dissertation of L1and L2students. In Thailand, the issue of looking into written comments at a graduate level seems to be given little attention. This paper then aims to explore this issue by identifying types of written comments given on drafts of research projects (i.e. independent studies). The expected findings can provide us with an initial understanding of the types of written comments. Additionally, it should be noted here that this study can be considered an initial stage of a larger piece of research which could further look at the effectiveness of comments.

Literature review Studies at a graduate level are important for personal and national development. Generally, one requirement before graduation is that students produce a piece of research which acts as the


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final project of a graduate program (Meeus, Looy & Libotton, 2004). This research could be in the form of a thesis or a research paper. However, writing a research paper is a challenge for most of the students, as they are not familiar with this form of academic writing, and may also be uncertain about the supervisors’ expectations. One way to help students succeed in this task is to receive comments from their research supervisors.

In the past decade, a few researchers have attempted to study written comments in a supervisory environment. Approximately 10 years ago, Hyatt (2005) examined comments on Education graduate students’ written work in order to see the rhetorical features of the comments. 60 comments were identified by using his seven functional categories of comments. These are Phatic, Developmental, Structural, Stylistic, Content-related, Methodological, and Administrative. The study revealed that the Developmental and the Stylistic comments were the most frequently employed in the content category.

Kumar and Stracke (2007) analyzed the written comments by looking at those on the first draft of a Ph.D. thesis in Applied Linguistics. This study explored what type of written comments could be most useful from the supervisee’s perspective, by using three categories (i.e. Referential, Directive, and Expressive). The findings revealed that Expressive comments seemed to be the most useful to the supervisee. Kumar and Stracke’s (2007) paper also suggested that the dialogic exchanges between a supervisor and a supervisee played a key role in supporting the supervisees in joining the academic community.

More recently, Bitchener et al. (2010) focused on the supervisors’ intention when giving comments. They investigated the written comments on the theses/dissertations of L1 and L2 students by considering what the supervisors said and concentrating on when the comments were given. The supervisors from three disciplines (Humanities, Science/Mathematics, and Commerce) were asked to fill out a questionnaire and participate in an interview. The data was categorized based on Content knowledge, Genre knowledge, Rhetorical structure and organization, Argument development, Linguistic accuracy and appropriateness. The findings suggest there was not much difference in terms of the comments for L1 and L2 students, but the comments from supervisors from different disciplines were slightly different.

Building on the work of Kumar and Stracke (2007), Basturkmen, East, and Bitchener (2014) analysed the comments on the draft sections written by students at the master’s and doctoral levels in three disciplinary environments. This study examined which aspect the written comments focused on and how the comments were formulated linguistically. The


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findings suggest that the content of writing, the grammatical accuracy and the articulation of ideas were offered importance in socializing themselves into the academic community.

From these four previous studies, we can see corresponding and distinct issues. The overall corresponding issue is that these studies analyzed comments on students’ written work at a higher education level. However, some differences can be found among the four studies. The studies by Hyatt (2005) and Bitchener et al. (2010) investigated the written comments on the theses/dissertations of master’s students, while the study of Kumar and Stracke (2007) looked at the comments on the written work of Ph.D. students. Work by Basturkmen et al. (2014) considered both master’s and Ph.D. students’ written projects. Unlike other studies, Bitchener et al. (2010) concentrated on L1 and L2 students and considered what the supervisors had said and what their intentions were when they gave comments to the students.

In terms of methodology, it seems that all the four studies set a model to identify comments, although the models had different lists of the comment categories. The model of Hyatt (2005) was designed to see the patterns of language and language use in the comments which consist of seven category types (i.e. 1. Phatic, 2. Developmental, 3. Structural, 4. Stylistic, 5. Content-related, 6. Methodological, and 7. Administrative). Bitchener et al. (2010) set up five categories to find a supervisor’s intention (i.e. 1. Content knowledge, 2. Genre knowledge, 3. Rhetorical structure and organization, 4. Argument development, 5. Linguistic accuracy and appropriateness.) The model of Kumar and Stracke (2007) was produced to find out what comments do, by employing three speech functions to code the categories (i.e. 1. Referential, 2. Directive and 3. Expressive). Basturkmen et al. (2014) adjusted Kumar and Stracke’s (2007) model to analyze the comments on the students’ dissertation draft sections into three disciplinary environments. This current study aims to follow these previously highlighted researchers and to identify the types of written comments by using similar categories. The evolvement of these categories was influenced by Kumar and Stracke (2007). More details about them will be explained in the methodology section.

In terms of purpose, the above mentioned four studies underscore the importance of identifying types of written comments at a graduate level and aim to provide an understanding about the types of comments which are given to graduate students on their research drafts. Sharing the same goal as these previous studies, this paper aims to explore the types of comments given on the research project drafts (as referred to as an independent study) of Thai master’s students in the Master’s Program in English for Professional and International Communication. Hopefully, this study will be useful for supervisors of graduate students in


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related fields such as applied linguistics, or those who aim to conduct research into supervision comments at a graduate level.

Methodology The data sources of this study are the written comments made on the drafts of research projects. These comments were collected from three graduate students who studied in the Master’s Program in English for Professional and International Communication. The total number of the written comments was 71 (22 comments given to Student A, 19 comments to Student B, and 30 comments to student C). The comments ranged from a single word, such as ‘good,’ to a short paragraph (see examples in the Appendix), given by the same supervisor, between April 2014 and July 2015.

To analyze the data, we initially looked at previous literature and found that the framework produced by Kumar and Stracke (2007) could be useful. This framework consisted of three fundamental functions of speech such as Referential, Directive, and Expressive. The main categories are separated into nine sub-categories. Under Referential are Editorial, Organization, and Content; under Directive are Suggestion, Question, and Instruction; while under Expressive are Praise, Criticism, or Opinion.

However, when applying their framework to the data analysis, it was found that there were many cases that could overlap, and the explanation in their paper was insufficient for any confident understanding. Therefore, some adjustments were undertaken. For example, having considered the main categories and the sub-categories of the Kumar and Stracke (2007) model, an attempt at more distinguishable categories was made. Following a number of revisions, the finalized framework was achieved.

The framework for analyzing our data comprises three main categories which are Focus, Direction, and Evaluation. Under these are the following sub-categories. Focus comprises the Content, Organization, and Language sub-categories. Content comments are those which refer to content related to a supervisees’ research topic. Organization includes the comments that refer to the structure or organization of the text. Language comments pertain to grammatical issues. Under Direction are the Direct and Indirect sub-categories. Direct comments refer to the unambiguous and candid nature of the comments. Indirect comments are the opposite, indicating some hedging in the expression through the use of verbs such as should, would, could, may. Sub-categories under Evaluation include Positive, Negative, or Neutral.


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Positive comments can be indicated by a supervisor’s compliment whereas the negative would be expressed through the opposite. Neutral comments are those which convey a message without any praise or criticism.

Each comment is analyzed from these three perspectives. See examples of analysis in Table 1. Table 1 Example of categorization

Example of Comments Focus Direction Evaluation

Conte

nt Org

anizat

ion

Langua

ge Dir

ect

Indirec

t Pos

itive

Negat

ive

Neutra

l

Shorten this sentence. Need to rewrite to make it smoother. You should have at least 10 references in the discussion.

*

Well done. Now what do you see from each type and the overall results?

*

This is something interesting and perhaps can be used to start your introduction

*Indirect comments are indicated by the use of modal verbs such as “may” or “should”, or “it could be in the form of a question”.

Of the 71 written comments, 29 were excluded from our analysis because it was unclear to what those comments referred. For instance, ‘good’ could be treated as a positive comment, but we failed to identify whether it referred to content or organization. By the same token, ‘read and think’ was judged to be vague, since it is difficult to recognize if this comment is an instruction or something else. Consequently, the remaining 42 comments were analyzed by the first researcher. Following this, 20% of the data was coded by the second researcher. The inter-coder reliability was 81.18%, suggesting the coding was reliable. Once all 42 comments were categorized, their percentages were calculated. (However, to avoid misleading conclusions, the frequencies of the categorized comments are also presented in the Findings).


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Findings The purpose of this research is to explore the types of written comments, provided by the same supervisor, on the drafts of an independent study. The overall findings reveal that content related comments (61.9%), as well as direct (83.3%), and neutral (95.2%) comments are mostly used. These findings are presented in Tables 2, 3, and 4 respectively. More details of each category are presented below.

Table 2 Number of comments in Focus category Main category Sub- categories Number of

comments (n=42) Percentage

Focus Content 26 61.9% Organization 9 21.4% Language 7 16.7%

Table 2 highlights the different types of Focus issue comments made on the written drafts

of an independent study. It is clear that the comments related to Content were frequently used (61.9%). This suggests that the supervisor may want the students to edit their content. Interestingly, organizational comments featured more than language comments (21.4% and 16.7%). To understand more about each Focus comment, a sample of examples is analyzed below. Examples of comments related to Focus

Content Example 1 Student’s Draft: … genre analysis of romance scam in emails, the persuasive techniques Comment: There are two issues here: genre analysis and persuasive techniques…


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Example 2 Student’s Draft: … colloquialisms, syntactical, lexical, and punctuation errors Comment: I don’t understand how these issues are related. You need to

think more about “features of texts” and “purpose of texts”. They are different. You can look at…

Organization Example 3 Student’s Draft: This, then, becomes academic interest. Comment: This seems not well linked to the previous sentence. Yes, the following sentence talks about “undergraduate students”, but the previous sentence refers to “schoolyard or playground” – which seems to be related to school students rather than undergraduate students. Example 4 Student’s Draft: As we have just seen a few days ago (Manager online: Aug, 19, 2014) that some African men were arrested by the Thai Tourism police in fraud from Facebook chatting and a Thai woman loses about 6 million bath for them. Comment: This is something interesting and perhaps can be used to start your introduction.

Language Example 5 Student’s Draft: They with access to the Internet are broadly using computer-

mediated methods which are often more convenient than previous means to stay in contact.

Comment: Shorten this sentence.

Example 6 Student’s Draft: ….who marry with foreigners and living in different countries

around the world, especially in Europe and North America


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Comment: This is a clause to modify women. So this is not a sentence. You can write “According to The ministry of foreign affairs (2004), there are about 300,000 women who are married with foreigners and living in different countries around the world, especially in Europe and North America.”

Table 3 Number of comments in Direction category Main category Sub- categories Number of

comments (n=42) Percentage

Direction

Direct 35 83.3% Indirect 7 16.7%

Table 3 shows the different percentages for the Direct and Indirect comments given to

the students. Direct comments were given much more frequently than indirect comments (83.3% and 16.7%). This suggests that the supervisor may think it is easier for the students to understand direct comments. To make clear each comment in Direction, the following examples are provided below. Examples of comments related to Direction Direct

Example 7 Student’s Draft: They with access to the Internet are broadly using computer- mediated methods which are often more convenient than previous means to stay in contact. Comments: Shorten this sentence. Example 8 Student’s Draft: …Butler cited in De Fina, 2011:265-266 Comments: Delete this, and use Butler. You need to take the full reference of Butler from De Fina.

Indirect


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Example 9 Student’s Draft: As we have just seen a few days ago (Manager online: Aug, 19, 2014) that some African men were arrested by the Thai Tourism police in fraud from Facebook chatting and a Thai

woman loses about 6 million bath for them. Comments: This is something interesting and perhaps can be used to start your introduction Example 10 Comments: Well done. Now what do you see from each type and the overall results?

Table 4 Number of comments in Evaluation category Main category Sub-categories Number of

comments (n=42) Number of comments percentage

Evaluation Positive 2 4.8% Negative 0 0.0% Neutral 40 95.2%

Table 4 clarifies that neutral comments were the type mostly used (95.2%). Neutral comments were evaluated as comments which convey a message without any criticism or praise. It was also found that positive comments were rare amongst the overall comments (4.8%). Surprisingly, negative comments were not found in the data (0%). To understand more about each comment in Evaluation, the following examples are studied. Examples of comments related to Evaluation Positive

Example 11 Comment: Well done. Now what do you see from each type and the


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overall results? Example 12 Comment: Almost good. But it must be clear in every issue.

1. Add more information at the end of each paragraph, what does this discussion lead to. 2. Go back to see in Literature review and bring the references to compare

Neutral Example 13 Student’s Draft: … genre analysis of romance scam in emails , The persuasive techniques Comment: There are two issues here: genre analysis and persuasive

techniques. Fina. Example 14 Student’s Draft: … colloquialisms, syntactical, lexical, and punctuation errors Comment: I don’t understand how these are related. You need to think

more about “features of texts” and “purpose of texts”. They are different. You can look at both if you want. However, you need to clarify what you want to look at “features of texts”.

Note: Some comments such as those in example 10, examples 11 and 12, the supervisor considered the overview of student’s works and provided them with comments.

Discussion Although this is a small research study which is based on a single case, it can provide us with some understanding of the types of comments commonly used and a supervisor’s communication style when providing comments on drafts of an independent study. It is clear that the supervisor mostly focused on content, and used direct comments and a neutral style to communicate with the students.


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Focus category The first category of comments in our analysis is Focus which consists of Content, Organization, and Language. As can be seen in Table 2, the supervisor focused on Content frequently and attached little importance to Organization and Language. It is possible that in the written drafts, which are the beginning processes of research writing, Content, which refers to the content of the students’ independent study, is the most necessary. Thus, focusing on content comments will help the students achieve their research goals in a short period of time. Moreover, the supervisor might focus on Organization and Language in the next step of the student’s research writing. Although Organization was hardly commented on in these drafts, the supervisor tried to suggest that the students see the links between their writing parts and structure. Related to the study of Kumar and Stracke (2007), the supervisor provided organizational comments for suggesting that the students see some weak links between the writing parts. This added to the logical structure of the text, and resulted in subsequent cohesive drafts (Kumar & Stracke, 2007, p. 465). Even if a few comments about Language were focused on in the writing, the supervisor may wish to highlight the need for meticulous attention to grammar and expression (Basturkmen et al., 2014). Direction category The second category of comments is Direction. This refers to how direct and indirect comments were given. Table 3 showed that both Direct and Indirect were offered on the students’ writing but they seemed to be used differently. Direct comments were used very often while indirect comments (such as “What are these? Are they the same as Scam Persuasive Techniques Model?”) were rarely given in the written drafts. It is possible that a particular supervisor’s teaching style is more direct. Perhaps they think that giving direct comments lets the student understand their intention more clearly and there might not be any ambiguity in the supervisor’s comments. So, the students would then know what they should do next. For example, “Delete this, and use Butler. You need to take the full reference of Butler from De Fina”. Differently, (Hyland & Hyland, 2006) stated that direct comments are rarely provided by the teacher and this could be because of a different culture. However, although indirect comments seem to be softer and more polite, they may lead to student misunderstanding of what the teacher wants to say through the comments (Hyland & Hyland, 2001).


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Evaluation category The third category of comments is Evaluation. This refers to the nature of the comments which can be Positive, Negative, or Neutral. Based on Table 4, the results suggest that neutral comments were mostly used in the supervisees’ writing. Neutral comments were evaluated as the comments which convey a message without any criticism or emotion. It could be deduced that this is the supervisor’s teaching style. Perhaps the supervisor has a preference for giving Neutral comments in order to express an intention. However, sometimes positive comments were also expressed on these students’ written drafts. The positive comments were provided to the students to encourage them and build up their confidence by showing that their writing is acceptable (Kumar & Stracke, 2007). This would be in line with Hyatt’s (2005) positive comments as praise, which are provided when students do some things well. “Positive comments are most effective when we take ownership of it, and swell with pride about it” (Race, 2004, p.2). It is possible that in this context written comments were provided on written drafts and these writing drafts need to be developed. So, positive comments were found to be fewer than neutral comments. Interestingly, negative comments were not provided on these written works. “Negative is an unfortunate word, and 'critical' (or at least 'constructive') is much more acceptable for the elements of comments which are not just praise and affirmation” (Race, 2004, p.2). Again, we can understand that this may reflect the supervisor’s teaching style.

Limitations This is a case study, so the report may be limited by the teacher’s general teaching style. To avoid an overgeneralization, further study should be researched with a larger sample, such as data collected from more than 71 comments or more than three students. Moreover, an additional source of data such as an interview with a supervisor could also provide an in-depth understanding of how and why certain comments are given. We are also concerned that providing comments depends on the supervisors’ teaching style and the students’ writing problems. This idea is also suggested by Kumar and Stracke (2007) who state that comments may depend on a particular instructor’s teaching style. Thus, further research might study a group of supervisors to find out more about the similarities and differences of their comments.


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Conclusions The aim of this study was to explore the types of written comments made on the drafts of three graduate students’ research projects. By using a framework adjusted from Kumar and Stracke (2007), it was found that under the three main categories (i.e. Focus, Direction, and Evaluation), content comments (61.9%), direct comments (83.3%), and neutral comments (95.2%) were used. This understanding suggests that there are several types of comments and indicates how comments might be given. Giving comments is a crucial factor in helping graduate students to succeed in self-development and progress in their graduate studies. It is also hoped that this study might call attention to the issue of giving comments at a graduate level and may also help supervisors to become more aware of their own comments given to their students.


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Appendix Examples of comments

1. Good. 2. I don’t understand how these are related. You need to think more about “features of

texts” and “purpose of texts”. They are different. You can look. 3. Shorten this sentence. 4. This is something interesting and perhaps can be used to start your introduction. 5. Well done. Now what do you see from each type and the overall results? 6. Delete this, and use Butler. You need to take the full reference of Butler from De Fina. 7. Read and think. :) 8. Thanks. 9. See how the beginning part, think about how I revised your work. 10. I'd like to see your collected sentences/chucks that will potentially be useful for your

paper. For example, Hyland (2002: 352): DISCIPLINARY IDENTITIES: INDIVIDUALITY AND COMMUNITY IN ACADEMIC DISCOURSE Hyland says "almost everything we write says something about us and the sort of relationship that we want to set up with our readers". This quote can be used at the first sentence in the introduction to call for the readers' attention.


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References Basturkmen, H., East, M., & Bitchener, J. (2014). Supervisors’ on-script feedback comments

on drafts of dissertations:socialising students into the academic discourse community. Teaching in Higher Education, 19(4), 432-445.

Bitchener, J., Basturkmen, H., & East, M. (2010). The focus of Supervisor Written Feedback to Thesis/Dissertation Students. International Journal of English Studies, 10(2), 79-97.

Brookhart, S. M. (2008). How to Give Effective Feedback to Your Students. USA: ASCD. Dempsey, J. V., & Sales, G. C. (1993). Interactive Instruction and Feedback. New Jersey:

Educational Technology Publications. Hyatt, D. F. (2005). ‘Yes, a very good point!’: a critical genre analysis of a corpus of feedback

commentaries on Master of Education assignments. Teaching in Higher Education, 10(3), 339-353.

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Race, P. (2004, November 1). Using feedback to help students to learn. Retrieved from https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resource/using-feedback-help-students-learn


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Acculturative Stress, Perceived Social Support, and Nationality Differences: Factors Affecting Thai and International Exchange Students’

Cross-Cultural Adaptation

Chatchawan Chaiyasat Institute of International Studies,

Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract Many exchange students, participating in study abroad, are likely to experience small or large levels of cultural shock and the need to adapt themselves both physically and psychologically to the new environment in their host countries. This small-scale research reports on the issues experienced by three nationalities of exchange students on their acculturative stress and adjustment to non-domestic environments. The data was obtained from 20 undergraduate and postgraduate students, both Thai and international students, studying in partner universities in foreign countries under the framework of the bilateral agreement of the exchange program with the Institute of International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University. The methodology for data analysis was quantitative and qualitative research approaches which comprised of questionnaire and open-ended questions for data collection. The SPSS software package was utilized in order to generate the descriptive statistics. Furthermore, the thematic analysis technique was also utilized through the qualitative data analysis (QDA) software package namely NVivo 10 for data analysis and interpretation. The analytical framework was designed to examine the factors that affect exchange students’ acculturative stress and adjustment while they are studying and residing non-domestically. The findings showed that the levels of acculturative stress and perceived social support played significant roles in affecting the cross-cultural adaptation of exchange students differently according to the differences of nationality and host partner universities in Thailand, Germany, and France. Keywords: acculturative stress, perceived social support, acculturation, assimilation


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Introduction Studies of acculturative stress and the cultural adjustment of international students have become an important means of improving the educational support and academic achievement of those studying overseas. International studies have consistently shown that academic performance of exchange students can be consistently improved by a number of factors, including better financial aid, educational support pre-and post-departure, physical living conditions, and help with psychological adjustment.

In 2006-2008, there were 2,171 agreements on academic cooperation or memorandums of understanding (MOUs) relating to exchange students, scholars, researchers, and staff between state universities in Thailand and other international counterparts all over the world (The Office of the Higher Education Commission, 2011, p. 5), while in the past few years, the number of MOUs with partner universities overseas has been increasing. Many Thai and international students participated in a semester abroad under such bilateral agreements; encountering a range of difficult factors while studying or residing overseas. It is generally recognized that those Thai and international students who are well supported financially from government or guardian funding, pre-departure language course, and other learning-assisted programs tend to have less acculturative stress and performed better in terms of academic performances and self-adaptation. However, there are many students studying abroad who have not had these advantages and who may encounter a range of difficult issues, such as culture shock, language problems, psychological adjustments, and other difficult factors.

To investigate these problems and the difficulties of studying overseas, researchers primarily in the field of social sciences have become increasingly interested in studying acculturative stress and the adjustment experiences of international students, particularly Asian students, studying non-domestically. However, most of the current research findings of acculturative stress and adjustment experiences for international students have utilized quantitative methodologies (Zhang, 2012; Otlu, 2010; Mahmood, 2014; Akhtar, 2012). However, there are few studies utilizing the combination of both quantitative and qualitative research approaches to explore the relationship among acculturative stress and perceived social support in exchange programs from host universities. Thus, this study aims to employ quantitative and qualitative methodologies to generate a fuller understanding of the factors affecting exchange students’ cross-cultural adaptation.


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Literature Review The terms “acculturation and assimilation” can be defined simply as a cultural learning process of new comers who have been residing in the new environment of a host country. However, the terms acculturation and assimilation seem to be interchangeable in their meanings and definitions. Berry’s model of individual acculturation can be described in four strategies, comprising of integration, separation, assimilation, and marginalization (Berry, Poortinga, Breugelmans, Chasiotis, & Sam, 2011, p. 321). It can be generally accepted that acculturation strategies are based on attitudes toward learning a new culture and keeping the heritage culture (Organista, Marín, & Chun, 2010, p. 110).

To be more specific, acculturation strategies are categorized and defined into four categories: (1) Integration occurs when the individuals maintain their own culture but is also eager to engage in daily interactions with the host;(2) Separation refers to individuals choosing to maintain their own culture and avoid relationships with the host culture; (3) Assimilation occurs when the individuals ignore their own culture and value relationships and interacts with the host culture; and (4) Marginalization refers to situation when the individuals neither value the home nor the host culture (Berry et al.,2011, pp. 320-321). From Berry’s model of individual acculturation, integration indicates the lowest levels of stress, whereas marginalization would be associated with the highest levels of stress (Organista et al., 2010, p. 111).

Berry’s model of individual acculturation was employed as the key theory to study and to examine the acculturative stress and perceptions of international students who were studying and residing in a number of foreign countries by using a quantitative research methodology (Otlu, 2010; Akhtar, 2012; Zhang, 2012; Mahmood, 2014). In respect to Berry’s acculturation attitudes, Otlu (2010) pointed out that the adaptation process has two fundamental dimensions of acculturation comprising of (a) development and maintenance of relations with other cultures, and (b) attachment to one’s original culture.

To contribute to the study of the factors affecting levels of acculturative stress and the adaptation of international students, the focus of this present study is on exploring the acculturation processes and difficulties experienced by Thai, French, and German exchange students in the different contexts of tertiary education both in Thailand and European countries by adopting a mixed-method approach for data collection and analysis. Additionally, the results from this study could assist in the improvement of educational services and extra-curricular


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activities for the offices of international affairs and relations between both host and home universities. The study aims to address the following two research questions: Research Question 1: To what extent do background characteristics of national differences predict the levels of acculturative stress and perceived social support of Thai, French, and German students while they are residing and studying at host universities? Research Question 2: What are the issues of cross-cultural adaptation encountered by exchange students whilst living and studying in host countries?

Methodology Research Design This small-scale study is a mixed-methodology research project utilizing quantitative and qualitative approaches through a questionnaire survey combined with open-ended questions for data collection. Population and Sample Size Total number of participants for this small-scale study was 20, including Thai and international students in undergraduate and postgraduate exchange programs during the academic year 2013-2014 at four partner universities which conduct academic collaboration under the framework of bilateral agreements which include exchange programs in and between Thailand, France, and Germany. Research Instruments and Data Collection In relation to research instruments, the questionnaire was divided into four sections, comprising of demographic background information; measurement of acculturative stress; measurement of perceived social support, and finally open-ended questions. The sections of measurement of acculturative stress included items from the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS) created by Sandhu and Asrabadi (1994). The ASSIS consists of 36 items,


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including perceived discrimination (8 items), homesickness (4 items), perceived hate/rejection (5 items), fear (4 items), stress due to the change (3 items), guilt (2 items) and non-specific concerns (10 items), where a high score represents higher level of acculturative stress. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).

With regards to the measurement of Perceived Social Support (PSS), the researcher employed and adapted the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) which is developed by Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, and Farley (1988) comprised of an 11-item self-report inventory that assesses perceived availability of social support from friends, family and significant others (Zhang, 2012, pp. 71-72). In this present study, each perspective has 4 items to measure the perceived social support from three different groups, including family, friends and university services. Response choices are in the form of a 5-point Likert-type scales ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), where a higher score indicates a higher perceived social support. Participants were sent a soft copy of the questionnaire via e-mail to all international and Thai students both participating in in-coming and out-going exchange programs. In addition, an informed consent form was attached with the questionnaire to inform the participants of the research procedure, ethics and confidentiality. Data Analysis The obtained data, from questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively by SPSS for descriptive statistics, including the percentage of means and standard deviations. In addition, data obtained from open-ended questions were analyzed qualitatively using the so-called method of thematic analysis which is an approach for identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns (themes) within data (Braun & Clarke, 2006, p. 6). In regards to the preliminary stage of thematic analysis, the researcher employed a qualitative data analysis (QDA) software package namely NVivo 10 through three steps: importing, coding and analyzing the data set in rich detail.


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Findings

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics of One-Way ANOVA of the Acculturative Stress Scale for International Student (ASSIS) Thai

(N = 7) French (N = 6)

German (N = 7)

df F Sig.

Discrimination 1.98 2.21 2.27 2, 17 .306 .740 Homesickness 1.71 2.75 2.96 2, 17 4.47 .027 Hate/rejection 2.10 2.20 1.71 2, 17 .345 .713 Fear 1.50 2.00 1.64 2, 17 .675 .522 Culture shock/ stress due to change

1.37 2.13 1.68 2, 17 4.08 .036

Other significant factors

1.67 1.83 2.02 2, 17 .374 .693

The results from Table 1 show that post hoc comparisons using the Duncan test indicated that the mean score on the perception of homesickness for Thai students (M = 1.71, SD = .69) was significantly lower compared to German (M = 2.96, SD = 1.07) and French students (M = 2.75, SD = .61). On the one hand, the mean score on the perception of culture shock/ stress due to change was significantly higher for French students (M = 2.13, SD = .50) compared to both German (M = 1.68, SD = .51) and Thai students (M = 1.37, SD = .42).

In addition, the results from Table 1 show that there was a significant nationality effect on the perception of homesickness at the p <.05 level for the three nationalities groups of students [F (2, 17) = 4.47, p = .027]. Moreover, the results from Table 1 show that there was a significant effect of nationality on the perception of culture shock at the p<.05 level for the three nationalities groups of students [F (2, 17) = 4.08, p = .036].


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Table 2: Mean Levels of Differing Forms of Perceived Social Support Nationality Perception of

support from family Perception of support

from friends Perception of support from

university services Thai (N = 7) 4.0 4.2 3.6

French (N = 6) 3.9 4.1 4.0 German (N = 7) 4.7 4.6 3.5 Average (N = 20) 4.2 4.3 3.7

The results from Table 2 show that the mean score of German students (M = 4.7) in the perception toward support from family was higher than for Thai and French students (M = 4.0) and (M = 3.9). In regard to perception toward support from friends, the mean score of German students (M = 4.6) was again higher than Thai and French students (M = 4.0) and (M = 4.1). Lastly, the mean score of French students (M = 4.0) in the perception toward support from university services was higher than Thai and German students (M = 3.6) and (M = 3.5).

Discussion and Conclusion The following section aims at discussing the results of this study. Research Question 1: To what extent do background characteristics of national differences predict the levels of acculturative stress and perceived social support of Thai, French and German students while they are residing and studying in host universities? The findings suggested that there was a significant effect of nationality on the perception of homesickness at the p<.05 level for the three groups of students [F(2, 17) = 4.47, p = .027]. Post hoc comparisons using the Duncan test indicated that the mean score for Thai students (M = 1.71, SD = .69) was significantly lower than German students (M = 2.96, SD = 1.07) and French students (M = 2.75, SD = .61). Taken together, these results suggest that perhaps Thai students have a slightly different perception of homesickness compared to German and French students. In addition, there was a significant effect of nationality on the perception of culture shock at the p<.05 level for the three groups of students [F(2, 17) = 4.08, p = .036]. Post hoc


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comparisons using the Duncan test indicated that the mean score for French students (M = 2.13, SD = .50) was significantly higher than for both German (M = 1.68, SD = .51) and Thai students (M = 1.37, SD = .42). Taken together, these results suggested that French students have a slightly different view of culture shock which is higher than their German and Thai counterparts.

According to the measurement of perceived social support, both Thai and German students demonstrate a higher-level of perceived social support from their friends. In other words, Thai and German students are more willing to reach out for more educational support and assistance from their peers than French students. In relation toward support from university services, French students were more likely or willing to seek assistance from the international office at the university rather than their Thai and German counterparts. Thus, the social support resources they use can minimize their acculturative stress through providing a solution to their problem, and thus these students tend to have a lower stress level (Cohen & Wills, 1985, cited in Zhang, 2012). These finding are consistent with some previous studies. For example, Wilson (2011, cited in Mahmood, 2014) indicated that students from Asia experienced the highest level of difficulty with adapting to the college campus due to a lack of assistance from university services. Overall, it is generally accepted that perceived social support is an important factor to the positive effects on international students’ acculturative stress and adjustment in adapting in the new culture. Research Question 2: What are the particularly difficult factors of cross-cultural adaptation encountered by exchange students whilst they are residing and studying in host countries? In order to answer this research question, the findings from the open-ended questions were analyzed using the method of thematic analysis mentioned earlier. The coding of data identified nine categories of factors of cross-cultural adaptation encountered by our three nationalities of exchange students, including language and communication barriers, financial problems, lack of sufficient information, homesickness and culture shock, perceptions of life insecurity, personal sickness, and classroom atmosphere and facilities. Each of these categories is discussed in the following section and illustrated with extracts from respondent’s verbatim responses. Important Issues in Cross-cultural Adaptation Encountered by Thai Students


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Language and Communication Barriers The findings from open-ended questions revealed that Thai exchange students encountered difficulties in terms of local language barriers during the initial stage of their living in France and Germany. Five of the respondents explained:

“To live in Germany is difficult for a foreigner because many German people cannot speak English and if you don’t have friend is a difficult initially when you come here.” “I will not tell a future exchange student that the French can speak English or be able to understand it. “They cannot”. If the student does not speak French, he/she must take a language course before they depart.”

“Language barrier is the most important issue, sometimes you just don't get what you want because you don’t know how to say it and local people just don't understand.” “My difficulties and problems when I first arrived in France was the language because for me it's a new language to learn. However, I did manage to survive communicating with local people there.” “The only problem which I had was the use of language dealing with the accommodation. People who didn’t talk in English, they only spoke French. This was very hard in document processing as they were all in French, and no one could help. Our French teacher was good and kind but she cannot explain things in English, so sometimes I found it really difficult to understand her.”

As can be seen from the extracts given above, the language barrier is one of the main concerns for respondents while they were living and studying in the new culture. Even though the program uses the English language as a medium of instruction, the local native languages are very important in terms of daily life.

Financial Problems


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In relation to financial problems, three respondents pointed out that they encountered a great deal of difficulties relating to financial concerns, such as financial management. As can be seen from some extracts of three respondents’ comments as follows:

“Yes, I did have financial difficulty. In France, it hurts to know that what you had planned was not going properly. It would not be a problem for rich students but the IIS office still need to know all the information about both accommodation and university costs clearly before sending any student out. Anyway, France provides an accommodation Fund called “CAF” [Caisses d’ Allocations Familiales], which you should tell an exchange student about. So, they can search for more information and prepare documents.” “Second problem was at the beginning of my stay. I spent a lot initially because I didn’t know how to manage my money, but after it was better.”

“Lastly, I found it quite expensive here compared to Thailand. However, there is a sum of money allocated to exchange students by the French government called CAF [Caisses d’ Allocations Familiales] to help pay for their accommodation which was a big help for me in my staying here in France.”

It can be understood that the financial problems are one of the main concerns which cause stress and frustration for Thai exchange students’ living in other countries. Therefore, financial support or assistance from organizations in both host and home countries is very beneficial. In particular, financial support for student accommodation which is partially reimbursed to international students by the French government, namely, Caisses d’Allocations Familiales (CAF) is very useful and helpful. Lack of Sufficient Information In addition, the researcher found that the lack of sufficient information is one of the main concerns for Thai exchange students. Two respondents mentioned that they did not receive the correct information from program coordinators. This caused a range of problems for Thai exchange students regarding health insurance, financial planning, accommodation, and other


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problems. One respondent mentioned about the inadequacy of information that she received. It caused her a great deal of difficulties upon her arrival in Germany. As two respondents stated:

“I understand that staff might not have had an opportunity to observe how things are there. So, I recommend the university need to send some staff to see what is actually going on there. Then the staff could be able to give informed advice and possibly to help when there is a problem.” “I did not receive the correct information concerning health insurance, financial planning and accommodation in time and had no any contact with any former international students on the same program to assist me or the other international students did not share their experiences with the new comers.”

Perceptions of Life Insecurity Apart from the problems above, one respondent pointed out that he/she felt insecure about the living conditions in France and being taken advantage of by North African immigrants. As one respondent pointed out:

“There are a lot of immigrants from North Africa who always try to take advantage of me just because I am Asian and they probably think I wouldn't say anything if something bad happens to me. The assume Asians are always shy and inarticulate which is not good.”

Personal Sickness Additionally, one respondent claimed that health condition and sickness are the main problems that a Thai exchange student should bear in mind when they are residing in other countries. Because when this problem happens, the language barrier and communication concerns may arise when dealing with the doctor. This can be seen from one respondent’s comments:

“And for the last problem was about my sickness, a really horrible sickness. I was so sick I couldn’t stand up or get out of my bed. My voice was gone. When I tried to say


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something, no one understood what I was trying to say. So, I couldn’t go to university for the presentation day of my group work and consequently, I lost marks and grades.” According to the extracts given above, it can be concluded that Thai exchange students

encountered a range of difficulties and obstacles in their lives during residing and studying in other countries. For instance, language and communication barriers, financial problems, lack of sufficient information support, the safety of living, and personal sickness. The Factors of Cross-cultural Adaptation Encountered by French Students

Language and Communication Barriers In a similar way to Thai exchange students, two French respondents mentioned the language barrier and communication concerns as problems in communicating with local people and adapting to the new culture. As one respondent mentioned:

“I got some problems to communicate with native people from Thailand.” “I have some language barrier as lots of Thai people don’t speak English (it is the same in France, French don’t speak much English) and in some situations it is hard to be understood.”

Homesickness and Culture Shock Furthermore, two German respondents pointed out that they were homesick and encountered culture shock during their lives in Thailand. Loneliness was one of the factors causing the homesickness. As two French respondents mentioned:

“I only got sick because of the food and sometimes felt a little bit sad because of homesickness.” “Firstly when I arrived I felt depressed and a little bit homesick and culture shocked. Sometimes I still feel alone and sad but I like my time here and I try to take advantage of the time I have left.”


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According to the extracts given above, it can be concluded that French exchange students encountered some difficulties during their time in Thailand, such as language barrier, communication barriers, homesickness, and culture shock.

The Factors of Cross-cultural Adaptation Encountered by German Students

Language and Communication Barriers According to the findings from open-ended questions, it was revealed that German exchange students had the same problems as Thai and French exchange students. As can be seen from three extracts from German exchange students, they stated that they had problems using the English language to communicate with Thai people. Additionally, one respondent mentioned the problems they encountered with understanding the local language. However, he/she seemed to be open-minded about learning the Thai language for their daily basis communication. As three respondents stated:

“Communication was very difficult sometimes because most of the Thai people did not understand me. Their English is not very good.”

“Sometimes I am misunderstood because of the language barrier.”

“Yes of course I have a language barrier because I can’t speak Thai, but I try to learn it, but no other difficulties.”

Classroom Atmosphere and Facilities In addition, one respondent pointed out that there was a lack of an academically-motivated atmosphere and poor classroom facilities. The invigoration of the classroom atmosphere and renovation of facilities should be taken into consideration by university committees. As one respondent mentioned:


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“Another issue that affects the students’ mood and performance is the atmosphere in the classrooms. I understand that the university is old, but it should get renovated. The classrooms are “dry”, “cold” and “depressing”.”

In conclusion, Thai students tend to have problems while they are studying in Germany and France in terms of language barriers and communication concerns with the English language which is used as a medium of instruction but more particularly the local French and German languages. The issue of financial support is another factor that causes stress for Thai students in foreign countries. On the contrary, Western students, both German and French nationals living and studying at the Institute of International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University (IIS-RU) Thailand, have fewer problems in this area, but the vast majority encountered Thai language barriers and communication concerns when they use English to communicate with local people. Other factors which are a cause of stress for Western students are homesickness and culture shock; however, generally they do not have as many problems or difficulties as Thai students. It can be seen from the answer of one French student, who states “not so many problems, obviously we need to adapt ourselves to another culture, but it was easy”. This reveals that there was generally a strong and positive attitude to immerse oneself in another country with a different culture, way of life, and language barriers. Thus, Western students who came from a culture that pays attention to the importance of individualism tend to have a strong motivation, positive attitude, and a good ability to adapt to the physical and mental demands of a new culture in Thailand. This finding is consistent with previous studies. For example, Wilson (2011, cited in Mahmood, 2014) indicated that students from Asia experienced the highest level of difficulty with adapting to the college campus. However, when comparing all students, those from Asia and Africa together had higher levels of difficulty in adapting in comparison to those from Europe. Therefore, European students had the least difficulty in adapting to new cultural environments and the process of cultural assimilation (Mahmood, 2014).

In summary, studying and living abroad does not only give new experiences for students, but also challenges them to learn from these new experiences and solve their problems within a new culture independently. Therefore, host universities might pay more attention to organizing Buddy Program, local aculturisation, and language courses for newly arrived international students. This would help international students understand the host culture of the country and adjust themselves to the new environment more easily.


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Implications and Recommendations Implications Practical implications of the findings will be of use in the improvement of educational services and extra-curricular activities at the Office of International Affairs at both home and host universities. Recommendations Firstly, the use of a QDA software package, such as NVivo 10, for data sorting and categorizing has been beneficial for the researcher in managing the large amount of rich data acquired from open-ended questions.

Secondly, future research might benefit from a larger sample size of participants (exchange students) when drawing any conclusions in this area for generalization.

Acknowledgements This study has been supported by the Institute of International Studies, Ramkhamhaeng University (IIS-RU), Bangkok, Thailand. In addition, I would like to extend my appreciation to Professor Dr. Bob McClelland from Liverpool John Moores University, UK for introducing me to the NVivo 10 version software for QDA. Last but not least, I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Prof. Dr. Peter Williamson from Liverpool John Moores University, UK for his thoughtful comments on the research methodology and his time for editing the final draft of the manuscript. His willingness to give his time so generously has been very much appreciated.


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Exploring the Complexity and Dynamics of the Willingness to Communicate in English during Group Interaction

Douglas Mulvaney

School of Liberal Arts, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract This article reports on the insights gained from a case study concerning the willingness to communicate (WTC) in English among three L1 Thai speaking university students in Bangkok. The study was conducted from a Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) perspective in an attempt to explore WTC as a situationally emergent behavioral intention, rather than as a generalized trait-like disposition. The main goals were twofold: to account for the changes in WTC in situ and to yield insight into what a CDST perspective has to offer classroom based research and pedagogy.

The research participants completed three data collection sessions. In sessions 1 and 2, the participants completed group speaking tasks, with each task being varied in the content, the degree of structure, and the linguistic resources required. Following the speaking activities, each participant reviewed a video recording of the task and subsequently input responses regarding their willingness to speak English on a per-second time-scale. The data was input into a special ‘idiodynamic’ software (MacIntyre & Legatto, 2010; Mercer, 2015) designed to account for rapidly changing affect. Afterward, stimulated recall interviews were conducted. In session 3, follow-up semi-structured interviews were held to yield further insight into the personal language learning histories and perspectives of the participants. The Interview data were thematically coded and triangulated with the micro-scale dynamic data to produce a diverse ‘typology’ of factors affecting each participant’s WTC in English. Furthermore, an attempt was made to model the relationships of the identified WTC factors.

It is argued that the methods employed in the case study yielded nuanced and pedagogically relevant data concerning the complex nature of WTC as a behavioral intention; however, the study also illuminated a number of methodological challenges inherent in the


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CDST paradigm, as well as broader implications concerning what the perspective might contribute to our understanding of the relationship between individual differences and situational context. Keywords: Willingness to Communicate, Complex Dynamic Systems, Individual differences, second language learning


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Introduction Perhaps it is a philosophical truism that language learning is complex. A multitude of elements—from the biological, sociocultural, environmental, and the historical—necessarily converge during the process of language development. Given this observation, it should come as no surprise that the study of complex and dynamic systems—with a focus on interconnectedness and emergence—has in recent times gained popularity as an alternative approach to the study of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) (Larsen-Freeman, 1997, 2015; van Geert, 2007; De Bot, et al, 2007; Burns & Knox, 2011).

As a new paradigm in language learning, Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), is held by some authors as having the potential to reunite the alleged “bifurcated research agenda in the second language acquisition field (Larsen-Freeman D. , 2015, p. 18)”, in which on one side there is research into the generalizable principles of cognitive processes of SLA (learning), and on the other side there is extensive research into individual differences (the learner). This idea behind CDST in language learning research is that its holistic approach might help researchers account for the relationships between generalized principles of learning and the individual differences of the learner.

In response to the growth of CDST as an alternative paradigm in SLA research, this present study aims to explore the willingness to communicate in English (WTC) from a CDST perspective. With this goal in mind, a small case study involving three Thai university students was chosen in an attempt to answer the following research questions:

1. How and in what ways does the WTC in English vary for a group of learners throughout a series of speaking tasks?

2. How do the participants’ broader motivational and affective orientations relate to their WTC during the speaking activities and in the participants’ daily lives?

3. What insights can a Complex Dynamics Systems Perspective provide in the study of the WTC in the Thai language classroom context?

In order to capture the dynamics of WTC in action, and to gather subsequent qualitative data concerning the participants’ explanations and opinions of their language regarding their intentions and feelings toward using English, a mix of data collection methods were employed—these included video recordings, interviews, and a special ‘idiodynamic’ software


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first pioneered by MacIntyre and Legatto (2010). This study investigates WTC from different timescales and in the context of both the group interactions and the participants’ individual experiences and motivations. First, there will be a brief discussion of the theoretical background to the study, followed by a presentation of the research design and data collection process. Finally, research findings and implications will be discussed.

Literature Review Complex Dynamics Systems Theory CDST has been applied in a diverse array of scientific fields including, meteorology, evolutionary biology, developmental psychology, and, most relevant to this present study, Applied linguistics. The central idea behind dynamics is change, and the central idea behind complexity is the interaction of many parts, elements and subsystems. The interaction of the various elements in a system leads to the emergence of phenomena in situ. In a complex system, all variables are related in that a change in one has the potential to affect the system as whole (de Bot, Lowie, & Verspoor, 2007). Moreover, a complex system is composed of systems nested within systems which are not mutually exclusive of each other—their interactions and relationships form the basis for most of the complexity.

CDSs are also said to exhibit sensitivity to initial conditions (Verspoor, 2015; de Bot, et al., 2013; Sapolsky, 2011; Juarrero, 2010; Thelen & Smith, 2006; Mallows, 2002; Gleick, 1987). The initial conditions—i.e. the collection of states existing at the beginning of an analysis—are determined by the historical and interactive dynamics of the system, which in-turn affect their future development. Therefore, the current state of a system is a product of the function of the previous state (Verspoor, 2015). Complex dynamic systems, then, are continuously evolving; there is no set endpoint, but rather an evolving system, features of which are subject to the interaction of a diversity of interrelated elements and sub-systems. For this reason, Gleick (1987, p. 5) has described complexity studies as “a science of process rather than state, of becoming rather than being”. Complex Dynamic Systems are said to share the following characteristics:

o Interconnectedness


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o non-linear causation (similar input does not necessarily lead to similar outcomes)

o nested systems (systems are embedded within systems) o sensitivity to initial conditions o emergence

Virtually kick-starting what has been termed the “dynamic turn in SLA” (Dörnyei,

MacIntyre, & Henry, 2015, p. 1) was Larsen-Freeman’s (1997) seminal paper on Chaos/Complexity theory. By characterizing language and language acquisition as a dynamic, complex, and adaptive process, she applied what had been learned in the natural sciences to the processes of language learning. CDST research in applied linguistics is said to be about studying the dynamics underpinning the learning process (van Geert, 2007). A CDST approach is also non-reductionist in that it seeks to understand any given variable as part and parcel to a larger system. Therefore, practical research from a CDS perspective would entail choosing a phenomenon or phenomena to observe as inseparable from the interaction of the constituent parts from which they/it emerge(s).

Language and education research conducted from complexity and dynamic systems perspectives include forays into ‘language use and development’ (van Geert, 2007; Larsen-Freeman D., 1997), classroom organization (Burns & Knox, 2011), and affective factors and individual differences (Dornyei, MacIntyre, & Henry, 2015B; Mercer, 2015). Willingness to Communicate The state-focus of this research is the willingness to communicate in English (WTC), which can be defined as “a readiness to speak in the L2 at a particular time with a specific person” (MacIntyre & Doucette, 2010, p. 162), and is characterized as the final psychological step before L2 use. Additionally, other research has indicated that WTC also influences the frequency with which a learner engages in L2 communication (Clement, MacIntyre, & Baker, 2003; Yashima, Zenuk-Nishide, & Shimizu, 2004), making it an important area of inquiry in Individual differences and Second Language learning. Essentially, the construct of WTC is a way to operationalize the understanding of an individual’s orientation toward communicating in an L2 in a given context. As a ‘behavioral intention’, WTC is a psychological state necessarily affected by a host of individual and contextual factors, including affect, such as


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motivation and anxiety; and ideologically influenced factors, such as beliefs, perceptions and attitudes (Leger & Storch, 2009). This integrative perspective contributes to the notion of WTC being “a useful construct for accounting for L2 communication” (Yashima et al. 2004, p. 26).

Likely, the most widely cited model of WTC was formalized by MacIntyre et al. (1998), who proposed a pyramid model which takes into account a variety of hierarchically oriented factors leading, ultimately, to L2 use. The six levels account for both social context and psychological factors attributed to WTC and L2 use (Figure 1).

The Pyramid framework aligns well with the ideas and observations of complexity.

However, a complexity perspective would necessarily subsume the pyramid into a larger complex accounting for the distinct context of which any nested system is a part—i.e. the initial conditions. Thus, hypothetically, the many components of the pyramid could be viewed each has having their own internal dynamism, whilst simultaneously being interrelated, and thus interdependent, in regard to the analysis of the present context and state of the system being studied. From this perspective, WTC can be viewed as something which emerges in relation to the conditions of the system in which it is nested.

In recognition of such specificity, Kang (2006) posits that WTC is dynamic and situationally emergent. Cao (2011) has also supported this notion with his observations of

FIGURE 1: HEURISTIC MODEL OF WTC


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classroom WTC being situation specific. He takes an ecological view of WTC—very similar to a CDS perspective—which takes interdependence as its central concept. From this view, WTC is posited to emerge from an interactive network of factors such as…

…individual characteristics including self-confidence, personality, emotion and perceived opportunity to communicate, classroom environmental conditions such as topic, task, interlocutor, teacher and group size, together with linguistic factors (Cao, 2011, p. 468). Cao’s perspective clearly focuses on the state-like characteristics of WTC, as opposed

to psychological trait-like characteristics of WTC, which are more amenable to quantitative questionnaire based analyses.

In a dynamic systems vein, MacIntyre & Legatto (2011) recently studied the variation of WTC (as an affective state) over a set time-frame. The authors viewed WTC as a 'dynamic system' in which the present state is an evolution of the prior state (Macintyre & Legatto, 2011, p.165). In order to measure said variations, the researchers employed a custom created “Idiodynamic Software” in which the research participants viewed videos of themselves using English whilst inputting positive or negative feedback into the software, regarding their willingness to communicate at that moment in time. The research was successful in that it demonstrated a method to capture change on a second-by-second timeframe. The idiodynamic software has since been adopted for use in other research such as Mercer’s (2015) study of self confidence in L2 speaking tasks as well as, again, by MacIntyre and Serroul (2015). Moreover, it was adopted for use in the present study as well.

Despite the studies in complexity and dynamics thus far conducted, the situated dynamics of WTC within a group setting have yet to be explored dynamically. Moreover, if the statement that for many Thai students English is rarely spoken outside of the classroom setting is true, (see Foley, 2005), then classroom speaking activities provide the primary means of L2 speaking practice for many students in Thailand. It is thus logical to conclude that the WTC, leading to L2 use, is an important phenomenon to study from the context of group oriented speaking activities.

Moreover, a CDST approach, with its attention to the interaction of elements involved in the emergence of a given state, may allow a researcher to study micro-scale dynamics of


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WTC in situ whilst also allowing the researcher to make sense of the changes as part of a system nested within the larger context of the individuals’ lives, environment and learning trajectories.

Methodology Research Design Investigating WTC from a CDS perspective presents many methodological challenges. For instance, capturing micro-scale change and making sense of it in relation to a potentially overwhelming number of interacting elements is no small task. A researcher must acknowledge that true comprehensiveness is likely impossible (Mercer, 2015) while still attempting to account for the multifaceted, context derived, emergent characteristics of a system in question. Prioritizing the analytical foci, then, remains a challenge. Regarding researching from a complexity perspective, Larsen-Freeman and Cameron (2008, p. 237) state the following:

A good application of complexity theory describes the system, its constituents, their contingencies, and also their interactions. Teasing out the local relationships and explaining their dynamics are key tasks of the researcher working from a complexity perspective.

To make this research task workable, the willingness to communicate was chosen as the

particular state-focus. The following case-study design thus represents an exploratory attempt at making sense of the willingness to communicate in English from a complexity and dynamics perspective.

Participant Selection The official study was comprised of three participants—two males and one female—all of whom were first year Master’s degree Students in Chemical Engineering. All three participants were members of the same compulsory English course at the same university. The participants had known each other for several years, as they had been fellow students in a chemical engineering bachelor’s degree program prior to beginning graduate studies.


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The choice to have three students was made because it represented a grouping typical in classroom-based English speaking tasks. Participation in the project was voluntary. In order to find participants for the study, an information form was given to a class comprised of 16 Chemical engineering graduate students. Of the sixteen students in the class, eight had expressed interest in the case-study. Of those eight, three were chosen to participate.

The participants used pseudonyms (nicknames), which are common in Thailand and helped to preserve their anonymity. The participants all signed forms consenting to be video and audio recorded. They were instructed that the video and audio recordings would only be viewed/ heard by the researcher and potentially, another research associate. Data files were saved on a single computer hard drive. The original files on the camcorder’s memory storage were deleted to maintain privacy. Case Design This study could be considered to have three cases (the participants) that also interact to form a group (which is also a case). Just as complex systems consist of systems nested within systems, so too can the individuals be recognized as agents within an interactive group arrangement. Yet, in reality, the researcher is also an agent who interacts with the participants; it thus would surely be myopic to not acknowledge the researcher as an interactive agent in the system. Therefore, how can the boundaries of the case be defined? One approach is to conceptualize each participant as an individual case and to analyze them in terms of their WTC as it relates to their individual lives as well as in interaction with each other, which entails treating it as a study of multiple cases imbedded contextually in time and in space. To keep the analysis readable and simple, however, each individual case will be referred to as a participant (Figure 2). Therefore, this study is referred to as a multiple participant case study.


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FIGURE 2: CASE DESIGN

Data Collection One of the primary guiding research questions is “how and in what way does the WTC in English vary for a group of learners throughout a series of speaking tasks?” This question focuses primarily on the dynamics of WTC, i.e. change over time. Change can be measured, of course, over different timescales. For this research, one such scale is micro, real-time change over the course of a few minutes.

To collect data concerning affective change at the micro timeframe, the participants completed video recorded speaking activities. Shortly after completing the activities, each participant independently watched a playback of the video and, using the special Idiodynamic Software, input positive or negative ‘clicks’ about their own willingness to speak English during the speaking activity. This whole process was conducted two times, on two separate occasions. On the second occasion, as a follow-up to the idiodynamic input task, an interview was conducted to gather qualitative feedback concerning the speaking activities.

In terms of the information collected, the follow-up interviews were intended to elicit descriptions of the micro-scale WTC dynamics of the speaking tasks as well as, ideally, to provide richer contextual understanding of the interactions and dynamics at play. And moreover, to enrich further the data and to elicit more broadly rich qualitative descriptions of the individual’s lives and their perspectives on using English, a final session of semi-structured interviews were conducted. Altogether, the participants attended three data collection sessions (Figure 3). The next subsections provide more specific details of the various data collection methods and instruments.

ContextGroup Interaction

Participant:Wit

Participant:Moo

Particpant:Jane


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TABLE 1: RESEARCH METHODS AND INSTRUMENTS Data collection methods Purpose

Three varied speaking tasks (video recorded)

To establish speaking context (Initial conditions vary)

Idiodynamic response software To capture micro-scale change over time Stimulated recall interview (transcribed and thematically coded)

To provide contextualization and triangulation of idiodynamic data

Semi-structured interviews (transcribed and thematically coded)

To yield broader scale insight into affect, attitudes, belief and ideology

Speaking Activities The speaking activities were conducted in an air-conditioned multi-purpose room used primarily for small faculty meetings and teacher-student consultations. The activities were video recorded using a Sony Handycam digital camcorder provided by the university’s School of Liberal Arts.

If one is to view WTC as part of a complex system characterized by dynamic variability and stability, then it is important to focus on the initial conditions (starting state) of a system under investigation so that one may make sense of the dynamism and characteristics which emerge. It has been noted that "elements of the system interact in different ways depending on the task, contexts, etc." (Dörnyei, et al., 2015A, p. 423). Thus, comparing different

Session 1•Speaking activity 1•Idiodynamic Response

Session 2•Speaking activity 2•Speaking activity 3•Idiodynamic Response•Follow up interviews

Session 3•Semi-structured interviews

FIGURE 3: DATA COLLECTION PROCESS


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communication situations—i.e. differing speaking tasks—allows the researcher to establish control parameters and compare what occurs in the different contexts. For this research, the ‘control parameters’ are defined by the participant grouping, the location, and the activity types (Table 2). TABLE 2: DESCRIPTION OF ACTIVITY TYPES

Session 1

Activity Type Explanation 1. Open topic prompts -open ended -No specified goal

A series of open-ended topic based discussion prompts printed on strips of paper. Participants pick randomly from the selection and proceed to ‘talk about’ the selected topic. The participants have the freedom to select a new topic at any time.

Session 2

Activity Type Explanation 2. Controlled ‘Spot the differences’ task. -close-ended -Specified goal, with functional descriptive language (adjectives and prepositional phrases) needed to accomplish the task.

Participants are given two similar, black and white pictures which have ten differences in detail between them. Participants use any descriptive or functional language necessary to achieve the goal of identifying all of the differences between the pictures.

3. “Board Game” topic prompts -open ended topics -structured activity, with ostensible goal.

Participants play a simple Board game called “Tell us about…” Participants roll dice to move a ‘piece’ along a series of spaces. Each space has a different topic or speaking prompt. The game is played until one player reaches the ‘finish’ space.


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Idiodynamic Response Task In both sessions, within ten minutes after the speaking activities were completed, each participant was provided a computer running the idiodynamic software. As the participants watched the videos, they each input either a positive or negative response regarding their feelings toward using English at that moment. If they felt willing to speak English at the given moment in the video, they may click the positive button, repeatedly if they so desired. Positive clicks raise the variable score, and negative clicks lower it. If the participant refrains from providing input, the score moves steadily back to a zero baseline. The total range is -5 to +5. When the video playback is finished, a graph of each participant’s responses is subsequently produced.

The reliability of the input data is dependent upon the participants’ honesty, as well as their understanding of the purpose of the research. In Session 1, the participants were provided brief instructions on how to use the software. In session 2, the participants were (self reportedly) more comfortable with using the software and were able to immediately input their responses after the speaking activities had concluded. The software is made free to download at Peter MacIntyre’s personal website (MacIntyre P. D., 2014).

FIGURE 4: SCREENSHOT OF IDIODYNAMIC RESPONSE SOFTWARE


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Stimulated Recall Interviews In Session 2, following the idiodynamic input, the participants completed interviews resembling the established ‘Stimulated-Recall’ method (Dornyei, 2007; Gass & Mackey, 2008). Each participant was shown a graph of their idiodynamic responses—the videos were partially played back as well—which were used to elicit verbal explanations of areas or instances of interest that occurred during the activities. The interviews ranged in length from twenty-one to thirty-four minutes and were audio recorded and transcribed for later analysis. Semi Structured Interviews In Session 3, the participants completed final semi-structured interviews. The interviews were intended to elicit data regarding deeper and broader insight into each participant’s motivational and affective orientations toward using English. Self-professed ideas and perceptions of their own English use were also explored. Being semi-structured, an ‘interview guide’ was used in which some set questions and topics were written; however, the interviewer attempted to respond and guide the interviews organically as they progressed. The Session 3 interviews ranged from 36 minutes to 43 minutes in length and were later transcribed for analysis.

Results and Data analysis The primary data for analysis came from the qualitative interviews and the idiodynamic response data. The idiodynamic data was saved in both numerical and graphical formats. It was analyzed in relation to the speaking activities and the qualitative data provided by the interviews. The interviews were coded using Microsoft Onenote, and with traditional pen and paper.

Coding was done in a ‘bottom up’ semi-grounded approach in which recurrent or salient themes were identified in the text. Initially, a set of more than 20 codes was established which—upon multiple readings of the text—were eventually reduced in number and grouped into a smaller set of categorical domains. The coding procedure is referred to as semi-grounded because the data was grouped according to themes deemed relevant to WTC. Thus, the coding process involved the application of a priori categorizations—e.g. the coding process was both inductive and deductive. However, the biggest challenge presented in this analysis was to appropriately organize the codes to orient within the framework of a complex system.

The interviews, idiodynamic data, and video recordings yielded a wealth of information. In order to manage the text, the coding process was focused on WTC, affective factors, ideas,


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beliefs, and attitudes as they were identified—if at all—in the transcribed interview data. Also, being a participant focused case study, Moo, Wit and Jane took center stage, with their respective orientations toward speaking English being the main objects of analysis regarding dynamics.

First, examples of each participants’ idiodynamic data, along with some of the supporting interview data will be presented and discussed. This will be followed a by a broader analysis of the group and context, including the themes inferred from the qualitative interviews. Finally, an attempt to make sense of the major elements in relation to each other will be presented. Idiodynamic Data Throughout the series of tasks, it was shown that the WTC input for all three participants were largely positive; however, there were still plenty of fluctuations at the per-second timescale. Moo inputted the most positive responses, followed by Wit, whereas Jane had the greatest number of negative ‘clicks’, respectively. The explanations given ranged from the linguistic (lexical insufficiency) to the cultural (e.g. Thai concept of kreng jai, and social hierarchy). Also of interest were that topic changes in Session 1: random topics and Session 2: Board Game also affected the WTC of the participants; however, the Session 2: Spot the Differences activity had relatively stable positive WTC ratings from each participant. It is reasoned that the focused nature of the Spot the Differences activity had the least possibility of contributing to social discomfort or disinterest once the activity commenced. In support of this notion, Jane had also confirmed that she had had greater communicative ease during that activity.

Because of space limitations, a few figures are shown below to exemplify the idiodynamic response data. In Session 1: Random Topics, both Moo (Figure 5) and Jane (

Figure 6) exhibited largely positive results; however, Jane’s positive responses were occasionally punctuated by negative input. In her stimulated recall interview, Jane said: “I think the game is … cannot open our mind to speak, it’s something like boring”, which, for example, was coded as ‘topic disinterest’. Conversely, Moo expressed a positive attitude toward the activity, which can be seen below (Table 3), indicating he viewed the situation as a learning opportunity.


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Figure5

Figure 6

Table 3: Topic interest

Researcher: So tell me…what did you think of that, what did you think of this activity?

Moo: It’s good [yeah?] because the...I have to speak English Researcher: Yeah, what do you mean by “I have to” Moo: I: I think it’s- in Thai we don’t have much opportunity to use

English [right] so this is- this is a good chance to use it

In the second session, during the Board Game activity, there was an interesting occurrence in which Jane exhibited a decrease in WTC upon the researcher’s re-entry to the room (Figure 7). Interestingly, Wit’s data also had a corresponding ‘lull’ at roughly the same time in the series, suggesting that the researcher’s presence had negatively affected him as well.


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The change was nearly immediate, and from a CDST perspective, the change that occurred could be referred to as a ‘phase shift’—in this case the conditions of the system changed rapidly with the reintroduction of an element (the researcher). In other words, the incident could be viewed as an example of a minor change in the environment leading to an overall change in the state of the Jane’s personal WTC. Regardless, it is clear from her interview data that the presence of the researcher negatively impacted her WTC (Table 4). Moreover, her description of the researcher as being “like the father” potentially indicated a large ‘power distance situation’ (see Hofstede and Hofstede, 2005) between herself and the researcher. For that reason, the incident was coded as ‘student/teacher dynamics’. Figure 7


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Table 4: Student/Researcher dynamic Jane: I think it- we are- something look like the children play- play together and

you are the father [oh] and come to my home STOP PLAYING. I feel oh!

The above examples serve hopefully to give an indication of how the interview data

provided context for the idiodynamic response data. From a CDST perspective, it appears that the speaking activities conducted in this research process were, by and large, conducive to a high WTC state in all three of the participants. The confluence of the motivational and WTC orientations, combined with the comfortable interpersonal dynamics of the group contributed to a relatively positive and stable WTC state interactive social and communicative environment. Yet, being dynamic, WTC did fluctuate during the activities, with the most negative attractors being during times when the participants indicated ‘boredom’ or a lack of interest, as well as during times when the situation produced ‘discomfort’ for one or more participants. Also, speaking task type conferred some changes in WTC amongst the participants, with the most structured and close-ended task (Spot the Differences) being the most highly rated by all three participants.

Moreover, beyond the activities themselves, the interview data yielded an array of WTC antecedents which help to enrich the picture by providing a snapshot of just some of the ultimately numerous assumed interacting and nested elements. A typology of identified factors has been assembled to summarize the coded data. Typology of Factors Affecting WTC All sub-categories grouped under the category ‘Self-Reported Factors’ (Table 5) came from interview data concerning ‘talk’ about instances in which—from the speaking tasks or from their previous life experiences—the participants were either willing or unwilling to communicate in English, whereas, other categories—e.g. ‘motivational orientations’ and ‘antecedents’—came from other talk which was not in specific reference to the ‘willingness to communicate’. In other words, the categories under “Inferred Factors” (Table 6) are based on the researcher’s interpretations of what factors where present in broader talk about life, English


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and English use. A “+” indicates a positive WTC influence, and a “–” indicates a negative WTC influence. TABLE 5

Self-Reported Factors Affecting WTC Moo Wit Jane

Positiv

e Influ

encers

Task/topic Interest task preference + + +

Enjoyment + + + Interpersonal relationships Friends + +

Foreigners + + group dynamics + Student/teacher relationship +

Communicative Ease + + + Self confidence + + Speaking opportunities + +

Negat

ive In

fluenc

ers

Task/topic disinterest _ _ _ Interpersonal relationships Shyness _ _ _

Group dynamics _ _ Classroom culture _ Student/teacher dynamics _

Communicative difficulty (lexical insufficiency)

_ _ Uncertainty _ _ Camera presence _


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TABLE 6

Inferred Factors Affecting WTC Moo Wit Jane

Motiva

tional

orient

ations

Autonomous Learning self-study + +

tutorial school + L2 Future Self + + Instrumental Motivation Job + + +

study abroad +

Antec

edents

Perceived communicative competence Affirmation of + Intonation _ Speaking _ Pronunciation _ L2 Speaking Self Confidence comparison to peers + + _ Situational antecedents +

_ + _

+ _

L1 identity ● ● ●

As we can see from the tables, an abundance of elements serve as context specific factors influencing the situated manifestations of WTC. The interviews yielded insight into factors affecting the WTC states of the participants as well as insight into underlying macro-scale affective orientations toward learning and using English. Moreover, from a complex systems perspective, it is important to remember that the various identified elements interact to form the conditions of the system at any given time. Therefore, a rudimentary model


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representing some of the macro-elements in relation to each other is presented below (Figure 7).

FIGURE 7: CONTEXT MODEL OF WTC

The above model depicts ‘WTC’ as a behavioral intention nested within the category of ‘psychological antecedents’, which in turn is nested within the individual’s broader self; thus WTC is represented as an internal psychological state. However, the individuals are situated within the ‘context of interaction’, the ‘local environment’, and the’ large-scale environment’. Moreover, the individuals have their own interpersonal dynamics which also relate to ‘psychological antecedents’, WTC and ultimate L2 use. L2 use would occur under the label ‘interaction’, which is inclusive of L1 use and nonverbal communication as well. Moreover,


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each element in the system is open to change, albeit on different temporal and spatial scales. Therefore, each element has the potential to affect any and all other elements in the system. Lastly, ‘external elements’ is a catch-all reference to other macro-scale, socio-linguistic, socio-cultural and historical aspects not otherwise accounted for yet still relevant.

Noticeably absent from the diagram are linguistic factors. Understandably, the L2 communicative potential of each individual is largely constrained by the lexical and grammatical resources available to them. Lexico-grammar, and any other relevant systems that reside, primarily, in the brain of the individual, would be located within the circle of the individual. These absent features illuminate an important caveat of a CDS approach: that true comprehensiveness is virtually impossible to obtain.

Moreover, the complexity evident in this study highlights the notion that singling out a specific variable for analysis in a complex system provides a limited conceptualization of complex, dynamically shifting phenomena such as the behavioral intention to communicate in English. This case-study thus profiles the Willingness to Communicate in an L2 as something which is situationally emergent. Yet, the situation is itself situated in a larger context of interacting elements and systems which include micro-scale and macro scale temporal, psychological, and socio-cultural components.

Conclusion All three participants were clearly motivated to speak English. And moreover, the positivity of the idiodynamic response data appears to have loosely correlated with the motivational orientations indicated in the interview data. For example, not only did Moo have the most consistently positive idiodynamic data, he also had the lowest number of negative WTC indicators in his interview data. His number one professed reason for being unwilling to communicate was due to social pressure to conform, rather than from any self-criticism or lack of self-confidence. Conversely, Jane, who was highly critical of herself, also had the most negativity in her Idiodynamic responses. Wit also was self-critical, yet his attitude was positive and goal oriented. He and Moo also revealed themselves to be autonomous learners, whereas Jane gave no indication of self-study.

Despite the generally positive WTC orientations indicated by the participants, WTC was reduced when speaking in the L2 was perceived of as non-obligatory. This feature illuminates that there still exists, for the participants, a lack of exposure to authentic L2 English


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communication outside of classroom contexts even though there were generally high levels of L2 learning motivation exhibited by the participants overall. If nothing else, the willingness to communicate in L2 obligatory vs non L2 obligatory contexts is an area which might warrant further research.

And finally, what insights can a Complex Dynamics Systems Perspective provide in the study of the WTC in the Thai language classroom context? One of the most important terms, perhaps, to borrow from CDST is ‘attractor state’. From a pedagogical perspective, it suggests that the ideal conditions in a classroom or a communicative task are that which make the environment conducive to L2 use. Naturally, teachers already try to create conditions conducive to learning the target language, but knowing what features to control for—so that the attractor state is one of English use as opposed to the lack thereof—is not a necessarily easy task. Moreover, given that a teacher will never be able to control for all the factors affecting L2 use, perhaps then it would be more effective to attempt to reduce or remove WTC retraining elements instead. Regardless, the essential idea is to identify what control parameters for a learning situation are best suited to create an ‘attractor basin’ in which the ‘attractor state’ is the willingness to communicate in the target language. One certainty to take from all this is that given the complexity and uniqueness of each classroom teaching situation, the need for skilled and adaptable teachers, who can handle whatever ‘complications’ are presented to them, is as strong as ever.

This research served, ultimately, as an example of how affective factors can be integrated into second language learning research in new and dynamic ways. Researching in a dynamic systems vein clearly presents a number of methodological challenges; however, it also provides interesting new ways forward in researching second language learning and pedagogy.


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A Study of Thai Graduate Students’ Use of Cognitive and Metacognitive Reading Strategies in Reading Comprehension Tests

Kiatipong Rerkwanchai

Kanyarat Getkham National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand

Abstract Research into test-takers’ use of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies in reading tests abounds in the context of English as a foreign language. However, few studies have focused on graduate students in Thailand. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate types of reading strategies employed by these students and the influence of self-reported reading proficiency, age, and academic majors on the use of reading strategies.

Questionnaires were employed to collect data from 102 first-year master’s degree level students in four different majors at a graduate-only institute in Thailand. The data were then analyzed through a factor analysis and a multiple regression analysis. The factor analysis revealed that the types of strategies used by these participants were mixed. However, self-evaluation was found to be the most commonly used strategy, followed by inferring and monitoring. The multiple regression analysis further suggested that whereas age, majors, and self-reported reading proficiency did not influence the use of metacognitive reading strategies, participants’ use of cognitive strategies did. Based on the findings, teaching implications are articulated. Keywords: cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies; Thai graduate students; test-taking strategies


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Introduction Reading is one of the essential skills and “probably the most important skill” (Grabe 1991, as cited in Karbalaei, 2014, p. 166) in academic settings (Jafarigohar, 2014; Karbalaei, 2014; Lan, Lo, & Hsu, 2014). It is also conceived as a complex, dynamic, and interactive activity that requires readers to not only recognize words but also decode letters and make sense of the text being read (Karbalnaei, 2014; Krashen, 2004, as cited in Razi, 2014; Tierney, 2005, as cited in Karbalaei, 2014). In other words, reading involves a myriad of skills, and its ultimate outcome is comprehension (Lan, Lo, & Hsu, 2014). Because of the importance of reading and its complexity, reading strategies have been devised to assist students in their reading process.

Broadly speaking, reading strategies can be grouped into two types, namely, cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies. Several studies have emphasized relationships between these strategies and numerous factors such as student performance, gender, and self-rated reading proficiency in many academic settings (e.g., Hong-nam & Page, 2014; Seifoori, 2014). Research on cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies in Thailand is scarce, however. Hence, the primary aim of this research is to fill this gap. The findings gained from this research can inform reading teachers about the strategies used by Thai graduate students. Moreover, with this information in mind, reading teachers can create a more effective reading pedagogy to enhance their students’ reading ability.

Literature Review Reading strategies Anderson (2003) identified four elements that comprise reading: “the reader, the text, the fluent reading, or – the ability to read at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension, and strategic reading, or – the ability of the reader to use a variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading” (as cited in Karbalaei, 2014, p. 165). Seen in this light, reading can be construed as a problem-solving process (Mirzaei, Domakani, & Heidari, 2014) because readers need to navigate through text in order to understand what they are reading. In order to help readers reach their objective, which is comprehension, reading strategies are necessary.


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In citing Winograd and Hare (1988), Anderson (1999) defined strategies as “deliberate actions that learners select and control to achieve desired goals or objectives” (p. 70). In other words, they are what readers consciously do or choose to do to help them comprehend the messages in the text being read. Examples of reading strategies include mind mapping, graphic and semantic organizers, outlining, and summarizing. Wixon (1994) suggested that these strategies be learned until they became skills that could be used automatically; that is, students should know not only “what strategies to use but also when, where, and how to use them” (as cited in Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002, p. 250). Cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies Despite their variations, reading strategies can be grouped into two categories, namely, cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies. Noting that these two strategies overlap and are closely intertwined in some cases, Livingston (2003) maintained that both strategies must be studied together. The lack of either one would make a study inadequate. However, although both strategies complement each other, differences lie between them. To put it broadly, “[c]ognitive strategies are used to help an individual achieve a particular goal (e.g., understanding a text) while metacognitive strategies are used to ensure that the goal has been reached (e.g., quizzing oneself to evaluate one’s understanding of that text” (ibid, p. 3). Specifically, Anderson (1999) provided a list of some cognitive reading strategies as follow:

1. Predicting the content of an upcoming passage or section of the text. 2. Concentrating on grammar to help you understand unfamiliar constructions. 3. Understanding the main idea to help you comprehend the entire reading. 4. Expanding your vocabulary and grammar to help you increase your reading. 5. Guessing the meanings of unfamiliar words or phrases to let you use what

you already know about English. (p. 82)

Metacognitive strategies Often associated with John Flavell (1976) who coined the term, metacognition refers to “‘one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes and outcomes or anything related to them’” (as cited in Iwai, 2011, p. 151). Anderson (1999) succinctly summarized it as “thinking about thinking” (p. 72). Nevertheless, Livingston (2003) cautioned researchers against such


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simplistic definition, arguing that because other terms were also used to describe the process such as “self-regulation,” “executive control,” and “meta-memory” (p. 2), Anderson’s definition was lacking. Instead, she defined metacognitive strategy as “the higher order thinking which involves active control over the cognitive processes engaged in learning. Activities such as planning how to approach a given learning task, monitoring comprehension, and evaluating progress toward the completion of a task are metacognitive in nature” (Livingston, 2003, p. 2).

As in the case of cognitive reading strategies, Anderson (1999) also offered a list of metacognitive reading strategies:

1. Setting goals for yourself to help you improve areas that are important to you. 2. Making lists of relevant vocabulary to prepare for new reading. 3. Working with classmates to help you develop your reading skills. 4. Taking opportunities to practice what you already know to keep your progress steady 5. Evaluating what you have learned and how well you are doing to help you focus your

reading. (pp. 82-83) Research on cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies Skilled and less skilled readers and reading strategies The importance of metacognitive reading strategies has long been recognized by several scholars (e.g., Ghavamnia, Ketabi, & Tavakoli, 2013; Lan, 2014; Mirzaei, 2014; Mokhatari & Reichard, 2002; Zhang, Goh, & Kunnan, 2014). They are often used to distinguish skilled readers and unskilled readers. Citing Harris (1990), Lan (2014) noted that “metacognitive abilities seem to be a differentiating factor between good and poor readers” (p. 186), a point that Mirzaei (2014) and Mokhatari and Reichard (2002) concurred. Specifically, researchers (Paris & Windograd, 1990; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995 as cited in Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002; Zhang, Goh, and Kunnan, 2014) have pointed that unlike novice readers who have limited metacognitive knowledge about reading, skilled readers are aware of (1) what they are reading, (2) why they are reading, (3) what problems they might encounter while reading, and (4) strategic reading processes involved. Less skilled readers, on the other hand, view reading “as a decoding process rather than as a meaning-getting process” (Baker & Brown, as cited in Kkhtari, 2002, p. 249) and try “to process word meaning rather than trying to comprehend and


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retain the meaning of the text” (Ghavamnia, Ketabi, & Tavakoli, 2013, p. 374). Moreover, they are less likely to monitor their comprehension and “to detect contradictions or resolve inconsistencies in understanding text (Snow et al., 1998, as cited in Kokhtari, 2002, p. 250). Given the importance of reading strategies use, it is thus essential that teachers know the strategies that their students do employ and do not employ in order to provide appropriate instruction. Strategy use Specific reading strategy use has also been studied by several researchers (Alsheikh & Mokhtari, 2011; Alsheikh, 2011; Ling, 2011). Conducting an experiment with 54 English-major sophomores in Southeastern China, Ling (2011) found that “[m]etacognitive strategies, such as advanced organization, self-evaluation and directed attention are less used by the students than other subcategories [such as skimming, predicting, and analyzing] of reading strategies” (p. 29). It must be pointed out that unlike the study by Ling (2011), Alsheikh and Mokhtari’s (2011) and Alsheikh’s (2011) studies categorized strategies into Problem Solving Strategies, Global Reading Strategies, and Support Reading Strategies. Because these categories are different from the ones used in the present study, they are not discussed in detail here. Gender Many studies have also focused on the relationship between gender and strategy use (Madhumathi & Gosh, 2012; Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001; Phikiti, 2003; Tavakoli, 2014; Zare, 2013), and the results have been mixed. Phatiki (2003) found that male university students in Thailand reported using metacognitive reading strategies more often than their female counterparts. In contradistinction, Madhumathi and Gosh (2012), conducting a study with 52 Indian first year engineering students, reported that female students used more reading strategies than male students. It is notable also that in some cases differences could not be found. For instance, investigating strategy use between males and females in Iran, Zare (2013) and Tavakoli (2014) reported that gender did not play a role in reading strategy use.


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Major The correlation between major and the use of reading strategies is another area that has attracted attention of researchers. Seifoori (2014), for example, studied eight groups of ESP freshmen at Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch, in Iran from four different majors, namely, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, management and psychology. It was found that mechanical and computer engineering majors used cognitive reading strategies more often than management and psychology majors. Self-reported reading strategies Similarly, self-reported reading proficiency has been examined in relation to reading strategies use (Hong-nam & Page, 2014;Mokhtari& Reichard, 2002; Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001). To illustrate, Hong-nam and Page (2014) conducted an investigation with Korean college students and reported that students who gave themselves a higher rate tended to use more reading strategies than those who rated themselves low. The finding is corroborated by Sheorey and Mokhtari’s (2001) study that found statistical differences between students with high reading ability and those with lower reading ability.


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Figure 1summarizes the factors that have been studied on reading strategies.

Figure 1. Theoretical Framework

Objectives The objectives of this study are to investigate the types of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies used by Thai graduate students, and to examine whether age, gender, self-reported reading proficiency, and use of cognitive strategies can predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies among the participants. In other words, this research paper aims to address these questions:

1. What types of reading strategies are used congruently by Thai master’s degree students when they take reading examinations?


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2. Which of these factors – age, gender, self-reported reading proficiency, and use of cognitive strategies – influence the use of metacognitive reading strategies?

Reading examinations are chosen as the context for this study because this research aims at helping reading instructors to better assist their students in reading test performance. Moreover, another objective is to contribute to a discussion regarding the relationship among reading strategies, test performance, and test-taking strategies (Alavi & Bordbad, 2013; Phakiti, 2003).

Participants The participants for this study were master’s degree students who were taking graduate reading courses at a public graduate-studies-only university in Thailand. They came from four different majors: Social and Environmental Development (SSED), Development Economics (GSDE), Business Administration (RMBA), and Applied Statistics (AS). Of the 102 participants, 42 were male while 59 were female, with one of the participants not responding to the question. When asked to self-rate their reading proficiency, 22 rated themselves as not-so-good readers; 62 as OK readers; 14 as good readers; and the others as very good readers (Table 1).

Self-reported reading

proficiency Major

Gender Total Male Female missing

Not so good SSED GSDE RMBA

AS

1 2 0 1

4 4 7 3

5 6 7 4

OK SSED GSDE RMBA

AS

3 7 12 5

8 10 11 5

0 0 1 0

11 17 24 10

Good SSED GSDE RMBA

AS

3 5 0 1

1 3 0 1

4 8 0 2

Very good SSED GSDE RMBA

AS

1 0 0 0

0 0 0 1

1 0 0 1

Missing data RMBA AS

1 0

0 1

1 1

Total 42 59 1 102 Table 1. Demographic data of participants


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Instruments and Data Collection

A questionnaire was employed to investigate the students’ use of metacognitive and cognitive reading strategies when they took a reading comprehension exam. Developed first by Phakiti (2003) and later modified by Ling (2011), this questionnaire was chosen because its questions were comprehensive, encompassing both learning strategies proposed by O’Malley and Chamot (1990) and reading strategies by Anderson (2003). More importantly, it was developed particularly for a reading test (Phakiti, 2003). However, the first part of the questionnaire, which asked the participants for their demographic data, was further modified in this present study. The participants’ class was changed to Major, and student number was removed so as to keep the participants anonymous. Students’ standardized test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC, and graduate school English entrance examination score) were also elicited. However, since a large number of the participants did not fill out this part (perhaps because they did not remember their scores, or they simply did not want to reveal their scores), this piece of information was excluded from the study. Finally, the participants’ self-rated reading proficiency was included as this study was also interested in the correlation between this factor and strategy use. Part two of the questionnaire used a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = “I never do this” to 5 = “I always do this.” Out of 40 questions (Appendix A), 24 of the items are metacognitive reading strategies, and the rest are cognitive reading strategies. These strategies can be furthered subcategorized as follows in Table 2 (Ling, 2011, p. 21):


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Table 2.A taxonomy of the cognitive and metacognitive strategies in the questionnaire

The questions on the questionnaire were translated into Thai by three researchers so as to make it easier for the participants to read and respond (See Appendix B); the translation then was checked for accuracy and approved by the course instructor before the questionnaires were administered. Data collection was conducted on 22 September 2015. The participants were given approximately 15-20 minutes to complete them.

After the questionnaires were collected, the responses were analyzed using Predictive Analytical Software 18 (PASW 18), which was formerly known as SPSS. A factor analysis was used to answer the first research question, and a multiple regression analysis was employed to answer the other question. On the multiple regression analysis, while age, gender, self-rated reading proficiency, and cognitive strategies served as the independent variables, metacognitive reading strategies served as the dependent variable because they have often been construed as the deciding factor that distinguishes skilled readers from less skilled readers (Lan, 2014; Paris & Jacobs, 1984, as cited in Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002; Paris & Windograd, 1990, as cited in Kokhtari, 2002; Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995 as cited in Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002; Zhang, Goh, & Kunnan, 2014).


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Results Research question 1: Which types of reading strategies are used congruently by Thai master’s degree students when they take reading examinations? To examine the types of reading strategies that the participants used together when taking a reading test, a factor analysis was employed. The factor analysis was used to reduce the number of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies into salient types by grouping the similar strategies together. According to Rietveld and Van Hout (1993 as cited in Getkham, 2010, p. 7), it is acceptable to keep factors with eigenvalues larger than 1 for factor analysis. The eigenvalues were plotted (Figure 2) while the cut off point for common factor loadings was at a value greater than .60, according to the liberal perspective.

Table 3. First 12 eigenvalues of factor analysis


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Figure 2. Scree plot of eigenvalues


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Component Matrixa

Component

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 I set plans on how to complete the test

.532 .220 -.175 -.344 .048 .154 .127 .249 -.233 -.114 .095 .065

I determine what the test tasks or questions required me to do

.500 .489 -.055 -.006 -.181 .131 .198 -.280 -.093 -.148 -.097 -.081

I am aware of the objective of the reading tasks

.416 .293 .311 .143 -.153 .018 .009 .316 -.054 .210 -.451 .034

I make sure I know what is need to be done and how to do it

.491 .411 .132 .098 .188 -.087 .206 .235 -.219 -.305 .018 .054

I skim the text quickly to have a general understanding of the given text

.494 -.222 .480 .230 .052 .013 .123 -.344 -.200 -.009 .082 -.019


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I pay attention to the questions and memorize them before reading the given text

.449 -.138 .343 .526 .022 .098 .029 .047 .137 -.087 .119 .165

I know what to read closely and what to ignore

.433 -.251 .413 .170 -.057 -.140 -.177 .453 -.072 .047 -.087 -.204

I read the text quickly to find out the relevant information of reading tasks

.483 -.227 .353 .294 .145 .119 .229 -.381 -.126 .101 -.026 .036

I predict the content of the upcoming passage or section while reading

.505 -.397 .309 -.260 .050 .075 .306 -.043 -.103 .149 .040 .006

I analyze the relationship between the given reading text and reading tasks

.593 .182 -.024 -.019 -.372 -.060 .392 -.049 .115 -.013 -.151 .140

I attempt to understand the implicit meaning of the given text

.599 .085 .031 -.252 -.421 -.107 .163 -.231 -.006 .187 .096 -.032


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I translate what I have read into Thai

.205 .313 -.383 .381 -.183 .096 .284 .031 .423 .022 .131 .151

I summary the important information as well as the main ideas of the text

.420 .201 .100 -.224 .008 -.067 -.247 -.086 -.054 .307 .435 .333

I connect what I have read with my prior experience

.518 .090 -.096 -.050 .228 -.452 .007 -.246 .256 .090 -.038 .024

When the given text or questions became difficult to understand, I reread them to increase my understanding

.556 .212 .005 .255 -.256 .176 -.462 -.130 .167 .074 .062 -.166

I underline or circle key words or key sentences while reading

.525 -.097 -.125 .007 -.068 .482 -.304 .068 -.154 .015 .026 -.019


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I guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases according to the context or text clues

.505 .095 .194 -.001 .205 .415 -.216 .017 .282 .021 .080 -.224

I take advantage of the grammar knowledge I have learned to analyze sentences so as to help get the meaning

.512 -.085 .113 -.374 .024 .427 .026 -.026 .293 -.080 -.196 .056

I guess the meaning of unknown words according to their roots or affix

.545 .088 .202 -.190 .377 .194 .273 .040 .262 -.123 .019 .042

I revise the anticipated information based on text content

.350 .291 .234 -.026 .414 .042 .035 .112 .032 .022 .261 -.143

I adjust reading speed on the basis of different reading purposes or reading tasks

.554 .344 -.142 -.182 .179 .049 .044 -.230 -.247 .269 -.046 -.212


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I mark the topic sentences of every paragraph

.614 -.065 -.280 -.125 .086 .184 .177 .276 -.028 .221 -.062 -.078

I am aware of how much of test remained to be completed

.434 -.111 -.419 .306 .104 .096 -.065 -.120 -.069 -.029 -.293 .073

I monitor the understanding of the reading materials and reading tasks

.555 -.042 -.045 .164 -.103 -.206 .139 .150 -.035 .006 .157 -.285

I keep track of my own progress to complete the questions on time

.651 -.024 -.359 .156 .020 -.105 -.015 -.003 .071 -.038 .005 -.398

I pause time to time and think whether I have understood the contents I have read

.456 -.326 -.358 .044 .380 -.075 -.066 -.044 -.159 .018 -.257 .095


92

I relate my prior knowledge to new information so as to better understand the given reading materials

.621 .025 -.040 -.174 .337 -.367 -.144 -.118 .154 -.141 -.121 -.107

I take notes when reading to help memorize useful information

.460 -.452 -.124 -.171 -.062 -.192 -.228 -.044 .181 .071 .089 -.063

I make the use of transitional words, such as first, second, however, but, because and so on to help understand the logical relations among the main points in the text

.656 -.026 .009 -.234 -.156 -.115 -.203 -.207 -.253 -.214 -.124 .098

I am aware of my ongoing reading tasks

.547 .350 -.022 -.007 .154 -.161 -.289 .075 -.007 -.326 .021 .277


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I use the available clues or information to guess the new information

.676 .051 .253 .105 .028 -.019 -.216 -.157 .107 -.130 -.184 .040

I distinguish the easy and difficult questions and spend much more time on difficult reading tasks

.557 .189 -.008 .239 .055 -.163 .017 .099 .047 .498 -.171 .103

When the sentences are long and hard to understand, I try to analyze the structure of sentences to help better understand meaning

.655 -.032 .144 -.246 -.259 -.015 -.271 .144 -.038 .151 -.065 .186

I correct mistakes immediately when I think I am misunderstanding of the text or tasks

.661 .172 -.073 .124 -.193 -.001 -.195 -.040 -.073 -.138 .145 .011


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I evaluate whether the reading plans are achieved

.619 -.339 .111 .153 -.200 -.284 .108 .153 .076 -.223 .074 .116

I evaluate my own performance and progress while completing the test

.629 -.059 .038 -.303 -.016 -.240 .108 .246 .141 .048 .046 .016

I check the answers of reading tasks carefully before submitting the test

.534 .068 -.233 .335 .103 -.056 .046 .098 -.342 .086 .253 -.047

I am aware of my nerves or anxiety while doing the reading tasks

.455 -.364 -.368 .160 .225 .178 .021 .048 .043 .134 .097 .392

I try to find out my weakness in reading activity, and think how to improve my reading efficiency

.653 -.320 -.177 -.038 -.211 .214 .097 .047 -.142 -.241 .042 .005


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I evaluate the effectiveness of strategies I used while doing the reading tasks

.662 -.323 -.196 -.108 -.146 .013 .123 -.017 .117 -.107 .109 -.198

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. a. 12 components extracted.

Table 4. First 12 eigenvalues


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The scree plot showed the sharp break between the first factor and the second factor, and it gradually flattens from the second factor. The table also revealed that items with loading greater than .60 could be found only in the first factor (highlighted in Table 4), and not in the other 11 factors. Hence, the items in the first factor were chosen for detailed discussion.

The factor analysis results are reported in Table 5, showing heavy loadings greater than .60. Four (no. 35, 36, 39, and 40) out of 11 heavy loadings were self-evaluation, a subcategory of metacognitive reading strategies. Two (no. 25 and 34) out of 11 heavy loadings were monitoring (metacognitive reading strategy); another two (no. 29 and 31) were inferring, a subcategory of cognitive reading strategies. Selective attention (metacognitive reading strategy), elaboration (cognitive reading strategy), and analyzing (cognitive reading strategy) included one item each, which were no. 22, 27, and 33, respectively.

No Items Loadings Self-evaluation (metacognitive strategy)

35 I evaluate whether the reading plans are achieved .619 36 I evaluate my own performance and progress while completing the

test .629

39 I try to find out my weakness in reading activity, and think how to improve my reading efficiency

.653

40 I evaluate the effectiveness of strategies I used while doing the reading tasks

.662

Monitoring (metacognitive strategy) 25 I keep track of my own progress to complete the questions on time .651 34 I correct mistakes immediately when I think I am

misunderstanding of the text or tasks .661

Inferring (cognitive strategy) 29 I make the use of transitional words, such as first, second,

however, but, because and so on to help understand the logical relations among the main points in the text

.656

31 I use the available clues or information to guess the new information

.676

Selective attention (metacognitive strategy)


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22 I mark the topic sentences of every paragraph .614 Elaboration (cognitive strategy)

27 I relate my prior knowledge to new information so as to better understand the given reading materials

.621

Analyzing (cognitive strategy) 33 When the sentences are long and hard to understand, I try to

analyze the structure of sentences to help better understand meaning

.655

Table 5. Factor Loadings of Selected Strategies

The results revealed that: (1) the participants used mixed strategies, both cognitive and metacognitive, when taking a reading test; (2) the participants also used six strategies (e.g., self-evaluation, monitoring, inferring, selective attention, elaboration, and analyzing) out of sixteen strategies (see Table 2) congruently; and (3) self-evaluation, with the highest number of four items, was the strategy often employed by the participants. Monitoring and inferring ranked number 2 while selective attention, elaboration, and analyzing came in number 3. It is also evident that metacognitive reading strategies were used more than cognitive reading strategies: 7 items for the former and 4 items for the latter. Research question 2: Which of these factors – age, gender, self-reported reading proficiency, and use of cognitive strategies – can be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies? Based on Table 4, the hypothesis that age, disciplines, gender, self-reported, and cognitive strategies cannot influence metacognitive strategies must be rejected. Table 6 shows that the participants’ use of cognitive strategies influenced or could be used to predict the use of metacognitive strategies (p < .001, beta = .824). The results of a multiple regression analysis further indicated that the use of metacognitive strategies has a high correlation with the use of cognitive strategies (r=.824). In other words, the use of cognitive strategies accounted for the use of metacognitive strategies, R2=.679, adjusted R2=.662. In particular, the use of cognitive strategies accounted for 66.2% of the variance in the use of metacognitive strategies, F (5, 96) = 40.635, p =<.001. If we use the use of cognitive strategies to predict the use of metacognitive strategies, there will be an error about 7.81 numbers of strategies.


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Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted

R Square Std. Error of the

Estimate 1 .824 .679 .662 7.81084

ANOVAb Model Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 12396.953 5 2479.391 40.640 .000a

Residual 5856.891 96 61.009 Total 18253.843 101

a. Predictors: (Constant), Self-reported reading proficiency, Age, Major, Gender, Cognitive b. Dependent Variable: Metacognitive

Variables B β t p Model 17.410 2.057 .042

Age .007 .002 .026 .979 (ns) Majors .186 .024 .411 .682 (ns)

Self-reported reading

proficiency

.186 .016 .290 .772 (ns)

Gender -0.87 -.006 -.098 .922 (ns) Cognitive strategy 1.193 .086 13.944 0.000***

*** p =<.001 Table 6. Multiple regressions on dependent variable (metacognitive strategies)


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Discussion The first purpose of this study was to investigate the types of reading strategies that Thai master’s degree students used when taking a reading examination, and the second purpose was to examine if age, gender, major, self-reported reading proficiency, and cognitive strategies could be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. Out of the 40 strategies that were studied, the participants seemed to use mixed strategies to comprehend a reading text. Moreover, only cognitive reading strategies could be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. Overall strategy use The results indicated that the participants reported using metacognitive reading strategies more often than they did cognitive reading strategies. The two cognitive strategies that they used were “inferring” and “analyzing.” That these strategies were employed is not surprising for two reasons. First, inferring (using transitional words to help understand logical relations among ideas) is often taught in many reading classes. That is, it could be said to be a fundamental reading strategy. Second, analyzing (to break down long sentences into smaller pieces to facilitate reading) is a traditional grammar-based reading approach that is prevalent in Thailand. Therefore, when students find a reading material challenging, they may conveniently resort to analyzing text. In fact, an informal interview with an instructor who taught a section of the reading class under investigation indicated that sentence analysis (or analyzing) was one of the skills emphasized in the curriculum at this institute.

It is noteworthy, however, that the participants reported a relatively high use of metacognitive reading strategies. Particularly, they used self-evaluation strategy the most (Table 6). This finding should be noted on two counts. First, if cognitive strategies (inferring and analyzing) were emphasized in classrooms as discussed above, the participants should have reported a higher use of cognitive strategies. Second, this finding runs counter to the study by Ling (2011) who found that self-evaluation was used less among Chinese college students because, like other metacognitive reading strategies, it was difficult to master. When using metacognitive strategies such as self-evaluation, readers need to first set reading plans, evaluate if those plans are achieved, and whether if the strategies they used were effective or not. The process is more complicated than making use of transitional words or sentence structure


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knowledge to help with the reading process, so it was not expected of the participants to report using it.

More information would help explain this phenomenon. It could be that the other sections of this reading class, besides the one where the instructor was informally interviewed, focused on metacognitive reading strategies. Classroom observation or interviews with other instructors who taught the same class would help illuminate the point. Strategy use by cognitive strategies The multiple regression analysis revealed that use of cognitive reading strategies was the only predictor of metacognitive reading strategy use. The explanation for this relationship could be found in the discussion of cognitive and metacognitive strategies offered by Livingston (2003) and Phakiti (2003). Livingston (2003) pointed out that cognitive and metacognitive strategies were dependent on each other. In fact, in some cases, the same strategy could be categorized as both cognitive and metacognitive strategies, depending on the reading purpose (p. 4). For example, self-questioning could be conceived of as a cognitive reading strategy if a reader uses it to obtain information from the reading and as a metacognitive reading strategy if a reader uses it to monitor her understanding of what she has read (p. 4). This point is consistent with the finding by Phakiti (2003) who examined the data from the information from 384 Thai students and found that “[m]ost cognitive strategies occurred in association with metacognitive strategies. For example, test-takers need to be metacognitive to use cognitive strategies such as elaboration, inferencing and transferring. Some cognitive strategies might even perform a metacognitive function” (ibid, p. 43). Given such a close relationship between cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies, the findings from this present study thus confirm the findings by previous research studies. Strategy use by gender Unlike the use of cognitive reading strategies, gender (42 male students; 59 female students; 1 unreported) could not predict the use of metacognitive strategies. In other words, it is impossible to conclude that men used metacognitive reading strategies more than women or vice versa. This finding dovetails with the study by Tavakoli (2014) who found no difference in reading strategy use between 31 males and 69 females. However, it is at odd with two


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studies: first by Phakiti (2003) who found that male students (N = 173) used more metacognitive reading strategies than female students (N = 211), and second by Madhumathi and Gosh (2012) who reported that female students (N = 28) were more likely to use metacognitive reading strategies than their male counterparts (N = 24).

Madhumathi and Gosh (2012) cited cultural reasons to explain their findings, noting that female students used more strategies than male students perhaps because of their extra reading habits which resulted from their cultural restrictions. To explain, in India, women, unlike men, are often not allowed to play outside after school. Hence, they may spend more time reading and doing homework. This extra time may have contributed to them having the time to hone their reading skills.

Cultural expectations were also noted in another study of gender and use of metacognitive strategies, but this time to explain an entirely different finding. To see if there were statistically significant differences between male and female in the aspect of metacognitive strategy use, Seifoori (2014) conducted an experiment with 240 Iranian college freshmen (120 males and 120 females). She found a difference, but not a significant one. However, she noted that male and female participants in her study differed in terms of responses on two items: (1) “I try to find out how to be a better learner of English” and (2) “I plan my schedule so I will have enough time to study English.” To account for the difference, she pointed to the fact that males were expected by their cultural context to be responsible for financial status of the family, so they must do everything they can in terms of language to find a decent job. Such was not expected of women, so women were less pressured to acquire higher order skills. In Thailand, however, such cultural restrictions do not exist. Arguably, male and female are treated equally; for example, women are not confined to their home after school. As a result, this might explain why the finding of this present study is not consistent with the previous research.

However, given the discrepancies among several studies, a conclusion by Phakiti (2003) should be heeded: “the belief in gender differences as a universal phenomenon should be disregarded” (p. 679). Instead, gender should be construed as “state construct because it is changing and unstable” (italic in original; p. 680). Therefore, strategy use depends more on context and conditions than on gender (p. 680).


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Strategy use by major The participants’ majors (Social and Environmental Development, Development Economics, Business Administration, and Applied Statistic) also could not be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. The finding was not surprising. Investigating the use of learning strategies by 1,006 English for Specific Purposes students in Hong Kong who came from eight different majors (Building Construction, Business, Computer Studies, Engineering, English, Maths, Primary Education, and Science), Peacock and Ho (2003) found that English majors reported far higher use of metacognitive strategies while computer studies students reported a much lower use of the same strategies (p. 185). Lack of motivation, according to the researchers, was responsible for the lower use of learning strategies among computer studies students (ibid, p. 193). The same explanation could be applied to the participants in the present study. That is, because all of the participants were not in the liberal arts or humanities (such as English), they might not be motivated to improve their reading skills. Therefore, majors were found not to affect metacognitive reading strategy use. However, interviews with the participants could be conducted to understand the real causes as in the case of Peacock and Ho (2003). Strategy use by self-reported reading proficiency The result of the present study indicated that self-reported reading proficiency could not predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. To account for this finding, it is important to look at the findings of previous studies (Hong-nam & Page, 2014; Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002; Sheorey & Mokhtari, 2001) which unanimously reported that participants who perceived themselves as skilled readers tended to use more strategies than those who self-rated themselves as less skilled readers. The majority of the participants in this present study (n=84; 84% of the 100 responses) rated themselves at a similar level, that is, as either “not okay readers” or “okay” readers; therefore, it is not surprising that self-reported reading proficiency did not affect metacognitive reading strategy use. A healthy mix of both skilled and less skilled readers in the population would yield a different finding.


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Strategy use by age Similar to the previous factors, age also could not be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. The average age of the participants was 23.94 years old (SD = 2.403); hence, it could be assumed that since the participants were approximately at the same age, this factor could not be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. However, in other classes where age difference is significant, an alternative finding might be reported.

Limitations and Implications Although the research has reached its aims, there were some unavoidable limitations. First, the responses on self-reported reading proficiency might not be entirely accurate (Munro, 2011) because the participants may have either underestimated or overestimated themselves. To overcome this limitation, the participants’ reading scores on a reading examination could have been collected to better capture their actual reading proficiency. Second, interviews with the instructors and the participants would shed light on the findings. For example, an interview would reveal what was actually taught in each classroom. It is possible that metacognitive reading strategies were emphasized and studied during class instruction, but the participants did not employ them as much as they should have when taking a reading examination. Such information would lead to more effective pedagogical practices. Third, in order to obtain a more accurate result of what strategies were employed by the participants during a reading test, a reading examination could have been administered and the questionnaires could have been immediately completed by the participants. For the present study, however, this could not be done due to the researchers’ limited curriculum intervention. Fourth, more disciplines could have been included in the study in order to examine whether disciplines could be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies. Finally, the population in this study was small and thus might not reflect the majority of Thai graduate students. Given these limitations, future research studies might consider including more participants from a wide variety of disciplines. Also, interviews could be conducted with both instructors and participants. Moreover, the participants’ test scores could also be collected so as to obtain a more accurate picture of the students’ reading proficiency.

All in all, the findings from this study revealed that students’ use of strategies was still moderate. However, because reading strategies are important, it is essential that teachers teach them to their students and allow their students multiple opportunities to practice them until they become automatic (Wixon, 1994, as cited in Mokhtari & Reichard, 2002). Moreover, based on


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the findings, since cognitive reading strategies could be used to predict the use of metacognitive reading strategies, both strategies should receive equal attention so as to maximize the chances that less skilled readers will use metacognitive reading strategies when taking future reading examinations.


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Appendix A

Questionnaire for students (English version)

Questionnaire on the use of reading strategies

Class: _____ Age:______ Student Number:_____ Gender: ______ Directions: Listed below are statements about what you do when you were doing reading comprehension tests. Read each statement carefully and indicate how you thought while you were doing reading comprehension tests. Five numbers follow each statement (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and each number means the following: 1 means I never do this. 2 means I do this rarely. 3 means I sometimes do this. 4 means I usually do this. 5 means I always do this. After reading each statement, write down the number 1, 2, 3, 4,or 5 which corresponds to your own situation in the column of degree. Please note that there are no right or wrong answers to the statements. Thank you all for your kind cooperation! Never Rarely Sometimes Usually Always

< --------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1 2 3 4 5


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Degree No. Reading Strategies 1 I set plans on how to complete the test. 2 I determine what the test tasks or questions required me to do. 3 I am aware of the objective of the reading tasks. 4 I make sure I know what is need to be done and how to do it. 5 I skim the text quickly to have a general understanding of the given text 6 I pay attention to the questions and memorize them before reading the

given text. 7 I know what to read closely and what to ignore. 8 I read the text quickly to find out the relevant information of reading tasks. 9 I predict the content of the upcoming passage or section while reading. 10 I analyze the relationship between the given reading text and reading

tasks. 11 I attempt to understand the implicit meaning of the given text. 12 I translate what I have read into Chinese. 13 I summary the important information as well as the main ideas of the text. 14 I connect what I have read with my prior experience. 15 When the given text or questions became difficult to understand, I reread

them to increase my understanding. 16 I underline or circle key words or key sentences while reading. 17 I guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases according to the

context or text clues. 18 I take advantage of the grammar knowledge I have learned to analyze

sentences so as to help get the meaning. 19 I guess the meaning of unknown words according to their roots or affix. 20 I revise the anticipated information based on text content. 21 I adjust reading speed on the basis of different reading purposes or reading

tasks. 22 I mark the topic sentences of every paragraph. 23 I am aware of how much of test remained to be completed. 24 I monitor the understanding of the reading materials and reading tasks. 25 I keep track of my own progress to complete the questions on time.


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26 I pause time to time and think whether I have understood the contents I have read.

27 I relate my prior knowledge to new information so as to better understand the given reading materials.

28 I take notes when reading to help memorize useful information. 29 I make the use of transitional words, such as first, second, however, but,

because and so on to help understand the logical relations among the main points in the text.

30 I am aware of my ongoing reading tasks. 31 I use the available clues or information to guess the new information. 32 I distinguish the easy and difficult questions and spend much more time

on difficult reading tasks. 33 When the sentences are long and hard to understand, I try to analyze the

structure of sentences to help better understand meaning. 34 I correct mistakes immediately when I think I am misunderstanding of the

text or tasks. 35 I evaluate whether the reading plans are achieved. 36 I evaluate my own performance and progress while completing the test. 37 I check the answers of reading tasks carefully before submitting the test. 38 I am aware of my nerves or anxiety while doing the reading tasks. 39 I try to find out my weakness in reading activity, and think how to

improve my reading efficiency. 40 I evaluate the effectiveness of strategies I used while doing the reading

tasks.


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Appendix B แบบสอบถามสาหรบนกศกษา (ฉบบภาษาไทย)

แบบสอบถามเกยวกบการใชกลวธในการทาขอสอบการอาน(reading comprehensiontest)

คณะทกาลงศกษา: ___________________ เพศ: _________อาย: ________ คะแนนสอบ TOEFL: ___ IELTS: ___ TOEIC: ___ NIDA English Entrance Examination Score: ____ นกศกษามองตวเองวาเปนนกอานทไมดมาก_____ ปานกลาง_____ด_____ ดมาก______ คาชแจง: ในดานลางของแบบสอบถามนกศกษาจะเหนขอความทกลาวถงสงทนกศกษาทาเมอทาขอสอบการอาน(reading comprehension test)และทศนคตกรณาอานแตละขอความอยางรอบคอบและระบถงสงทนกศกษาทาเมอทาขอสอบการอาน(reading comprehensiontest)ในแตละขอจะมเลข1, 2, 3, 4, 5และเลขแตละตวมความหมายตามลาดบดงน 1 หมายถงขาพเจาไมเคยทาสงน 2 หมายถงขาพเจาแทบจะไมคอยทาสงน 3 หมายถงขาพเจาทาสงนในบางครง 4 หมายถงขาพเจามกจะทาสงน 5 หมายถงขาพเจาทาสงนเสมอๆ หลงจากนกศกษาอานขอความในแตละขอกรณาทาเครองหมาย✓บอกถงกลวธทนกศกษาใชในการทาขอสอบการอาน(reading comprehension test) ในแตละขอไมมขอใดถกไมมขอใดผดขอบคณสาหรบความรวมมอในการตอบแบบสอบถาม


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กลวธในการทาขอสอบการอาน(reading comprehension test) 1 2 3 4 5 1. ขาพเจาวางแผนวาจะทาขอสอบอยางไรใหสมบรณถกตอง 2. ขาพเจาทาความเขาใจวาโจทยตองการใหขาพเจาทาอะไร

3. ขาพเจาเขาใจถงจดประสงคของขอสอบ reading comprehension

4. ขาพเจาตรวจสอบวาขาพเจาตองทาอะไรและตองทาอยางไร

5. ขาพเจาดคราวๆอยางรวดเรว (skim) เพอทาความเขาใจโดยรวมเกยวกบบทความทกาหนด 6. ขาพเจาอานคาถามอยางตงใจและจดจาคาถามกอนทจะเรมตนการอาน

7. ขาพเจารวาจดไหนตองอานอยางละเอยดและจดไหนไมจาเปนตองอาน

8. ขาพเจาอานเนอหาอยางรวดเรวเพอทจะหาขอมลทตรงกบจดประสงคทอาน

9. ขาพเจาคาดการณเนอหาในสวนถดไปขณะทอาน

10. ขาพเจาวเคราะหความสมพนธระหวางสงทอานและภาระหนาทในการอาน 11. ขาพเจาพยายามทจะทาความเขาใจความหมายแฝงจากสงทอาน

12. ขาพเจาแปลสงทอานเปนภาษาไทย


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13. ขาพเจาสรปขอมลสาคญและใจความสาคญของสงทอาน 14. ขาพเจาเชอมสงทอานกบประสบการณทผานมาของขาพเจา

15. เมอพบวาสงทอานยากเกนกวาทจะเขาใจขาพเจาจะทบทวนอกครงเพอเพมความเขาใจ 16. ขาพเจาขดเสนใตหรอวงกลมคาหรอประโยคทมคาสาคญหรอประโยคทสาคญขณะทอาน 17. ขาพเจาเดาความหมายคาศพททไมรจากบรบทหรอคาใบ(clues)จากบรบทนนๆ

18. ขาพเจาใชความรทางไวยากรณทไดเรยนมาวเคราะหประโยคเพอจะไดเขาใจความหมาย 19. ขาพเจาเดาความหมายของคาศพทตามรากศพทหรอหนวยคาเตม (prefixes) และ (suffixes) 20. ขาพเจาแกไขขอมลทเคยคาดการณไวโดยยดจากเนอความในเรองทอาน

21. ขาพเจาปรบความเรวในการอานตามจดประสงคของการอานทแตกตางออกไป 22. ขาพเจาทาเครองหมายเนนประโยคทเปนใจความสาคญ(main idea)ในทกๆยอหนา 23. ขาพเจาตระหนกอยตลอดเวลาวาสงทขาพเจาตองอานเหลออกเทาไหรจงจะอานจบ 24. ขาพเจาสารวจความเขาใจในสงทอานและจดมงหมายทอาน 25. ขาพเจาเตอนตวเองใหระลกถงขนตอนทกาลงอานเพอทจะตอบคาถามไดทนเวลา 26. ขาพเจาหยดและคดเกยวกบสงทกาลงอานเปนระยะๆเพอตรวจสอบวาขาพเจาเขาใจเนอหาทอาน


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27. ขาพเจาเชอมโยงความรเดมเขากบความรใหมเพอชวยใหเขาใจเนอหาทอานมากยงขน 28. ขาพเจาจดบนทกขณะทอานเพอชวยในการจดจาขอมลทสาคญ 29. ขาพเจาใชประโยชนจากคาเชอมตางๆเชนลาดบแรก (first),ลาดบทสอง(second),อยางไรกตาม(however),แต (but),เพราะวา(because) ฯลฯเพอชวยใหเขาใจความสมพนธของเนอหาทอาน

30. ในขณะทอานขาพเจาตระหนกรวากาลงอานเพอสงใด

31. ขาพเจาใชบรบทหรอขอความขางเคยงเพอชวยใหเขาใจขอมลใหมๆ

32. ขาพเจาแยกแยะระหวางคาถามทยากและคาถามทงายและจะใชเวลามากขนในการอานเพอหา

คาตอบทยากนน

33. เมอพบประโยคทมความยาวและยากทจะเขาใจขาพเจาพยายามจะวเคราะหโครงสรางประโยคนนๆเพอชวยใหเขาใจความหมายไดดยงขน

34. ขาพเจาแกไขขอผดพลาดทนทเมอพบวาขาพเจาเขาใจเนอหาไมถกตอง

35. ขาพเจามการประเมนวาการอานเปนไปตามขนตอนทวางไวหรอไม

36. ขาพเจาประเมนสมรรถนะและความกาวหนาในการอานของตนเองในขณะทกาลงทาขอสอบ 37. ขาพเจาตรวจทานคาตอบอยางระมดระวงกอนจะสงขอสอบ

38. ขาพเจาตระหนกรวาขาพเจามความวตกกงวลในขณะทอาน

39. ขาพเจาพยามยามคนหาจดออนในการอานของขาพเจาและคดหาวธทจะพฒนาความสามารถใน

การอาน

40. ขาพเจาประเมนประสทธภาพของกลวธในการอานทขาพเจาใชในขณะทอาน


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Validity Issues in Media Research Applying a Cultural Approach

Lalita Jitkaroon Naresuan University, Thailand

Abstract Recently, media researchers have developed their interests in applying cultural approaches in their work. Therefore, this approach needs more understanding and better explanation among media and communication researchers, as, in applying cultural approaches to media research, the issue of validity needs to be addressed. This is due to the fact that most research studies in media and communication tend to employ quantitative analysis where the issue of research validity and reliability may be assessed statistically, whereas the nature of the cultural approach is based on the qualitative paradigm (Golafshani, 2003). This view is supported by Baker (2000) who mentioned the essential element of ethnography (e.g., qualitative understanding of cultural activity in context) “is invoked polemically against the tradition of quantitative communication research”.

The case study of participatory communication in the “Art for All Camp”, Thailand, is defined as an alternative media in the communication for development field and needed to be studied via a cultural approach which is mainly based on a qualitative paradigm. In adopting cultural approaches in media research, the key question arises as to how researchers manage the qualitative data to ensure that the research is valid. The documentary analysis of the case study is the key method of this study. The result illustrates that triangulation including data triangulation, investigator triangulation, theory triangulation, methodological triangulation and environmental triangulation should be considered as one of the most appropriate methods when establishing the validity and reliability of media research with a cultural approach. This study may be useful for further qualitative researchers conducting research in the media and communication arena. Keywords: alternative media research, cultural approach, research validity, qualitative study, triangulation


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Introduction To date, there have been a number of definitions of validity in social science research including media and communication research. In order to understand the concept of validity, it is necessary to review the various meanings of “validity” as defined and described by social science scholars. For example, Hammersley (1987) discussed the terms validity and reliability as “[a]n account is valid or true if it represents accurately those features of the phenomena,that it is intended to describe, explain or theorise”. In addition, Black and Champion (1976) stated that “[t]he measure that an instrument measures what it is supposed to”. Also, Anastasi (1976) explained that content validity focuses on ensuring that the selection of the object of study is most appropriate to the content defined / described in the specified area of research. It includes the way in which the researcher seeks to ensure the data collection methods (e.g., to examine relevant sources of information or to consult with experts within the subject area) and also the reasons why specified sources or experts are selected. As such, it can be implied that there are two different descriptions of validity. Firstly, whether the measuring approach is accurate or not and, secondly, whether the measuring approach measures what it is expected to, or not.

Considering media and communication research, it cannot be denied that this field of study was originally based on the quantitative paradigm. This is evidenced by the early communication theory such as Usage and Gratifications which have been one of the most popular models examined by the quantitative method. To some extent, the validity establishing in media and communication research then seems to be influenced by the mean of validity testing in quantitative research, even if it is a different type of research. As, the case study in this paper, “the participation communication in Art for All Camp” which is the alternative media in the communication for development field which needed to be studied by cultural approach is mainly based on a qualitative paradigm such as field observation and in-depth interview. The question related to its validity definitely arises as to how many interviewees are adequate to be studied or how many activities in the camp should be sufficient to be examined. These types of questions seem to be the common questions when conducting media research with a cultural approach. Therefore, reviewing of validity issue in both qualitative and quantitative research is necessary before applying the validity testing to the case study.


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Objectives Firstly, this paper aims to review the understanding of validity issues from both qualitative and quantitative points of view since the 1970s. The second part of the paper aims to give examples of alternative media research using the cultural approach where validity test such as triangulation are applied.

Method of Study This is a documentary analysis study that reviews the definition of research validity since the 1970s and the understanding of research validity from both qualitative and quantitative views. The criteria of the sample selection were based on the frequency of citations found in academic journals. The research methodology texts with numbers of re-publishing were also considered as the sample. The data analysis in this part used the keywords technique in order to find mutual understanding regarding the validity in both quantitative and qualitative studies.

The media case study in this paper was participatory communication in the Art for All Camp, Thailand. The camp was defined as an alternative media in the communication for development field and needed to be studied by a cultural approach which was mainly based on the qualitative paradigm. The criteria of the sample selection were based on its research methodology related to cultural approach such as participatory field observation, in-depth interview, interpersonal and group communication observation which could be studied by employing the ritualistic communication model from cultural arena. The data analysis in this part focused on the application of triangulation to test the research validity of participatory communication in the Art for All Camp.

The analysis and discussion have been divided into two main parts which are the understanding about research validity in both qualitative and quantitative methods and the application of triangulation validity testing to the case study.

Results The study could be divided in to two main parts. The first part will present the understanding of validity issues from both qualitative and quantitative points of view since the 1970s. The second part will give an example of alternative media research applying a cultural approach where the validity test such as triangulation is applied as follows:


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Part 1: Validity Issues in Quantitative and Qualitative Research 1. Quantitative Research and its Validity The quantitative research is naturally based on statistical factors which could be measured by statistical procedures which seem to examine only specific factors. According to Hoepfl (1997) and Denin and Lincoln (1998), quantitative research is a kind of research study which employs experimental approaches in conjunction with mathematical measurement in order to examine statistical hypotheses by exploring the correlation between specified variables. Similarly, Crocker and Algina (2006) describe “measurement” as the way in which researchers try to understand the world through research operations.

As Glesnes and Peshkin (1992) mention, quantitative research is based on a positivist paradigm, which views that the world can be examined through statistical methods as well as scientific facts, as such, social variables seem measurable through quantitative paradigm as well.

Bogdan and Biklen (1998) and Chales (1995) mention:(1) the emphasis of quantitative research is to focus on the statistical relation between facts and their effect on human behaviour, (2) the representation of data can be reported in the number and statistical result, (3) the norm of research analysis processes mainly employs statistical procedures, (4) the research result is normally reported as descriptive statistic.

Giorgi (2002) suggests two notions of validity in quantitative research: (1) all knowledge should somehow be perceptibly based or given in experience, even if mathematical or conceptual, elaboration also takes place, and (2) that the knowledge gained must be of the event “in-itself” and not be distorted by subjectivity.

Generally, for measurement in quantitative research, the researcher commonly designs a checklist or rating scale questionnaire which means that this research instrument is objectively constructed as a standardized tool in order to measure what it is expected to be measured. In other words, the notions of validity are required as a nature of quantitative research in order to reflect and replicate social phenomena through statistical information. Patton (2001) described the meaning of quantitative approaches as the use of standardized measures so that the varying perspectives and experiences of people can be fitted into a limited number of predetermined response categories to which numbers are assigned. However, Bogdan and Biklen (1998) question quantitative findings consisting of charts, graphs and statistical terms (e.g., variable, population, research result) in order to report


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data collection and reflect social events which sometimes people might not totally understand, instead, the participants only know that the data they are reporting is a part of the research process.

Cohen et al. (1996) argue that it is impossible to eliminate subjective judgment from the quantitative approach even if it is based on mathematical procedure, as the validation of correlation factors is judged by expert determination and that no one knows the way in which experts rate it. In practice, the objective approach only tries to minimize the subjective bias.

Furthermore, when the researchers present quantitative research findings, there is a tendency for researchers to attempt to explain the relation among research variables through mathematical analysis when subjectively interpreting the findings. Thus, it is evident that the subjective influence still exists even in empirical research. Although, the empirical researcher may attempt to eliminate a degree of subjectivity, it can only be partially removed or softened by using statistical measurements.

From the definition of quantitative research given by many scholars, it may be implied that quantitative research is an objective measurement related to mathematical procedures and statistical data. In other words, quantitative researchers attempt to divide social phenomena into general categories in the form of numeric data that can be available to similar subjects or related social contexts. Winter (2000) describes the concept of validity in quantitative research as “within the positivist terminology, validity resided amongst, and was the result and culmination of other empirical conceptions: universal laws, evidence, objectivity, truth, actuality, deduction, reason, fact and mathematical data to name just a few”.

2. Qualitative Research and Its Validity Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research can be described as “any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification” (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

Qualitative researchers aim to explain and understand social phenomena from the real world context (Patton, 2001) that is different from the quantitative paradigm in which researchers seek to determine and generalize their findings. Thus, the qualitative research result can be presented in the form of both numbers and words (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992). This is because the nature of the qualitative paradigm is based on the interpretive practice that relies


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on descriptive analysis from qualitative research methods (e.g., interviews or observation). Unlike, the quantitative research methods where researchers attempt to keep distant from the research process as much as possible, in qualitative research methods, the researchers themselves have to admit their participation in the research process. As, Patton argues, the qualitative research method requires detailed observation in which participatory research is required. However, the notion of credibility is expected to be present in both quantitative and qualitative research. In this sense, quantitative research naturally demonstrates its credibility by statistical construction. In qualitative research, on the other hand, “the researcher is the instrument” (Patton, 2001). Perhaps this is the reason why qualitative researchers sometimes describe “research credibility and trustworthiness” by referring to the way in which they attempt to conduct the research or how much effort they employ in trying to pursue the research study.

The term “validity” in qualitative research has been discussed and defined by many social scientists. Thus, the definition of validity cannot be described in a single or common term, but a contiguous construction depending upon specific research methods (Winter, 2000). Also, it is commonly argued by conservative qualitative researchers that qualitative research does not need to apply the validity concept because of its nature and methodological approach. At the same time, however, qualitative researchers have considered that their research studies need qualifying measurement in order to ensure that the research they conduct is valid. As Creswell and Miller (2000) mentioned, the concept of validity plays an important role in the researcher’s idea about their research study design and selection of basic research assumption. Thus, most researchers commonly establish their own idea of research validity and apply their own definition of validity to the qualitative research including research quality and research trustworthiness (Davies & Dodd, 2002; Lincon & Guba; 1985). As Seale (1999) mentioned, the validity issue in qualitative research is different from quantitative research because “it is involved in substituting a new term for words such as validity and reliability to reflect interpretive conception”.

Also, Lincoln and Guba (1985) argue that the meaning of research trustworthiness depends on different criteria including the issue of research study or the type of research paradigm. As such, the concept of exploring “truth” through statistic procedure or mathematic approach in quantitative research is replaced by the concept of research trustworthiness in qualitative paradigm, which ensures the confidence of research findings.


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Part 2: Establishing Validity in Media Research Applying a Cultural Approach.

So far, it can be clearly seen that the definition of qualitative and quantitative research as well as their concept of validity have been considered by many social scientists. Moreover, a question arises as “[h]ow to test the validity in qualitative research?”.

When considering the validity’s testing in qualitative research, it can be seen that a statistical approach is not compatible with descriptive data in this kind of research study. Patton (2000) advocates “triangulation” as a technique for testing and controlling the validation in qualitative study. In addition, Mathison (1988) mentioned that the important role of triangulation in helping to control bias and qualify data validation in qualitative research.

The concept of triangulation has been raised in qualitative research in order to test the data validation by investigating research questions from different perspective. This is because only one perspective, perhaps, is not enough to establish the validity across a single set of data. In this sense, Patton (2000) noted that qualitative researchers might find inconsistencies when analyzing the research result by using triangulation approaches. In Patton’s view, this should not be concluded as a negative finding, rather inconsistencies in result should be considered as light to establish further questions and explore deeper understanding in the research.

When using triangulation, the benefits should be considered as Thurmond (2001) notes, “increasing confidence in research data, creating innovative ways of understanding a phenomenon, revealing unique findings, challenging or integrating theories, and providing a clearer understanding of the problem”. However, using of triangulation still has disadvantages to some extent. As Thurmond (2000) concluded, the triangulation technique requires more time spent compared to other techniques. In particularly, when a researcher collects a large amount of research data, the researcher needs to be concerned about effective planning and organizing as the research data might not be available to be collected at on time. Moreover, bias issues among qualitative research still need to be discussed. As Thurmond (2001) states, “possible disharmony based on investigator biases, conflicts because of theoretical frameworks, and lack of understanding about why triangulation strategies were used”.

In this paper, five types of triangulation are presented:

Data triangulation Investigator triangulation Theory triangulation


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Methodological triangulation Environmental triangulation

In the case of the “Art for All Camp”, it encompasses and enhances communication between people with disabilities and those without, which is a major area of concern in the field of communication for development. This camp is based in Thailand and is for children with disabilities ranging from blindness, deafness, mental and physical disabilities as well as non-disabled children. The children come together with the sole aim of living, playing and learning together for five days once a year. The study employed qualitative research methods. The data collection methods were documentary analysis, non-participant observation, participant observation as well as in-depth interviews with key informants who were people with and without disabilities. The triangulation testing can be presented as follows:

Data triangulation testing: Data triangulation, can sometimes be seen as the most preferable type of triangulation because it can be easily applied to a wide range of case studies by using different sources of informants (e.g., different groups of interviewees, different sources of books) (Guion, 2011).

This study employs three different approaches: documentary research, observation and interview. These three methods can be discussed in terms of the validity of data as follows.

For documentary research, the researcher could employ documentary analysis in order to examine the Art for All Camp and related data, e.g., camp proposal, camp report and evaluation. Seven books and three camp reports were used as part of the study and the camp director edited the data information. In this sense, it can be questioned whether these documents were written and edited to serve the benefit of the camp. However, this is the only source of historical data that the researcher could collect to use in the research study.

Also, possible field observation could be divided into two main parts: 1) participatory observationas a camp staffer and 2) non-participatory observation for observing communicative interaction between children with and without disabilities during the camp activities. Moreover, a Snowball technique should be consideration for key informants’ selection. In this case, the key informants could be camp staff, camp volunteers and camp participants in order to ensure a variety of interviewees in each group.


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Theory triangulation testing: Theory triangulation can be applied using different subjects to analyse one set of data.

Guion (2011) describes theory triangulation as “the use of multiple perspectives to interpret a single set of data”. In this sense, it is possible to apply the theory within the same discipline if it presents different perspectives. This is because the notion of theory triangulation maintains that if academia or social scientists evaluate or interpret a single set of research data based on different positions or different theories, the theory triangulation will be established. In the case of communication in Art for All Camp, the researcher applied communication theory as the main subject of research. However, the research topic is related to communication between people with and without disabilities that need to take into account research and theories from other disciplines (e.g., special education in order to understand communication interaction among children with and without disabilities in the classroom). In addition, research and theory related to camp activities and art activities are required as well. It can be seen that media and communication theory alone is insufficient to analyze the case study.

Although, theory triangulation includes different theory perspectives to establish research validation, there is only one dominant theory (in this case: media and communication) used to analyze the case study. As such, other theories (e.g., special education or art education) have been employed as minor theories to support a similar conclusion.

Investigator triangulation testing: Investigator Triangulation engages in the use of various observers to investigate the research data during the fieldwork. Sometimes it can be the research team who collects research data by using the research methods from the same paradigm (e.g., interview, observation, case study, or focus groups). Therefore, research results from each researcher with different perspectives can be compared and developed to make new assumptions. In this case, if the research results from different perspectives present the same findings then the validity of the research will be established.

For this case study, it was possible to invite camp staff with disabilities to be part of researcher team in order to balance perspectives from both a disabled and non-disabled views. Other researchers were also engaged in the data collection process as well as the writing up process (the final stage of research study) which might otherwise have been dominated by only


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one person. As such, it can be seen that investigator triangulation is employed in this research study but that bias from one perspective may still exist. The author can only be distanced from the weakness of subjectivity by mentioning different perspectives from other investigators as part of the research findings but in reality, the author cannot balance their justification with the author’s analysis to the same degree.

Methodological triangulation testing: Guion (2011) described methodological triangulation as the way in which a researcher uses mixed methodology (e.g., qualitative and / or qualitative method) to study a single data. If research findings from both methods (e.g., survey study, depth-interview or focus group) present the same or similar results, then research validity is qualified. This method seems to be commonly practiced among social scientist researchers, especially media and communication researchers dealing with both statistical data and descriptive data. However, it takes time for researchers to deal with the information from various research methods.

In this case study, the researcher uses various research approaches including in-depth interview, participant and non-participant observation to study communication among people with and without disabilities. The research findings confirm that the camp as an alternative media has the potential to encourage understanding among people with and without disabilities.

However, using methodological triangulation, the researcher spent five days to study intensive activities at the camp. Video, digital camera and voice recorder were used as recording tools in the data collection process. At the end of fieldwork, the author had 900 minutes of video recording, five hours of voice recording, 1,000 photos and a number of fieldwork notes. Subsequently, the process of analyzing this data required more time than the data collection process. In particularly, according to methodological triangulation, researchers need to investigate primary research data gathered from both interview and observation then explore the data consistency. This is why methodological triangulation requires more time than others methods, especially in comparison to qualitative research employing fieldwork such as with this case study.


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Environmental triangulation testing: Guion (2011) described “environmental factors are changed to see if the findings are the same across settings. If the findings remain the same under varying environmental conditions, then validity has been established”. The environmental triangulation includes using of different research field (e.g. place, location or setting). The criteria of environment also refer to other related environmental factors where the research takes place e.g., date and time. If there are any factors which may influence the research data collected during the fieldwork then the researcher can categorize them as the environmental factors.

In this case study, the research took place in the camp setting. The camp is designed as an opened art classroom where participants can live and learn in a natural environment. This camp is held for five days once a year when there is a long official holidays (normally, it is set on Asalahabucha and Kao Pun Sa Day – important days for Buddhism). As such, participants do need to be absent from school or work for a long time. Although, the camp seems to be a model of the real world or real social interaction for young people, it can be argue that social activities in the camp are planned in a specified context, which is different from everyday life to some extent. For example, participants in the camp have to follow the same timetable which is “06.00 wake up, 06.30 morning exercise, 07.00 take a shower, 08.00 have breakfast, 09.00 morning session art activities, 10.30 morning session break, 12.00 have lunch, 13.00 afternoon session, 14.30 afternoon break, 14.40 afternoon session II, 17.00 have dinner, 19.00 fire camp activities, 21.30 go to bed”.

From the timetable above, it can be implied that people with and without disabilities are involved in the same activities together and communicate with each other for the entire day. Apart from family context, this kind of communication is rarely seen in the real social or educational context in Thailand. Therefore, the notion of environmental triangulation should be considered, whether the communication for sharing understanding among people with and without disabilities is possible in the real social context or not. The result illustrates that triangulation including data triangulation, investigator triangulation, theory triangulation, methodological triangulation and environmental triangulation should be considered as an appropriate method when establishing the validity and reliability of media research with a cultural approach. This study will be useful for further qualitative research into the media and communication arena.


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Conclusion It can be seen that the definition of validity has been defined by numerous social scientists. However, there seems to be two different descriptions of validity. Firstly, whether the measuring approach is accurate or not and, secondly, whether the measuring approach measures what it is expected to, or not. From the quantitative points of view, research validity could be gathered by statistical and mathematical procedures while qualitative research, which relies on descriptive analysis, sometimes described as “research credibility and trustworthiness” refer to the way in which researchers attempt to conduct the research or how much effort they employ in the pursuit of their research.

Regarding media research, the early era of media and communication research employed the Usage and Gratification theory. Quantitative media research is normally designed to assess related factors such as “knowledge, attitude and behaviour” of the sampled population which can be collected by using questionnaire and analyzed by statistical software. This is also supported by Cohen et al. (1996) who believed that “the factor analysis is to identify the basic underlying dimensions that can be used to account for the phenomena they study (...) as a set of mathematical techniques used to identify dimensions underlying a set of empirical measurements”. However, it cannot truly eliminate the influences of subjectivity because the construction process of designing a testing method always requires personal judgment or evaluation (Giorgi, 2002). There are also interesting examples such as rating of audience perceptions on TV programs, audience evaluation of mass media performance, the evaluation of children learning from media by experts or media scholars. However, this kind of objective measurement still depends upon judgment or the evaluation of an individual. Thus, the question arises as to how do evaluators evaluate each specific scale. Still, there is a tendency for researchers to attempt to explain the relation among research variables through mathematical analysis when subjectively interpreting the findings. Therefore, it is evident that the subjective influence still exists even in empirical research. Although, the empirical researcher may attempt to eliminate a degree of subjectivity, it can only be partially removed or softened by using statistical measurements.

Later, when media researchers become more interested in media and communication study with a cultural approach, the validity issue seems to be problematic. This is because there is no specific rule to ensure that the qualitative methodology employed will be valid. Thus, the researchers, as research tool, attempt to present research validity by explaining its trustworthiness such as the approach of data gathering, field observation report, the credibility


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of key informants or the relation of data set from different source. As such, triangulation is considered as one of validity testing for qualitative research because it requires three different angles or sources to ensure that the research data is valid. However, there is only three types of triangulation that have been commonly used such as data triangulation, investigator triangulation and methodological triangulation. This study, then, suggests the application of five types of triangulation including data triangulation, investigator triangulation, theory triangulation, methodological triangulation and environmental triangulation. Triangulation should be considered as one of the most appropriate methods when establishing the validity and reliability of media research employing a cultural approach. This may also help to fill any gaps related to methodological issues as it is possible to increase credibility in qualitative research. As Hoepf (1997) highlight, the concept of credibility and transferability could support the analyzing and interpreting process in qualitative methods. This study will be useful for further qualitative methodology.

Further Study This paper is based on only one example of media research employing a cultural approach. As such the result may be suitable to apply to similar research such as media research with field observation or participatory observation. However, it could be a useful guideline for any media study that is related to the cultural approach. Future methodological study should compare a number of media research studies employing a cultural approach in order to explore the wider issues.


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A Comparative Study of Thai and Chinese Business Negotiation Styles in Renewalable Energy Companies

Nichapha Attapum,

Narathip Thumawongsa The Faculty of Humanities,

Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand

Abstract Negotiation is a fundamental process of business. Today’s business is involved with different cultures; therefore it is vital to be aware of the negotiation styles from different cultures. This is because utilizing an appropriate negotiation style is a key factor in determining successful outcomes in cross-cultural negotiations. While various studies have been conducted into the influence of cultural dimensions on international negotiation styles, the samples and comparative studies have focused mainly on business negotiation styles between native and non-native English speakers. In addition, little research into Thai and Chinese negotiation styles, especially in renewable energy, has been previously conducted. This study focuses on the negotiation styles of Thai and Chinese businesspeople, which are perceived as sharing common cultural elements. According to Hofstede (1980), both Chinese and Thai cultures are collectivist in orientation, which can imply that both countries might utilize the same negotiation styles. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to examine whether there is any significant difference in business negotiating styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies. The sample of this study comprised of Thai and Chinese businesspeople working at OSIC International (Thai) Company Limited and the Oriental Scientific Instruments Import & Export (Group) Corp. The framework of this study employed Glaser and Glaser's (1991) negotiation style instrument to investigate the negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople. Their five negotiation styles are: (1) avoiding, (2) accommodating, (3) competing, (4) compromising, and (5) collaborating. This study applied a quantitative research methodology and had a non-experimental research design. The results showed a significant


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difference in competing, accommodating and compromising styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies. Keywords: negotiation styles, renewal energy companies, Thai, Chinese


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Introduction The rise of the global economy has brought people from all over the world into business negotiations with each other more frequently than ever before (Elahee et al., 2002). Reynolds, Simintras and Vlachou (2003) claimed that many companies need to engage in international business in order to stay competitive in the current business world. Furthermore, businesspeople need to be able to communicate and negotiate with people across cultures. Varner and Beamer (1995) believed that businesspeople would be able to engage in business across cultures more efficiently as well as be able to predict actions in negotiating circumstances, if they understand the cultures of the other parties. This is important because people from different cultures tend to employ different business negotiation styles, which can affect business outcomes (Christopher, Maria, & Syed, 2005). In addition, Punturaumporn (2001) stated that people from different cultures are likely to use different negotiation styles. Businesspeople need to understand not only how to negotiate successfully, but also how to negotiate with people from different cultural backgrounds.

Culture has played a vital role in business negotiations; therefore, numerous studies have been conducted into how to be more successful in negotiations. Some studies have also mainly focused on the impact of cultural differences on business negotiations between native and non-native English speakers. However, few studies have examined negotiation styles between Asian cultural groups. In particular, there are relatively few research studies that have examined the negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese business negotiators. According to Hofstede (1980), both Thailand and China are Asian countries; however, they still have different cultural backgrounds. Hofstede (1980) conducted a study of how values are influenced by culture. His model was based on a study of IBM employees in over 60 different countries. He had developed his own cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and long-term orientation.

Referring to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions scores (2001), Thai people had a high power distance of 62, whereas the Chinese had a higher power distance of 80. Thai people gained a higher score in uncertainty avoidance than the Chinese. In addition, Thais had quite a low masculinity score of 34; and the Chinese had a high masculinity score of 66. Another difference is that the degree of long-term orientation was clearly different. The Chinese had an extremely high long-term orientation of 118, while the degree of long-term orientation of Thai people was 56. However, the degree of individualism between the Thais and Chinese was the same. Table 1 below shows Hofstede’s dimension of cultural scales.


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Country Power Distance Individualism Uncertainty

Avoidance Masculinity Long-term Orientation

Thailand 62 20 64 34 56 China 80 20 40 66 118

Table 1 Hofstede’s dimension of cultural scales

Source: Hofstede (2001)

Thus, the researcher aimed to investigate the business negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople, especially in renewable energy companies, as the demand for energy is strongly increasing in this century. Renewable energy companies play a significant role in providing energy in order to meet humans’ needs (Moomaw et al., 2011). Focusing on renewable energy between China and Thailand, both countries have planned to develop green growth. By the year 2020, Thailand plans to supply 20 percent of total green energy to China with the support of both governments. As a result of the business growth between these two countries, Thai and Chinese businesspeople have to come into contact, interact and communicate more frequently. Therefore, it is vital to investigate the negotiation styles of Thai and Chinese businesspeople in order to understand what makes successful business negotiations between these two countries. Thus, it is hoped that this study will provide businesspeople with a better understanding of the business negotiation styles used by Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies. Moreover, it is believed that understanding negotiation styles can help avoid conflicts and minimize misunderstandings between the parties involved.

Literature Review Understanding Renewable Energy According to the Energy Information Administration (2007), renewable energy refers to natural resources such as wind and sunlight that are replenished in a relatively short period of time. According to the Department of Investment Services (2009), renewable energy sources include; 1) renewable energy sources, including solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, hydro energy, marine energy, geothermal energy, etc.; 2) energy conservation, including energy conserving lighting, efficient air conditioning, energy saving transportation tools, high-


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efficiency energy management, etc., and 3) new energy technologies, including hydrogen energy, fuel cells and coal gasification power generation. Definition of Culture Hofstede (1991) described culture as an “onion that can be peeled, layer by layer in order to reveal the content”. Each layer has cultural meaning. The outer layers represent the way people associate with culture; e.g., clothing, language, and food. The middle layers refer to the values and norms. The core of the onion is described as the key to being able to achieve successful dealings with other cultures. Hall (1976) suggested that culture was like an iceberg, which can be divided into two parts, internal and external. The external culture is above water, which is visible in the behaviors of a society. The internal culture is hidden below, which represent beliefs, values, and thought patterns of a society. Cross-Cultural Negotiation As the world becomes a global marketplace, all types of companies are seeking their chance to engage in international business. Cross-cultural negotiation can be defined as a process of discussion between people from different cultural backgrounds attempting to consult and discuss conflicts or interests in order reach an objective (Zhu, 2012). According to Gray (2012), negotiation across cultures is one of the most difficult tasks, and negotiators may spend more than half of the whole process negotiating with the other parties. Furthermore, cross-cultural negotiation is a challenge for several reasons because each party has different languages, communication styles, values, and perspectives on life. Negotiation Styles Negotiation style is the way people communicate and interact with others during negotiation, both through verbal and non-verbal language (Henry, 2012). The difference in negotiation styles depend on the individual and his or her beliefs and skills, as well as by the context in which negotiations take place. It is imperative to understand the negotiation styles of counterparts since negotiation style is a major element that makes or breaks a business negotiation (Henry, 2012). In addition, understanding the negotiation style of other parties can


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help businesspeople choose the most appropriate negotiation style in each circumstance (Henry, 2012). Thai Business Negotiation Style Thailand is well recognized as the “Land of Smiles” because Thais’ communication behavior appears to emphasize social harmony (Knutson & Posirisuk, 2006). The concept of “Land of Smiles” represents Thai people as friendly, calm, and non-aggressive (Punturaumporn, 2001). Knutson and Posirisuk (2006) stated that Thai people value nonverbal communication and conflict avoidance. Furthermore, Thais value silence as a sign of respect. According to Sangkrit (2013), Thai people are concerned with tone and voice used during negotiation. In addition, Thai people value giving and saving face. Their style of negotiation is influenced by the value of “kreng jai” in society (Shangkrit, 2013). The concept of kreng jai is a basic norm of Thai society (Punturaumporn, 2001). It refers to the way in which individuals seek to avoid embarrassing others or causing them to lose face as well as the concern of other’s physical and psychological comfort (Punturaumporn, 2001). Chinese Business Negotiation Styles The Chinese have been sometimes considered one of the hardest negotiators in the world (Zhu & Mckenna, 2007). Ma (2007) found that Chinese culture is collectivist; therefore, Chinese people tend to employ compromise and avoidance rather than direct confrontation to handle conflict in negotiation. According to Hall (1976), the Chinese are a high-context culture; therefore, the negotiation style of the Chinese is indirect. Fang (1995) noticed that the Chinese tend to employ several tactics during negotiations. Chinese businesspeople are more likely to use deception and unethical techniques such as telling lies, sending false non-verbal messages, and pretending to be disinterested (Katz, 2008). Furthermore, Katz also added that keeping silence is another tactic that Chinese use in negotiations to trick their counterparts. Hypothesis H1: There is a significant difference in utilizing certain negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies.


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Research Question This study attempts to answer the research question below: RQ1: Is there any significant difference in business negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies?

Research Methodology Research Design This study was a non-experimental quantitative research designed to analyze the business negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies. It also aims to search for the differences in negotiation styles between the two countries. Instrumentation To explore the business negotiations of Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies, this study employed a negotiation style profile instrument by Glaser and Glaser (1991) to differentiate the negotiation styles. Those five negotiation styles are: (1) avoiding, (2) accommodating, (3) competing, (4) compromising, and (5) collaborating.

1. The avoiding negotiation style is unassertive and uncooperative. This type of negotiator neither satisfies their own requirements nor the requirements of others. These negotiators attempt to avoid threatening situations in negotiation. The end of the negotiation is likely to be a lose-lose situation.

2. The accommodating negotiation style is unassertive and highly cooperative. This

type of negotiator places an emphasis on the needs of others rather than their own needs. The end of negotiation is likely to be a You-win-I-lose situation.

3. The competing negotiation style is highly assertive and uncooperative. This type

of negotiator places a high emphasis on their own goals without concern for others. The negotiators who prefer this style only focus on their own interests. The end of negotiation is likely to be an I-win-you-lose situation.


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4. The compromising negotiation style is a middle path between assertive and cooperative. This type of negotiation emphasizes mutual benefit. The negotiator is willing to lose some in order to gain some from the other side. The end of negotiation is likely to be an I win-some-you-win-some situation.

5. The collaborating negotiation style is highly assertive and highly cooperative. Collaborating involves an attempt to work with others to find some solution that fully satisfies their concerns. It means that the negotiator is willing to examine the needs and wants of the two parties. They both hope to reach a mutual understanding. Both sides attempt to satisfy the requirements in order to achieve a win-win solution.

There are three versions of the instrument in terms of language. The original version is

an English language version, which is used for Chinese businesspeople who can read and understand English well. In addition, the questionnaires and instruction sheets were also translated into Thai and Chinese versions by an expert translator who works as a language lecturer at a university. The Index of Item Objective (IOC). Congruence IOC scores from the three experts in business communication area was 0.94 for the Thai version and 0.94 for the Chinese version. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the 25-item scale was 0.75 for the Thai version and 0.71 for the Chinese version.

The questionnaire consisted of business negotiators’ demographic data and negotiating style self-assessment. The last part consisted of a Likert five-point scale ranging from very unlikely to very likely. The questionnaire consisted of 25 items, which were designed to measure the behaviours that respondents rely on most readily in negotiations. According to Glaser and Glaser (1991), the higher the respondent’s score in each area, the greater his or her tendency to exhibit those behaviours. Population and Sample In this study, purposive sampling was used as the sampling criterion in order to search for the appropriate characteristics in the sample group. According to Onwuegbuzie et al. (2004, as cited in Onwuegbuzie & Collins, 2007), 21 participants per group for one-tailed hypotheses is the minimum sample size recommendation for most common quantitative and qualitative research design. Therefore, based on its accessibility, the participants were selected from OSIC


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International (Thai) Company Limited and the Oriental Scientific Instruments Import & Export (Group) Corp. The participant consisted of 28 Thai businesspeople from OSIC International (Thai) Company Limited and 35 Chinese businesspeople from the Oriental Scientific Instruments Import & Export (Group) Corp. In total, 63 participants were involved in this study.

Personal factors of the sample respondents showed that the Thai sample was predominantly female (60%), and the Chinese sample was mostly male (60%). The majority of the Thai sample were aged between 25 and 35 (56%), whereas most of the Chinese sample were aged above 35 (68%). For educational level, the largest group of Thai respondents had a bachelor’s degree (84%), which is as same as Chinese respondents as the finding indicated that the largest group of Chinese respondents had bachelor degree (48%). Data Collection Data was collected from June-July, 2015. The questionnaire of 25 items was sent via email directly to the general manager of the selected companies in Thailand and China. Data Analysis The results of the data measured by the Likert scale were analyzed through SPSS program and an independent sample t-test was utilized to determine the negotiation styles of Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies.

The dependent variables in this study were the five negotiation styles (avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating) developed by Glaser and Glaser (1991). The independent variables of this study were businesspeople from Thailand and China who work for OSIC International (Thai) Company Limited and The Oriental Scientific Instruments Import & Export (Group) Corp.


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Figure 2: Research model

Results In order to understand whether there was significant difference in utilizing certain negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies, a t-test was conducted using the nationality of the subjects as the independent variable. The results are shown in Table 2 and Table 3.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

Thai

Chinese Competing Style

Compromising Style

Collaborating Style

Accommodating Style

Avoiding Style

DEPENDENT VARIABLES


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Table 2. Comparison of the total scores for negotiation styles according to negotiating style self-assessment interpretation by Glaser and Glaser (1991).

Negotiation Styles Thai Businesspeople

(N=25) Chinese Businesspeople

(N=25) Total Score Total Score Level Total Score Total Score Level

Competing Style 15.08 Moderate to high 20.76 High Avoiding Style 16.88 Moderate to high 16.20 Moderate to high Collaborating Style 20.40 High 21.24 High Accommodating Style 18.36 High 19.76 High Compromising Style 20.72 High 18.52 High

Table 3. Comparison of the mean scores for negotiation style preference according to nationality: Independent sample t-tests (N=50)

Negotiation styles Thai

Businesspeople (N=25)

Chinese Businesspeople

(N=25) t-value p M SD M SD

1. Competing Style 3.02 0.39 4.15 0.23 -12.576 0.000** 2. Avoiding Style 3.38 0.41 3.24 0.47 1.092 0.280 3. Collaborating Style 4.08 0.39 4.25 0.44 -1.439 0.157 4. Accommodating Style 3.67 0.48 3.95 0.31 -2.460 0.018* 5. Compromising Style 4.14 0.49 3.70 0.41 3.469 0.001** Overall 3.66 0.25 3.86 0.24 -2.887 0.006

*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01 Hypothesis Testing H1: There is a significant difference in utilizing certain negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies.


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According to the overall results, the study’s hypothesis was partly accepted. There are some differences in negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies.

For the preferred negotiation style, it was found that the most dominant style of Thai businesspeople was the compromising style, whereas the most dominant style of Chinese businesspeople was the collaborating style. Furthermore, the second most preferred negotiation style of the Thais was the collaborating style, while the Chinese used the competing style. The remainder of the preferences of the Thais were accommodating, avoiding, and competing, respectively. The remainder of the preferences of the Chinese were accommodating, competing, and avoiding, respectively.

The result of the independent sample t-test analysis showed that there is a significant difference in utilizing certain negotiation styles for the competing style (t = -12.576, p < 0.01), the accommodating style (t = -2.460, p < 0.05), and the compromising style (t = 3.469, p < 0.01). On the other hand, there is no significant difference in utilizing certain negotiation styles for the avoiding and collaborating styles.

Discussion According to the results, this study demonstrated that differences exist between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies in terms of their preferences for three out of the five negotiation styles (competing, accommodating, and compromising). 1. Competing negotiation style between Thai and Chinese businesspeople This study found a significant difference in competing styles between Thai and Chinese businesspeople (t =-12.576, p < 0.01), which showed that Chinese businesspeople would be more likely to employ a competing style than Thai businesspeople. This was guide consistent with Hofstede’s (1991) cultural dimension score, which presented that Thais seem to have quite a low masculinity score of 34, whereas the Chinese tend to have high a masculinity score of 66. This means that Chinese negotiators, who are from a high masculinity culture, focus on task-orientation, and the styles of negotiation tend be assertive and competitive. In contrast, Thai negotiators, who are from a low masculinity culture, emphasize relationships and mutual gain. The negotiation styles used in low masculinity cultures tend to be indirect, cooperative and relationship-oriented.


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2. Accommodating negotiation style between Thai and Chinese businesspeople. There is a highly significant difference between Thai and Chinese business people’s accommodating negotiation style (t = -2.460, p < 0.05). According to the results, Chinese businesspeople would be more likely to employ an accommodating style than Thai businesspeople. This finding is quite unanticipated. It could be said that Chinese businesspeople put an emphasis on the needs of others, rather than their own needs, which is inconsistent with Hofstede’s (1991) cultural dimension scores. Based on Hofstede’s (1991) cultural dimension scores, the Chinese have a high masculinity score of 66, whereas the Thais seem to have quite a low masculinity score of 34. Negotiations from a high masculinity culture tend to focus on their own needs, rather than the needs of others. However, the Chinese emphasize saving and giving facts, developing relationships, and reaching a win-win solution (Fang, 2006; Faure, 1999), which might lead to the fact that Chinese businesspeople tend to employ the accommodating style more than Thai businesspeople. 3. Compromising negotiation style between Thai and Chinese businesspeople

This study found a significant difference in compromising negotiation style between Thai and Chinese businesspeople (t = 3.469, p < 0.01), which showed that Thai businesspeople would be more likely to employ a compromising style than Chinese businesspeople. According to Chaidaroon (2005), Thai negotiators put a significant emphasis on maintaining a relationship with their business partners, even in a serious business negotiation. Furthermore, the Thai style of negotiation might be influenced by the value of kreng jai, which allows the opposing party to gain the benefits if the consequence of finding the agreement leads to a win-win situation (Shangkrit, 2013). Promsri (2012) also mentioned that the compromising style from the Thais’ perspective seems to be an appropriate style in the negotiation process because many Thais believe in the premise that “something is better than nothing” (p.787).

Conclusion The cross-cultural negotiation style literature has largely focused on comparing business negotiations between native and non-native English speakers. Few studies have examined negotiation styles between Asian countries, where cultural differences are more subtle yet still very important. Considering the substantial volume of international trade between Thailand and China, it is vital to investigate the business negotiation styles between Thai and Chinese


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businesspeople, especially in renewable energy companies. According to theresults mentioned above, Thai and Chinese people have both similarities and differences in cultural background. In fact, in terms of business negotiation styles, this study found that Thai and Chinese businesspeople are quite similar in the avoiding and collaborating negotiation styles. This research has also demonstrated that differences exist between Thai and Chinese businesspeople in renewable energy companies for three out of the five negotiation styles of competing, accommodating, and compromising styles. Thai business negotiators should consider these differences and try to utilize the appropriate negotiation styles when performing a negotiation with Chinese businesspeople in order to avoid conflict and minimize misunderstanding.

Limitations for Further Research Further study should focus on negotiations in specific contexts. Additionally, the instrument used in this study was translated into the Thai and Chinese languages, and some words and concepts may not apply or exist in the respective cultural contexts. In addition, the sample size of this study was not very large, and thus was unable to generalize a negotiation style for the whole population. Furthermore, future studies should be focused on the comparative study between Thais and other nationalities, or the Chinese and other nationalities, with different cultures and backgrounds.


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The Study of Public Signage in Chiang Mai: Key Concepts for Public Communication

Nithat Boonpaisarnsatit

Abstract Public signage is crucial to public communication. It is important that designers analyze understandability of the public signs before placing them in public. This paper aims to specify the linguistic and non-linguistic features that create understandability of public signs. The study is based on 139 signs found in Muang Chiang Mai District and its nearby towns. The analysis of data is based on Semiotic Theories (Saussure, 1974; Peirce, 1932). Results show that most signs feature only symbolic signs or linguistic symbols. Non-linguistic symbols, iconic and indexical signs, are generally used in Chiang Mai’s public signs. Problems found in the public signs that might cause communication errors include inconsistency in spelling, inconsistent spacing, mistranslation, and over-localization. This study suggests that public signs in major cities, such as Chiang Mai, should be revised and standardized. Keywords: public signage, public sign, public communication, Chiang Mai


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Introduction Public signage is considered one of the most important public communication tools used by cities around the world. It appears in forms of public road signs, advertising billboards, street names, place names, commercial shop signs, public signs on government buildings and so on. These public signs are expected to convey certain information to their target audiences, e.g., giving directions, marking a place, providing instructions, and warning people. Therefore, they should be made to meet those expectations. The question is how to make the public sign effective in real communication contexts, especially in a multicultural or international city where audiences are from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds.

Chiang Mai is regarded as an international city with large numbers of foreign residents and tourists. According to Chiang Mai Immigration Office, the number of foreigners who reside in Chiang Mai was 237,202 people in 2013. Chiang Mai Provincial Office of Tourism and Sports (2013) reported 2,341,905 tourist arrivals in Chiang Mai. With such a large number of international residents and visitors, there were attempts to make many signs in Chiang Mai bilingual. Recently, there have been complaints about errors on some public signs found in Chiang Mai. Most complaints addressed the problems of misspelling, mistranslation, and misuse of appropriate language. Investigating those problems should help Chiang Mai City improve its public sign designing.

Literature Review Semiotics Semiotics is defined as “the study of sign and sign-using behavior” (Peirce, 1932). It was also defined by one of its founders, Ferdinand de Saussure, as the study of “the life of signs within society.” (Saussure, 1974). Peirce (1932) used the term “semiotics”, while Saussure introduced his term “semiology” to explain the sign system. Based on Peirce (1932) and Saussure (1974), there were three different types of link between signifier and signified, which he called iconic, indexical, and symbolic: Iconic signs In iconic signs, the signifier is connected to the signified through the principle of resemblance. A given thing (signifier) can make one think of something else (signified) inasmuch as it


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resembles that something else: looks like it (as in a portrait), sounds like it (as in sound effects), feels like it (as in artificial silk), tastes like it (as in mint flavored toothpaste), smells like it (as in a pine-scented cleaner), or, more generally, possesses some similar quality to it (as in spreading one’s arms out to signify *huge*). Iconic signs are obviously important for images, since many images resemble what they refer to. Note, however, that the resemblance does not have to be convincingly realistic: the schematic representation on a men’s room door has sufficient resemblance to a man to work as an iconic sign. Indexical signs In indexical signs, the signifier makes one think of the signified because the two are frequently physically connected in the real world (the principle of contiguity). Cause-and-effect links are good examples of indexical signs: smoke is caused by fire and contiguous with it, and therefore the smell of smoke (signifier) makes you think of fire (signified). Similarly, footprints are an indexical sign that *someone walked here*; and certain automatic (not faked) gestures and facial expressions are indexical signs of feelings, such as tears ➞ sadness. In addition to these “natural” indexes, things that are only customarily or conventionally connected can also be used as indexical signs. A picture of the White House in a news broadcast is often used as an indexical sign for the American president because the White House is the home and office of the president. Symbolic signs Symbolic signs are purely artificial: the signifier is linked to the signified only by an arbitrary, human-imposed convention. Except for a few quasi-iconic words such as the onomatopoeias “woof” and “creak,” most signs in verbal languages are symbolic. There is no physical connection or natural resemblance between the English word “dog” and the concept *dog*. Any other signifier could just as plausibly be used to convey that concept, provided a group of people agree to do so, and indeed in German, “hund” ➞ *dog*; in Spanish, “perro” ➞ *dog*; in French, “chien” ➞ *dog*, and so on. English speakers could just as plausibly have employed the sound “gimble” to signify *dog*, a purple traffic light to signify “stop,” or # rather than $ for a dollar sign. A key characteristic of symbolic signs is that we have to learn them from each other; we cannot learn them on our own. A person raised by wolves would be able to comprehend that a paw print in the dirt signified a wolf passing by (index), and they would probably think of a wolf when they saw a picture of a wolf (icon) as well, but it would require


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another human being to make them understand that the word “wolf” (symbol) signified *wolf*. Consequently, symbolic signs tend not to travel as well as iconic or indexical signs. They do not operate at all outside of a limited region and time period. Symbolic signs are also very important for images: clothing in a portrait symbolizes profession (a business suit), social status (a king’s crown), gender (a dress), and so forth. Public Signs and Semiotics Public signs are defined as “graphical images for the provision of warnings, directions, regulations and guidance in all locations and all sectors where the public has access” (Ng, Siu & Chan, 2011). Previous research on public signs is often related to translation of texts on the public signs, especially in China. Qiannan (2012) studied the translation of public signs in China and found a number of errors in the translation, thus she suggested three strategies for public sign translation. First, translators need to understand the cultural differences. Second, translators must know how to analyze the contexts. Third, translators should make his/her translation easy for public to understand. Ng, Siu and Chan (2011) suggested the so-called “stereotype production method” for public sign design. They stated that the public signs should be more user-friendly rather than designer-oriented. In terms of public sign production, semiotics has played an important role in communication as the signs which are viewed by the public are produced to form certain meanings (Burn & Parker, 2003).Semiotics is particularly important in the consideration of the effectiveness of public sign as it is through the structuring, presence and absence of certain signs that a perception of the past within the public sphere is generated by and through the signs (Bignell, 2003). Public signs situate their audience in particular modes of understanding, just as audiences themselves comprehend signs in particular ways. Semiotics, the study of signs, is revealing as the ways in which signs are used, accepted and rejected is indicative of the tastes and desires of wider society.

The Study This study aims to specify the linguistic and non-linguistic features that create understandability of public signs. There are three research questions to be addressed in the present study: 1) What are the current situations of public signage in Chiang Mai? 2) What are


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general features of the existing signs? 3) What are the crucial factors for designing a public sign? Objectives of the Study There are three primary objectives of this study:

1. To investigate forms and patterns of existing public signage in Chiang Mai. 2. To analyze the public signs for best practice and communication errors. 3. To identify the crucial factors to public sign design.

Methodology As this study focuses on public signs in Chiang Mai, the designated areas of this study are Chiang Mai’s downtown and its surrounding districts: Mae Rim, San Sai, San Kamphaeng, Doi Saket and Hang Dong. The data used in this study were collected by using the convenience sampling method. There are a total of 139 signs collected for the study. To validate the understandability of each sign, 15 people (seven locals and eight visitors) were asked to interpret the meaning of each sign. The analysis of data is based on Semiotic Theory (Saussure, 1974; Peirce, 1932). Symbolic, iconic and indexical features of the collected signs were investigated. The analysis also focused on the best practice and communication errors found in each sign. Then the important factors of good public signage were identified.

Results Patterns of the public signs The study found that all signs feature symbolic signs or written alphabets of a language. Most signs (52 signs) are monolingual; 32 of which are in Thai, 11 are in English, six are in Lanna, and three are in Burmese. There were also multilingual and bilingual signs found in Chiang Mai public space. Of the 46 multilingual signs, 28 were in Thai-English-Chinese, 17 were in Thai-English-Lanna, and one was in Thai-English-Chinese and Burmese. For bilingual signs, all sings found (41 signs) were in Thai-English. The chart below illustrates the numbers of public signs found in Chiang Mai.


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Figure 1: the numbers of public signs found in Chiang Mai

Common Errors The analysis of data reveals the following common errors found in public signs in Chiang Mai. 1) Inconsistent spelling Some signs that give directions to the same place or mark the same place used different spelling, e.g., Maharach/ Maharaj (hospital), Mae Cho/Mae Jo (a village). According to the interviews, most visitors to Chiang Mai believed that they were different places. 2) Inconsistent spacing Some signs that give directions to the same place or mark the same place used different spacing, e.g., Samkampaeng/San Kamphaeng/San Kam Phaeng, Air Port/Airport. This can cause the misunderstanding that they are different places although they mean the same place. 3) Mistranslation Bilingual or multilingual signs in Chiang Mai have some mistakes in the translation. Most mistakes are often caused by word-for-word translation or misinterpretation of source language, e.g., หามเดดยอดชา (which should be translated “Do not pick tea leaves”) was translated

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3

28

17

1

41

32

05

1015202530354045

English Lanna BurmeseThai-English-Chinese Thai-English-Lanna Thai-English-Chinese-BurmeseThai-English Thai


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“Prohibit pluck the top feels numb”; ระวงรถบรรทกเขาออก (which should be translated “Beware of trucks /lorries”) was translated “Danger Lorries”. 4) Misspelling The problem of misspelling of English words was commonly found on public signs in Chiang Mai, e.g., Gife (the correct spelling is “Gift”), Hosre (the correct spelling is “Horse”). 5) Wrong Word Order Some English language texts on public signs in Chiang Mai were ordered based on Thai language structure, e.g. บานพกเดก(which should be written as “Students’ Hostel”) was written “Hostel’s Student”, based on the Thai language structure. Best Practice Based on the assumption that good public signs should be able to communicate their intended message to their target audiences, there are some public signs in Chiang Mai that can be considered as good practice for public signage in general. According to the interviews of 15 interviewees on their understanding of the public signs, it was found that signs with iconic picture seem to be the best method for creating easy-to-understand public signs. An example of a good public sign is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: An example of a good public sign


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All the interviewees, regardless of their linguistic background, were able to understand the meaning of the public signs when an appropriate icon was presented.

Discussion This study reveals at least three major aspects. First, the languages used in public signage in Chiang Mai confirm its importance in public space. English and Thai seem to be the most powerful languages in Chiang Mai as most public signs are in both language. Second, it can be noticed that public signage in Chiang Mai reflects the economic power of Chinese speakers as one can see a number of public signs, mostly in business districts, have added the Chinese language as part of the signs. Finally, it can be observed that Chiang Mai city can maintain its traditional culture as well as we can see from its traditional Lanna alphabet used in different public signs in the city. The study found some errors in the public sign translation, which is similar to the study of Qiannan (2012). Therefore, the strategies proposed in Qiannan (2012) should be applicable to the translation of public signs in Chiang Mai.

Conclusion From this study, it can be concluded that most public signs in Chiang Mai are still monolingual. Standard Thai and English are dominant languages in the city; however, the Chinese, Lanna and Burmese alphabets have their own places in Chiang Mai city. There were many communication errors found in this study, which might be because there are no standards for public sign design in the city. Therefore, authorities may need to standardize public signs in the city. For creating an effective public sign, it is suggested that an appropriate iconic design should be included. The use of the stereotype production method as suggested by Ng, Siu, and Chan (2011) should also be useful for the future design practice in public signage.


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Backaus, P. (2006). Signs of multilingualism in Tokyo: a linguistic language approach, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Bignell, J. (2003). Media Semiotics: an introduction. Manchester. Manchester University

Press. Ben-Rafael, E, Shohamy, Amara, M.H., & Trumper-Hecht, N. (2006). Linguistic landscape

assymbolic construction of public space: The case of Israel. International Journal of Multilingualism, 31: 7-30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14790710608668383

Burn, A. & Parker, R. (2003) Analysing Media Texts. London. Paladin. Claus, R.J. (2002). The value of signs for your business.Signline, 38: 1-8. Huebner, T. (2006). Bankok’s linguistic landscapes: Environmental print, codemixing and language change. International Journal of multilingualism, 3 (1): 30-57. Kress, G., & van Leeuwen, T. (1996). Reading images: The grammar of visual design, London Routledge. Leong, Ko. (2010). Chinese-English Translation of Public Signs for Tourism.The Journal of

Specialised Translation. Issue 13 – January 2010. pp. 111-123 Luo, X. & Tuwang L. (2006). ―Translating public signs: Some observations. Chinese Translators Journal 27 (4), 66-69. Ng, A.W.Y, Siu, K,W.M.,& Chan, C.C.H. (2011). “Stereotype Production Method for Public

Sign Design: Inspiration for Future Design Practice in Public Graphical Images”. The international Journal of the Image. Volume 1 Issue 1.pp.21-34

Pakir, A. (1999) Connecting with English in the context of internationalization, TESOL Quarterly 33 (1).http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3588193 Peirce, C.S. (1932), Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, Volumes I and II: Principles

of Philosophy and Elements of Logic. Harvard University Press. Qiannan, M. (2012) “Research on the Translation of Public Signs”, English Language

Teaching. Vol.5 No.4 April 2012. pp. 168-172. Saussure, F.D. (1974): Course in General Linguistics (trans. Wade Baskin). London:

Fontana/Collins Shohamy, E., & Gorter, D. (eds) (2009). Linguistic Landscape: Expanding the scenery,

NewYork: Routledge.


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Lexical Differences and Similarities in the Humanities and the Sciences

Punjaporn Pojanapunya Richard Watson Todd School of Liberal Arts,

King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract Recent studies have shown that discourses of academic disciplines are enormously diverse, yet academic English as a whole has certain shared identifying features. This study identifies the diversity and commonalities in terms of word use in the humanities and the sciences as two diverse disciplines using keyword analysis, the corpus-based technique which identifies statistically significant words in a given corpus as compared against a normative corpus. Two specialised corpora of research articles in social sciences and humanities (SSH) and pure and applied sciences (PAS) were compared against the British National Corpus (BNC) to produce two lists of the keywords whose uses are statistically more frequent in the humanities and the sciences disciplines than in general English. Through a comparison of the resulting keyword lists, three sets of keywords were identified, namely, unique keywords in SSH, unique keywords in PAS, and shared keywords. Their coverage in Coxhead’s Academic Word List (AWL) and West’s General Service List (GSL) was examined. The study provides relevant implications for EAP pedagogy. Keywords: academic disciplines, specialised corpora, keyword analysis, humanities, sciences


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Introduction The analysis of academic discourse, such as research articles, is a key input to identify the content which should be taught in English for Academic Purposes (EAP). This content can be categorized in two different ways. First, we can categorize the content based on what academic discourses it is derived from, such as what academic genres or what academic disciplines. Second, the content can be categorized based on the linguistic focuses, such as genre patterns or vocabulary. In this paper, we will investigate the genre of research articles from two broad disciplines in terms of their vocabulary. Discipline-specific or general EAP? One major issue in EAP research concerned whether EAP teaching should focus on discipline-specific academic language or should cover a core common to all disciplines. This distinction has been called English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) and English for General Academic Purposes (EGAP) (Jordan, 1997). EGAP covers the common core skills and focuses on helping students to develop proficiency in general aspects of language, regardless of their subject areas. More recently, several major works on disciplinary discourses have argued that each academic discipline has its own conventions of language use (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Hyland, 2002; Hyland & Tse, 2007; and Nesi & Gardner, 2012). Generally, EAP trends tend to move from the general towards the more discipline-specific.

However, despite of the strength of arguments for discipline-specific linguistic features in language, there are some practical perspectives, e.g., the growing number of students enrolling in interdisciplinary programs, mixed groups of students, budget constraints when teaching students in distinct subject-related groups (Etherington, 2008; Hyland, 2002, 2004, 2012; Poudat & Follette, 2012) which often hinder the attempt to emphasize the disciplinary specificity. Therefore, it appears that this controversy of EGAP or ESAP remains unresolved. For these reasons, what we need to investigate is perhaps how different would these EAP branches be based on a certain set of data. To help distinguish what the differences and similarities are, this study will investigate these branches in terms of their vocabulary use.


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Vocabulary in EAP Vocabulary knowledge is recognized as a crucial component that has been directly linked to academic success (Durrant, 2014; Gardner & Davies, 2014). Vocabulary is therefore one of the key features that has received great attention in the study of academic discourses.

Research has emphasized the importance of the three main types of vocabulary, i.e., technical words, academic words, and general words (Nation, 2001). Technical or domain-specific words are closely related to the academic area of the text and their meanings require scientific knowledge. Several specialised word lists have been compiled, for example, for engineering (Moudraia, 2003; Ward, 2009), agriculture (Martínez, Beck, & Panza, 2009), finance (Kwary, 2011), business (Hsu, 2011; Konstantakis, 2007), and sciences (Coxhead & Hirsh, 2007). Second, academic words are relatively frequent in a large proportion of academic texts, regardless of the disciplines. Previous studies have recognized the usefulness of a common core vocabulary which is assumed to be used across a range of disciplines. New academic word lists have recently been developed (e.g. in Durrant, 2009, 2014; Gardner & Davies, 2014; Granger & Paquot, 2010). However, a key list of these academic word lists is the Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) which consists of 570 word families of core academic words. Finally, general words are high frequency words present in most uses of the language covering a very large proportion of the words in spoken and written texts (Paquot, 2010). A General Service List (GSL) (West, 1953) of the 2,000 most frequent words of English is the best known list of general words.

If we would like to examine how many of the words in our target text are technical, academic, and general, word profiles can be created by using programs, such as Range (Nation & Heatley, 2002) and AntWordProfiler (Anthony, 2014). The programs compare the target text against any word lists which can be imported into the program and used as reference lists to identify what words in the text are and are not covered in the lists. The AWL and the GSL are available as the default word lists in both programs. The words which appeared in the GSL will be identified general words, those appeared in the AWL are common academic words, and those not in these lists are assumed to be either technical or other low-frequency words.

Creating vocabulary lists of these common core and specialized words is useful for teaching ESAP and EGAP courses. ESAP which has been designed for specific groups of students may focus on domain-specific words and some academic words, while EGAP tends to focus more on academic words and some general words which are typically used across a range of disciplines.


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However, there are some problems with the typical way of creating vocabulary lists for teaching EGAP and ESAP classes, especially if teachers excessively focus on words from the existing base word lists, e.g., the GSL and the AWL. First, it is unclear whether the existing lists can be applied to new data set, especially the GSL which was created in the 1950s while the language has changed over the years. Also, it has been found that some words in the AWL are skewed towards some certain disciplines (Coxhead, 2000; Durrant, 2014). Secondly, there are some problems regarding which academic words should be associated with ESAP and which general words should be taught in EGAP. These underlying assumptions governing word selection may be problematic because it is possible that some general words are worth noting in an ESAP class. Moreover, these base word lists were possibly created depending on a false distinction between general words and academic words. Because the GSL words were excluded to create the AWL, the classification does not separate the high-frequency words that tend to be important as academic words. Therefore, many high-frequency academic words belonged to the GSL because they appeared with high frequency and were not considered in the AWL (Gardner & Davies, 2014; Nation, 2001).

Considering all of these reasons, it seems that relying on the existing word lists as the basis for creating new vocabulary lists for both EGAP and ESAP teaching may be problematic. To deal with these problems, it would be more appropriate if we choose words from our target texts. Therefore, the issue we need to consider is the basis for inducing words from the texts to teach.

To provide implications for EAP vocabulary teaching, the method should be able to produce words which are useful for both EGAP and ESAP contexts. Therefore, if we focus on two academic disciplines, those words which we found are important in both disciplines would be associated with EGAP, whereas those which are different between the disciplines would be items that should be taught in ESAP. In order to identify important words in each of the disciplines, we will use a keyword analysis method. Using keyword analysis to identify the distinctive words of particular disciplines Keyword analysis is the corpus-based technique which identifies words that occur significantly more frequently in the target corpus as compared to a comparative corpus (Scott, 1997). There are four main stages in conducting a keyword analysis (see Rayson, 2012; Scott, 1997). First, the target corpus and the comparative corpus are compiled. Lists of words with their


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frequencies for the two corpora are then generated. At this stage, a minimum occurrence that a word must appear in the study corpus in order for it to be treated as a candidate item in the statistical process in the next stage is specified (Bowker & Pearson 2002). Then, the frequency of each word in the target corpus is compared with its frequency of occurrence in the comparative corpus using log-likelihood (LL), a statistical test that reports whether the strength of a word’s presence in the target corpus is from chance alone or due to authorial or disciplinary choices (Hyland, 2012; Rayson & Garside, 2000). All words in the word frequency list of the target corpus are assigned LL values and are reordered.

Keywords are useful features for building a picture of the discipline because they can be identified based on a log-likelihood statistical test which suggests whether the words are keys by chance or disciplinary choices. Therefore, they can help identify which words best distinguish texts of a particular discipline from general English (Hyland, 2012).

The widely used software packages for keyword identification are WordSmith Tools (Scott, 2015) and AntConc (Anthony, 2014). Keyword lists can also be generated using a spreadsheet by filling in the formula for LL calculation (see Rayson, 2008). Recently, a freeware program called KeyBNC (Graham, 2014) has been developed with the British National Corpus (BNC), which is designed to represent general English, available as the default reference corpus. This program is useful for identifying keywords in the target texts when compared against the BNC, especially for those who do not have access to the whole BNC.

Research purposes Using keyword analysis, this study identifies the distinctive words of the two broad disciplines, the humanities and the sciences, as compared against the language of everyday usage. To identify words which should be able to apply to both EGAP and ESAP, we will then compare the keywords of the two disciplines to look for the same words they use (the shared keywords) and those which are different between the disciplines (the discipline-unique words). The study presents these same words and different words with respect to the distribution in the GSL and the AWL.

Corpora

The specialised corpora used in this study are research articles (RAs) in the humanities and the sciences, two broad diverse disciplines that differ widely with respect to their experimental


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approaches, methodology, and intellectual communities and history, and linguistic resources in the creation of specialised knowledge (Boulton, Carter-Thomas, & Rowley-Jolivet, 2012; Hyland, 2012). The reference corpus is the British National Corpus (BNC), which is designed to represent general English use. The two target corpora are those of 400 RAs published in leading refereed journals in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and the pure and applied sciences (PAS). The SSH corpus consisted of RAs from the leading journals in psychology, sociology, education, and politics (2,719,430 words) and the PAS corpus was from major journals in mechanical engineering, marketing, microbiology, biotechnology, and nursing (2,087,946 words). The SSH and the PAS were designed and based on the criteria of the coverage of research topics in a range of sub-disciplines, availability in electronic form, and journal reputation. Abstracts, acknowledgements, references, footnotes and appendices were excluded from the text collections.

Procedures The discipline-specific words and the shared words between the two broad disciplines were identified according to the following procedures.

1. The SSH and the PAS word lists were generated with each list containing different word forms and their frequencies.

2. Using KeyBNC (Graham, 2014), the frequency of every single word in the SSH or the PAS was compared to its frequency in the BNC using a log-likelihood statistic to generate two lists of keywords which occur significantly more frequently in each of the two broad disciplines than in general English.

3. The top 100 keywords of these resulting keyword lists were then compared to identify three sets of keywords: words that appeared in SSH only (SSH-unique keywords), words that appeared in PAS only (PAS-unique keywords), and words that appeared in both lists (shared keywords). These unique and shared words represent the differences and similarities between these two disciplines.

4. The three sets of keywords were examined for coverage in Coxhead’s Academic Word List (AWL) and West’s General Service List (GSL) by using AntWordProfiler (Anthony, 2014).


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Results The top 100 keywords of the SSH and the PAS were compared to identify unique keywords and keywords that are shared between the two disciplines. Their coverage in the GSL and the AWL were examined. Table 1 summarizes the proportions of technical, academic, and general words in these keyword lists.

Table 1: Proportions of technical, academic, and general words in the unique and shared keyword lists

Coverage in GSL and AWL

Discipline-unique keywords Shared KWs SSH-unique

keywords PAS-unique keywords

frequency % frequency % frequency % Number of keywords 71 71.0 71 71.0 29 29.0 Technical words 10 14.1 30 42.3 2 6.9 Academic words 26 36.6 14 19.7 10 34.5 General words 35 49.3 27 38.0 17 58.6

Of the top 100 keywords, 71 are discipline-unique and the other 29 are words which the

two disciplines share. A similar proportion between the unique and shared keywords is also found in the top 500 keywords (30.6%). These results suggest that the difference between the disciplines is greater than the similarity.

The results of the coverage of these words in the GSL and the AWL show that the unique and shared keywords include all types of technical, academic, and general words. The majority of SSH-unique keywords are general words (49.3%) and academic words (36.6%), while PAS keywords are general words (38.0%) and technical words (42.3%). We can see that keyword analysis provides high proportions of general words which are considered important to the disciplines. Table 1 also shows that more academic words are found in SSH-unique keywords (36.6%) than in the PAS (19.7%) meaning that emphasizing words in the AWL in class appears to be slightly advantageous for students from humanities-related subject areas.

As expected, most of the keywords which are used in both disciplines consist of academic words (34.5%) and general words (58.6%) since these two groups of words are assumed to be used commonly in different disciplinary areas. Therefore, these shared words may be the focus of EGAP vocabulary teaching.


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Table 2 presents SSH-, PAS-unique keywords and the shared keywords with respect to word classification based on the distribution in the GSL and the AWL. The discipline-unique keywords which were identified as technical words are most distinctive and are central to the topics of the humanities and the sciences; for example, racial, efficacy, cognitive in the humanities and brand, strain, cell(s) in the sciences. These technical words can be considered discipline-common technical words because they are used more frequently in the disciplines than in general English.

The SSH-unique keywords and PAS-unique keywords include many different academic words and general words. These results suggest that different words in the AWL and the GSL are preferred across different disciplines although these two types of words are assumed to be common in a range of academic disciplines and in general English. For example, all of the words respondents, participation, consumers, culture(s), and parameters are in the AWL; however, the first two words are found as unique keywords in the humanities while the others are found in the sciences discipline. Hence, it is clear that this approach for word identification helps distinguish the words in the AWL and the GSL that tend to be important to the specific disciplines. Further, some words in the same family, e.g., analyses (found in humanities), analyzed (in sciences), and analysis (shared keyword) are used with different frequencies in different disciplines.


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Table 2: Disciplines-unique keywords and shared keywords between the SSH and the PAS Word types Differences Similarities

SSH-unique keywords PAS-unique keywords Shared keywords Technical words

racial, scores, regression, math, latino, turnout, efficacy, coefficients, cognitive, ses (10)

fig, brand, strain, cells, cell, pcr, strains, protein, fatigue, eq, gene, bacterial, dna, proteins, ph, ml, bacteria, dislocation, thermal, genes, shear, primers, online, coefficient, assay, incubated, deformation, brands, caregivers, glucose (30)

et, al (2)

Academic words

gender, analyses, outcomes, variable, respondents, attitudes, hypothesis, ethnic, interaction, individuals, perceptions, labor, achievement, consistent, statistically, participation, academic, status, individual, attainment, diversity, empirical, policy, variance, institutional, hypotheses (26)

stress, consumers, obtained, culture, method, medium, isolates, cultures, specific, analyzed, concentration, parameters, phase, orientation (14)

variables, research, participants, data, significant, analysis, negative, positive, factors, significantly (10)

General words

students, social, between, level, political, school, groups, these, learning, likely, levels, measures, teachers, student, more,

using, were, c, surface, expression, observed, experimental, values, respectively, shown, used, product,

effects, study, results, differences, findings, e, g, effect, studies, higher,


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influence, associated, measure, support, among, organizations, children, test, race, values, of, inequality, group, schools, models, education, educational, self, preferences, performance (35)

measured, activity, based, different, reported, growth, crack, samples, nursing, temperature, nurses, loading, performed, compared, advertising (27)

relationship, related, characteristics, toward, model, behavior, sample (17)


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Focusing on general words, the results have also been recognized by Nation (2001) showing that some words are likely to be discipline-specific words which occur with high frequency (discipline-specific high-frequency words); for example, inequality, and preferences in the SSH and crack, temperature, and performed in the PAS. Moreover, some of the general words that are typically used to serve rhetorical functions (academic high-frequency words), e.g., measure, observed, shown, used, reported, performed, and compared are found as discipline-unique words by this method of word classification.

Discussion and implications Because the basis for identifying words to teach EGAP and ESAP are problematic in several aspects, instead, this study used keyword analysis method which can distinguish the texts of a particular discipline from general English to produce keywords in the humanities and science disciplines. The study identified the discipline-specific keywords and the shared keywords which we argue are useful resources for EAP vocabulary teaching.

It is important to note one limitation of keyword analysis, which is that the method treats a corpus as one big text rather than as a collection of many texts (Paquot, 2010) and cannot account for the fact that some discipline-specific and shared words that are highly specific to the topic content can be identified keys if they occur with very high frequency in only a few texts. Therefore, it would be useful to set criteria of word dispersion across the corpus to refine the list of potential words to teach.

In the current study, the higher number of discipline-unique keywords than the shared keywords suggests that the differences in vocabulary use between these disciplinary areas are greater than the similarities. These results support the argument for the disciplinary diversity pointed out by Hyland and Tse (2007, p. 240) that the humanities and the sciences as two diverse disciplines “shape words for their own uses” and they draw on different linguistic resources in the creation of specialized knowledge (Hyland, 2007).

When comparing the traditional word-list-based approach to vocabulary identification with the keyword analysis-assisted approach used in the current study, it is found that vocabulary focuses of ESAP and EGAP can be different because of the assumptions underlying practices. Some differences and similarities of the focuses are presented in Table 3.


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Table 3: Vocabulary focuses of ESAP and EGAP suggested by the word-list approach and keyword analysis-assisted approach

Word-list approach Keyword similarities and differences ESAP Technical words, academic words General words, (academic or technical

words depending on discipline) EGAP Academic words, general words General words, academic words

In the word-list approach, the target texts are compared with the fixed word lists to

identify whether the words are technical, academic, or general words. ESAP and EGAP may have emphasized some of these types of words according to some underlying assumptions for teaching vocabulary in EAP. While ESAP may focus on the technical words of particular disciplines and perhaps some academic words, EGAP is likely to pay attention to words which are assumed to be used in a range of disciplines, i.e., academic words and some general words. However, these assumptions and practices are found problematic in several aspects; for example, the compatibility of the base word lists with the new data set, the difficulty of separating high-frequency academic words and common technical words in the GSL, the criteria to decide which academic words to teach in ESAP and which general words should be taught in EGAP, and maybe a false assumption about the types of words to teach in each version of EAP teaching.

Based on the identification of the keyword similarities and differences between the two disciplines, words were identified as discipline-specific words and shared words. Using keywords can resolve some drawbacks of the traditional vocabulary classification relying on the based word lists. The results show that many of the unique and similar words from the current approach occurred in the GSL, but, despite this, they can be considered discipline-specific or academic high-frequency words. This result can be explained by the fact that the keyword analysis method does not treat general words as stop-words, meaning that they can be identified as keywords, since any words which occur noticeably more frequently in the target texts when compared against general English use are identified as keywords. This approach contrasts with traditional word-list approaches which downplay the role of words in the GSL. As shown in Table 3, although those resulting words were considered general words by the traditional method, they should be taught as discipline-specific high-frequency words in ESAP and as academic high-frequency words in EGAP.


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The new method of identifying words for EAP vocabulary teaching presented in this study challenges the existing assumptions about what words should be taught in ESAP and EGAP. However, an issue that was not addressed in the study was whether the word lists from the new and the previous methods are different. Further research could be conducted to compare the word lists and to determine the productivity of the words derived from the two methods.


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References

Anthony, L. (2014). AntConc (Version 3.4.3) [Software]. Available from http://www.laurenceanthony.net/software/antconc/

Boulton, A., Carter-Thomas, S., & Rowley-Jolivet, E. (2012). Issues in corpus-informed research and learning in ESP. In A. Boulton, S. Carter-Thomas & E. Rowley-Jolivet (Eds.), Corpus-informed research and learning in ESP: Issues and applications (1-14). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Bowker, L., & Pearson, J. (2002). Working with specialized language: A practical guide to using corpora. London: Routledge.

Coxhead, A. (2000). A new academic word list. TESOL Quarterly, 34(2), 213-238. Coxhead, A., & Hirsh, D. (2007).A pilot science-specific word list. Revue Française de

Linguistique Appliquée, 12(2), 65-78. Durrant, P. (2009). Investigating the viability of a collocation list for students of English for

academic purposes. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 157-169. Durrant, P. (2014). Discipline and level specificity in university students’ written vocabulary.

Applied Linguistics, 35(3), 328-356. Etherington, S. (2008). Academic writing and the discipline. In P. Friedrich (Ed.), Teaching

academic writing (26-58). London & New York: Continuum. Gardner, D., & Davies, M. (2014).A new academic vocabulary list. Applied Linguistics, 35(3),

305-327. Graham, D. (2014). KeyBNC [Software]. Available from http://crs2.kmutt.ac.th/Key-BNC/ Granger, S., & Paquot, M. (2010). In search of a general academic vocabulary: A corpus-driven

study. Linguistics (VESPA-LING), 58, 519-109. Hsu, W. (2011).A business word list for prospective EFL business postgraduates. Asian ESP

Journal, 7(4), 63-99. Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press. Hyland, K. (2002). Specificity revisited: How far should we go now?. English for Specific

Purposes, 21(4), 385-395. Hyland, K. (2004). Disciplinary discourses: Social interactions in academic writing. Ann

Arbor: University of Michigan Press.


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Hyland, K. (2007). Applying a gloss: Exemplifying and reformulating in academic discourse. Applied Linguistics, 28(2), 266-285.

Hyland, K. (2012). Disciplinary identities: Individuality and community in academic discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hyland, K., & Tse, P. (2007). Is there an “academic vocabulary”?. TESOL Quarterly, 41(2), 235-253.

Jordan, R. R. (1997). English for academic purposes: A guide and resource book for teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Konstantakis, N. (2007). Creating a business word list for teaching business English. Estudios de Lingüística Inglesa Aplicada, 7, 79-102.

Kwary, D. A. (2011).A hybrid method for determining technical vocabulary. System, 39(2), 175-185.

Martínez, I. A., Beck, S. C., & Panza, C. B. (2009). Academic vocabulary in agriculture research articles: A corpus-based study. English for Specific Purposes, 28(3), 183-198.

Moudraia, O. (2003). The student engineering corpus: Analysing word frequency. In D. Archer, P. Rayson, A. Wilson & T. McEnery (Eds.), Proceedings of the Corpus Linguistics 2003 Conference (552-561). Lancaster: Lancaster University.

Nation, P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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Nesi, H., & Gardner, S. (2012). Genre across the disciplines: Student writing in higher education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Paquot, M. (2010). Academic vocabulary in learner writing: From extraction to analysis. London & New York: Continuum.

Poudat, C., & Follette, P. (2012). Corpora and academic writing: A contrastive analysis of research articles in biology and linguistics. In A. Boulton, S. Carter-Thomas & E. Rowley-Jolivet (Eds.), Corpus-informed research and learning in ESP: Issues and applications (167-191). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

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A Study of Thai High School Text Books from an ELF Perspective

Rajeevnath Ramnath Graduate School of English,

Assumption University, Thailand

Abstract This paper is a study of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) features of English text books used in the high schools of Thailand. In the first part of the paper, the author will provide an overview of the study in terms of background and rationale before explaining the theoretical concept of ELF. In the second part, the author will discuss ELF features in terms of characters, contexts of use and varieties of English found in the materials selected for the study. The findings are meant to create awareness among teachers and language educators to understand features of ELF in the context of AEC 2015. Keywords: English as a lingua franca (ELF), varieties of English, native speakers (NS), non-native speakers (NNS), language teaching materials


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Introduction English has different functions and roles in different parts of the world. For example, it is a first language in countries such as UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand which are also referred to as inner circle countries by Kachru (1985). On the other hand, English is a second language or used for intranational communication (the language of court, education and administration) in the outer circle countries or former colonies of Britain and U.S.A. such as Singapore, India, Nigeria and the Philippines. English is nativized in these contexts mainly through media, advertising and literature. However, local languages continue to play an important role in the outer circle countries. According to Kachru (1985), English is used for international communication in the expanding circle countries such as Japan, Korea, China and Thailand to name a few. It is worth noting that English does not play an extensive role in expanding circle countries as much as it does in the other two circles.

English continues to expand in terms of use and geographical locations; the English language is used widely in domains that never existed in the earlier centuries and in places where it was not popular or at least not a dominant language. Mention must be made that English is not used only among native speakers of English in the world or for that matter in interactions between native and non-native speakers of English, but the use of English between non-native speakers from outer and expanding circle countries continues to increase (Graddol, 1997 & 2006). The idea of non-native speakers learning English to communicate, to explore the culture and literature of native-speakers has become untenable in the present day context where English is a lingua franca. Although native speakers might assume that English belongs to them, but the users of English from outer and expanding circle countries will decide the future of the English language (Graddol, 1997). Research studies show that English is widely used among the so-called non-native speakers of English in the world (Graddol, 2006). It is estimated that the number of people who use English in India is more than the number of users in the UK and the USA together (Kachru, 2005). The global spread of English and its varied uses among non-native speakers of English have become the important features of the language. It is critical to acknowledge these features and variety of uses which have become part of the ecology of English.

The demand for English continues to rise in Thailand which is a key member in the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). English was introduced to students from Primary 1 in 1996 from Primary 5 with the hope to teach English from an earlier age which would facilitate acquisition and thus lead to wider use in the country


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(Foley, 2005). Although English is accepted as a lingua franca, it is considered a foreign language by a considerable number of academics and administrators in terms of following Anglo-American norms and preference for native varieties of English over non-native varieties of the language. The image of English in education is perceived as the sole property of people of the inner circle countries or at least in interactions where native speakers are involved. However, the idea of English use among people of the outer and expanding circle countries is not widely acknowledged in the Thai ELT context. Therefore, students’ teachers and administrators fail to take cognizance of the possible contexts of non-native or new varieties of English.

This view of English will inevitably force all stakeholders to resist the existence of new varieties of English from outer and expanding circles including the variety of English used by Thais. Teachers and learners will quickly assume that English is used among its native speakers or in contexts where both native and Thai users interact. Hence interactions across other non-native speakers from outer and expanding circles are neglected, if not treated as peripheral to the issue of non-native varieties of English. A superficial understanding of native/non-native speakers and who uses English under what circumstances can cause problems in the teaching and learning of the language. Mention must be made that a language which is used in diverse linguistic and cultural contexts in a multiplicity of domains should not be taught for its linguistic merit alone instead the global significance of English as a lingua franca (Jenkins, 2006) should be stressed so that Thai learners understand the language in its entirety. It is needless to state that text books exert a tremendous influence on how learners learn and perceive the language. For instance, if materials that are used in the Thai context tend to present English as the language of inner circle countries, learners may not realize the potential of English in Asian contexts and thus fail to accept the use of English in their immediate context of culture.

Part of the issue stems from the lack of a standard variety of English in Thailand which is similar to other countries. Boriboon (2013) argues for the need to increase Thai English teachers’ confidence in terms of accent as it is not an issue when English is viewed as a global or international language. Furthermore, he calls for a standardization of Thai accent and pronunciation for teaching English in Thailand.

According to Bunnag (2010), a move to make English a second language in Thailand was vetoed due to several reasons. However, the role of English in Thailand is likely to change with the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of 2015 when ASEAN nationals will live and work in the region more than ever before. The Bangkok Posthas reported


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that the Ministry of Education in Thailand plans to hire more Thai teachers to cut cost on recruiting native speakers. The decision is economically viable and is realistic in terms of exposing learners to English teachers who share the learners’ first language rather than a monolingual native English speaker. However, the report seems to indicate a clear preference for native teachers when the Deputy Mission of the British Embassy reiterated the continued support of the Embassy in supplying native English teachers from Britain which is undoubtedly helpful at one level, but the statement is an attempt to impose native speaker norms in the English teaching market of Thailand (Pennycook, 1994; Jenkins, 2007).

English is taught as a foreign language in Thailand in the local schools and universities where Thai is the medium of instruction, but it is undoubtedly a lingua franca in terms of the background or nationalities of English teachers working in the country. Although there are both native and non-native English teachers, there is a strong preference for teachers from English speaking countries and from Western and European nations of the world when compared to Thai and Asian teachers. It is widely believed that many Western/European teachers who are not suitably qualified for the profession earn a higher salary when compared to their Asian counterparts in Thailand. Therefore, the English language has a strong Western identity and it is likely that there is a strong resistance among educators in Thailand to recognize non-native varieties of English or ELF in terms of teaching and learning. Hence it will be worthwhile to examine the existence of ELF features in high school textbooks published in other countries and adapted for Thailand. These materials are approved by the Ministry of Education in Thailand. The author will explain ELF and list the features which are explored in this study.

Literature Review English as a Lingua Franca As mentioned by Jenkins (2006: 159), “many of those who start up thinking they are learning English as a foreign language end up using it as a lingua franca.” English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is defined by the Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) thus: “English is used a common means of communication among speakers from different first language backgrounds.” The author will now define ELF before looking at some of the differences between English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as a lingua franca (ELF)


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which is a contact language between persons who share neither a common native tongue, nor a common (national) culture, and for whom English is the chosen foreign language.

Kirkpatrick (2010) points out that the role of English and other languages in Thailand and the rest of ASEAN will inevitably change with the upcoming AEC 2015 when English will be the lingua franca accounting for business and cultural interactions among the so called non-native English speakers of the region. As mentioned earlier, due to the increase in the use of English as a global means of communication by non-native speakers of English there is a clear need to rethink pedagogy and practice in the field. Jenkins (2006: 159) points out that, “many of those who start out thinking they are learning English as foreign language end up using it as a lingua franca”. The comment is useful to understand the dichotomy between learning and using the language. Therefore, language-teaching materials should respond to the changes rather than developing materials which promote native speaker norms.

As mentioned earlier, ELF implies the use of English as a common language between people who do not share the same first language (L1) (Jenkins, 2006). Since it is used by people from diverse L1 backgrounds, it is likely to have a considerable linguistic variety as pointed out by Ferguson (2009). Graddol (2006) predicts that teaching and assessment in future will take an ELF approach as people become aware of the fact that English is not restricted to native speaker interactions (foreign language teaching), but for interactions among non-native speakers of English. The advantage of using an ELF approach will expose learners to English from diverse contexts and raise awareness of English as an international language (EIL) in terms of language teaching (Jenkins, 2004). Cogo (2012: 104) stated that an ELF approach will enable learners to understand linguistic variation and offers choice in speaking in different ways. According to Baker (2012), ELF helps learners to develop intercultural awareness and avoids the danger of assigning a fixed cultural context for the language.

Although there is no evidence of empirical studies on ELF features in materials in Thailand or other places, a few studies related to the users and uses of English in materials in terms of representation of characters, varieties of English and topics related to the use of English in diverse socio-cultural contexts (Takahashi, 2014) have been undertaken by researchers.


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English as a Lingua Franca in Thailand According Kirkpatrick (2008), the need for an internationally intelligible model of English has led to the dominance of the native speaker model at the cost of other varieties of English which are in wide use across people who do not use English as their first language. It is worth noting that language varies according to socio-cultural needs and the preference for certain models over the others stems from prejudices which lie outside the scope of communication in the context of ELF. Therefore, the variety of English to be taught should be determined by the background of the teachers, learners, the possible contexts and domains in which learners are likely to use English. Although it is useful to recruit foreign teachers, one should ensure that they have a background in language teaching or English studies more than being native speakers of English. It is appropriate to use terms such as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) or successful users of English (SUE) instead of native and non-native speakers of English in ELT (Foley, 2012).

The situation in Thailand will change in the AEC era when people from different parts of ASEAN will be engaged in business or employment in Thailand as much as Thais moving to other countries where English is a second language. Mention must be made that public schools in Thailand have started teaching other languages apart from English and Thai. There is an attempt to offer Chinese, Myanmar and other ASEAN languages in the schools of Thailand in order to prepare learners to understand the changing linguistic landscape of ASEAN (The Nation: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Chinese-most-popular-foreign-language-for-Thai-stu-30180543.html). The following section will provide a brief methodology of this study before discussing the major findings.

Methodology This study has explored ELF features in terms of representation of characters’ nationalities, context of use and varieties of English in the textbooks used in the high schools of Thailand. This paper has set out the following research question.

What are the dominant ELF features in the high school English textbooks of Thailand?


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Method of Data Collection and Analysis The materials chosen for this study are supervised by the Office of the Basic Education Commission of Thailand, which is one of the departments under the Ministry of Education. The course books included in this paper are: ICON 2, Weaving it Together 1, Weaving it Together and Mega Goal 5. The author looked at the representation of characters’ nationalities, use of English in terms of native and non-native speakers of English and the varieties of English used in the materials. The following section will provide a brief description of the materials before discussing the major findings from the materials. ICON 2 is written by Donald Freeman, Kathleen Graves and Linda Lee and published by Mac Press. The units consist of a reading passage with activities for listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar. Weaving it Together 1 and 2 are written by Milada Broukal and published by Cangage Learning Asia and reprinted in Thailand by Thai Wattana Panich. Book 1 has seven units and there are two chapters in each unit and Weaving it Together 2 has eight units and there are two chapters in each unit. Mega Goal 5: This book is written by Manual Dos Santos and Jill Korey O’ Sullivan, and published by Thai Wattana Panich. Each unit contains of at least one passage and the texts are not longer than two pages. The material focuses on listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Findings and discussion In the following section, the author will discuss the dominant characters in the materials in terms of inner/outer/expanding circle countries and varieties of English available for the learners in these materials.

The materials used in this study portray people, places and things from diverse cultural contexts, but a considerable part of the materials revolve around Anglo-American or Western contexts as opposed to Asia and ASEAN which will be more appropriate for Thai learners. Although there is representation of Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, Taiwan and China, the representation is quite minimal and superficial. The representation of Asia/ASEAN is from economic and urban perspectives rather than from sociolinguistic and sociocultural


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perspectives. For instance, ICON 2 includes 11 Asian nations and one from ASEAN out of the total number of 53 nations represented in the material. However, 32 out of 53 are from inner circle countries where English is the first language. It is interesting to note the occurrence of Japan, China and India in Weaving it Together 1, but in Weaving it Together 2, there is absolutely no reference to Asia. This makes one wonder whether the publishers are interested in presenting a Western perspective of English for advanced levels. Mega Goal 5 includes China, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines while rest of the nations are mainly from English-speaking countries or places which are distanced from the learners’ lives. The U.S.A. features in all the units of this book which is published in Taiwan and adapted for the Thai market.

The contexts of using English in the materials are primarily between members of inner circle countries who share the same language. Mention must be made that there is evidence of interactions between people from inner circle and outer/expanding circles, but there is little evidence of English use between people from outer and expanding circles or across non-native speakers of English including Thai people. The materials tend to negate the role of ELF which is nothing but the use of English across people who do not share the same language (Jenkins, 2006). Learners who use these materials in the Thai context are likely to think that English is used among native speakers in inner circle countries or among native speakers in outer and expanding circle countries. Since the materials do not present contexts in which English is used by members of outer/expanding circle contexts, learners might assume that English has a limited role in their environment and it is not used by people in outer and expanding circles. The total absence of English use between non-native speakers is a misrepresentation of reality. As mentioned earlier, there are more non-native users of English in the world when compared to native users of the language.

Although the topics in the materials deal with Japan, China and India, the topics are not directly related to Thailand for learners to identify themselves with. For instance in Weaving it Together 1, there are festivals about India and other Asian countries, but the festivals may not be applicable to Thai learners due to the diversity of cultures. Hence, teachers may have to adapt the material to suit the Thai context. It is worth highlighting that the topics about Asia are presented from a Western point of view which makes it less credible. The authors have paid attention to the time-honored term “authentic” (not in the sense of Hedge, 2000) English, but not authentic content reflecting the diversity of English.


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Conclusion Mention must be made that materials analyzed in this small-scale study do not show a positive trend towards ELF features in terms of nationalities, interaction between NS and NNS, names of people or characters and listening texts. Firstly, in terms of nationalities the materials which are used for high schools in Thailand tend to portray European and American contexts which are not likely to represent English as a lingua franca in ASEAN.

Even if learners come across interactions in NNS contexts, they are distanced from the learners’ immediate context. Secondly, the materials tend to use Western names as opposed to Asian names. Even though the contexts are non-Asian, there are many countries outside of Asia which are highly multicultural and multilingual and such contexts/instances are missing from the materials. Thirdly, interactions in the materials tend to indicate an underlying assumption that English is used only among native speakers of English in English-speaking countries. Lastly, listening materials deal with interesting information on Taiwan and Mexico but use NS voices which are characteristic of traditional materials that promote native varieties of the language.

It is worth acknowledging the gap between theories related to ELF and the practice in language teaching materials. Although the existence of ELF is widely accepted in ASEAN, the materials used in high schools do not reflect the importance of ELF (Kirkpatrick, 2010). Alternatively, the materials reassert the superiority or at least associate English with inner circle countries despite the growing importance of English in expanding circles (Kachru, 2005).Hence, material writers should be aware of the existence of ELF in order to educate the major stakeholders in terms of the changing role of English in the world. Understanding ELF is of critical importance to a popular tourist destination such as Thailand and in the broader context of AEC where members of ASEAN use English for education, work and business as part of AEC. Similarly, understanding the existence of ELF for Thais will be of help when they travel for work or business within ASEAN nations where English is not the first language.


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References

Baker, W. 2012. ‘From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness in ELT: Culture in ELT’. ELT Journal, 66(1), 62-70.

Cogo, A. 2012. ‘English as a Lingua Franca: Concepts, use and implications’. ELT Journal, 66(1), 97-105.

Boriboon, P. 2013. ‘A paradox of acquired identities and aspired identities: Local English teachers' ideological positionings as English users and agents of accent/pronunciation practice’, Proceedings of the International Conference on English Language Education in a Global Context, Chonburi, Thailand.

Bunnag, S. 2010. ‘Plan to make English 2nd language vetoed’. The Bangkok Post.Retrieved from: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/202224/plan-to-make-english-2nd-language-vetoed.Last accessed: 05.05.2015.

Foley, J.A. 2005. ‘English in Thailand’.RELC Journal, 36(2): 223-234. Foley, J.A. 2012. Unscrambling the Omelette, Second Language Acquisition: Social and

Psychological Dimensions, Bangkok: Assumption University Press. Friedrich, P. 2000. ‘English in Brazil: Functions and attitudes’. World Englishes, 19, 215-

223. Graddol, D. 1997. The Future of English? London: The British Council. Graddol, D. 2006. English Next.The British Council. Hedge, T 1988.Guidelines to Oxford Bookworms.Oxford: Oxford University Press. Jenkins, J. 2006. ‘Current perspectives on teaching world Englishes and English as a lingua

franca’ TESOL Quarterly,40(1), 157-81. Jenkins, J. 2007. English as a Lingua Franca: Attitudes and Identity. Oxford: Oxford

University Press. Kachru, B.B. 1985. The Alchemy of English: The Spread, Functions and Models of Non-native

Englishes: Oxford: Pergamon Press. Kachru, B.B. 2005.Asian Englishes: Beyond the Canon: Hong Kong: Hong Kong University

Press. Kirkpatrick, A. 2008.‘Learning English and other languages in multilingual settings’

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Matsuda, A. 2002. ‘Representation of users and uses of English in beginning Japanese EFL coursebooks, JALT Journal, 24(2), 182-200.

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Takahashi, R. 2014. ‘An analysis of ELF-oriented features in ELT coursebooks’. English Today, 30(1), 28-34.


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Online Dating Profile Analysis: The Self-Portrayal of Thai Women

Supapon Srisuwan

Wannapa Trakulkasemsuk King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract Online dating websites are a popular service that individuals use to find an ideal partner. Thai women who would like to find foreign partners will likely find that they must use the English language in order to establish a relationship. In such cases, it seems that some unique characteristics occur in their self-profiles. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the self-portrayals produced by Thai women through the use of English in an online dating website. To do so, 100 Thai women’s written profiles were collected, and a content analysis method was employed to analyze the themes of Thai women’s self-descriptions. Out of the 13 categories found, four categories seem to be the most prominent for Thai women in describing themselves online. These are personality, requirement, purpose and career. The descriptions provided by the Thai women also reflect Thai language, beliefs and social norms, even though they are written in English. The results of this study may provide some explanations for why Thai women on dating websites are often misunderstood. Keywords: Online dating, Thai women, self-presentation, content analysis, Social values


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Introduction Internet usage and technology have become almost ubiquitous. The internet has influenced people’s lifestyles, social interactions and relationships. Recently, people have changed the way they find their potential partners from traditional dating, like face-to-face communication, to services such as online dating websites. These websites offer convenience in starting romantic relationships, presenting opportunities for users to arrange a date, initiating offline relationships or perhaps long-term, committed relationships (i.e. marriage) (Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis & Sprecher, 2012). The Pew Research Center’s Internet Project which has surveyed since 2005 showed that 66 percent of online dating website users have dated somebody they met from a dating website or application, and 23 percent of users said that they met a spouse or started a long-term relationship through these sites.

In Thai society, romantic relationships are expected to be initiated by males rather than females. In other words, it is not customary for Thai women to be assertive about romantic relationships, as it might be considered inappropriate (Yoddumnern-Attig, Richter, Soonthorndhada, Sethaput & Pramualratana, 1992). However, online dating websites allow Thai women more freedom to act outside of social conventions. This might be the reason why, from the researchers’ informal observation, most Thai online dating website users are female.

Since dating websites help enable global communication, Thai women can meet potential partners not only from Thailand, but also from other countries. Therefore, Thai women who wish to widen their opportunities for foreign partners may have to communicate in English. However, as English is not their native language, the ways in which Thai women use English might differ from the native norms. To succeed in finding a partner on dating websites, users must consider how they present themselves. Nevertheless, while browsing through one of the free dating websites that is most popular among Thais, it is found that the English self-descriptions produced by Thai females do not, to a certain extent, conform to international norms of written English. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the English-language content in the written profiles of Thai women on a dating website. Online Dating Profiles To use an online dating website, a user is required to create a profile for others to review. Some parts of the profile can be automatically generated by the website after the user answers some pre-set questions, while other parts may be written by the users themselves. Generally,


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an online dating profile consists of non-textual information such as photographs, and textual information including the demographic, background and personal information of the user. Previous studies demonstrate that photographs have a significant role in catching attention from other users. Whitty’s study (2007) reveals that most dating website users prefer to include their photographs in their profiles. Also, when browsing others’ profiles, users tend to be more attracted to the profiles with photographs. Additionally, it is found that users who provide facially attractive photographs can be more successful than those with less-attractive photographs (Fiore, Taylor, Mendelsohn, & Hearst, 2008). When comparing profiles with and without photographs, a study of Hancock and Toma (2009) found that users are more likely to review the profiles that contain a photograph.

Even though photographs seem to be an important component of a successful online dating profile, they cannot reveal the personal traits of the users. Therefore, textual descriptions could be just as important, since they help provide more in-depth information about the profile owner. Thus, they can highly encourage other users to start a conversation with the owner.

To analyze different kinds of textual descriptions on dating sites, many techniques can be applied. For example, content analysis can refer to “any research technique for making inferences by systematically and objectively identifying specified characteristics within text” (Stone, Dunphy, Smith & Ogilvie, 1996, with credit given to Holsti, p. 5). This technique can be used to explain the characteristics of message content and estimate how content can affect audiences. It also makes content inferences to audiences (Berelson, 1952). One recent study (Marcus, 2004) applies content analysis to an investigation of online dating profiles. This profile analysis aimed to provide a critical examination of identity portrayals. The researcher examined 60 profiles from three online dating websites (JDate.com, ChristianMingle.com and OkCupid.com). The researcher used the framework of standpoint theory, which is derived from Karl Marx’s conception of ideology. This theory is based on the notion that people’s experiences in different situations are shaped by the social group to which they belong (Harding, 1991). The results reveal that male users tend to emphasize career and sport, while female users prefer to emphasize attractiveness and caring. In the Thai online dating context, one previous study analyzed the self-presentation of Thai woman on dating websites who were seeking foreign men. The purpose of this study was to study the character and content of the Thai women’s entries and the expression of their thoughts in online media. The results showed that Thai women are confident in expressing their opinions, and the content of their self-presentation focuses on terms of emotion and desire. However, this study does not point out very clearly how culture and society might affect the way Thai women portray themselves


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online. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to fill the gap by studying how Thai women portray themselves to attract other users through their written profiles.

Methodology Data Collection One hundred profiles of Thai women from www.thaifriendly.com were collected. This is a free dating website based in Thailand that allows users to meet new people internationally. Moreover, users of this dating site can create their own written profiles. These profiles have been written by Thai women who wish to present themselves online. The content of their presentations generally concern their basic information, life stories and needs. Users of www.thaifriendly.com can set their profiles to block non-targeted users from viewing them; for example, female users may choose to block females who are looking for females. Therefore, the profiles of Thai women which allow different kinds of users to view their profiles were selected. The criteria for selecting the profiles were, firstly, that all profiles were collected from thaifriendly.com, which claims to be the biggest free online dating site in Thailand. This online dating site allows men worldwide to meet Thai women. Secondly, all collected profiles were selected from Thai women who have been website members for more than three months. Third, each profile selected had to have more than five sentences. Data Analysis The main method of analysis used in this study was content analysis. Based on a previous study (Marcus, 2004), the language of online dating profiles can be categorized into seven categories, which are Achievement, Career, Activity, Sports, Care, Physical Attributes, and Faith. This study applied the seven categories as an initial framework of content analysis of the Thai women’s online dating profiles. After conducting a pilot study using Marcus’ framework, it was found that the seven categories could not include all significant content topics that occurred in Thai women’s profiles. Therefore, the researchers listed the additional content and separated it by theme. As a result, the previous framework was adapted by extending it to 13 categories.


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Table 1: Thirteen categories for self- description of Thai women profiles

Category Example 1. Achievement, defined as words describing someone with high achievement

successful, good education, accomplishment

2. Career, defined as words relating to one’s profession

work, career, company, corporate, office, study, university.

3. Activity, defined as describing a physically active person and hobbies

athletic, outdoorsy, work out, traveling, cooking

4. Sports, defined as words pertaining to the categories of sports watching or sports playing

sports, football, baseball, basketball, cycling

5. Care, defined as words describing someone who is kind, giving, or caring

sweet, caring, nurturing, compassionate

6. Physical attributes, defined as words that relate to a physical appearance

pretty, attractive, good-looking, nice hair, nice eyes, good smile, cute, ugly, tan, short, black hair

7. Faith, defined as words pertaining to one’s religious faith

god, faith, Jesus, godly, temple, church, Buddhist

8. Sexual preferences (interests), defined as words that relate to sexual desire, sexual media and denying requests for sexual favors (unwanted sexual advances)

sex, sexual way, f***, naked photo, sex talk, sex cam, sex phone, sex service, sexual tourist

9. Finance, defined as words that relate to financial need and financial status

money, financial support, good salary, income, rich, poor, well-paid, I can find money by myself, I don’t want money from you, gold digger


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10. Language, defined as words that relate to the ability of an individual to communicate in an acquired language, offering to teach language

Thai language, English, speaking language, writing, teaching language, sorry my English is not good

11. Personality (habits, characteristics), defined as words that relate to positive and negative personal characteristics or qualities that online users employed to describe themselves

normal girl, good girl, funny girl, honest girl, sincere, nice, have good heart

12. Requirement, defined as something demanded or imposed by the online dating user before starting a relationship

no pictures no reply, no oldies, don’t want to talk with African Americans; if you just want to talk about sex, please don’t contact me

13. Purpose, defined as words that relate to the statement of purpose of users in using this site

I want to have friends, I want to learn language, I want to find husband

To distinguish these 13 categories, the researchers did not focus only on the word level, but also investigated the intention in the sentences since there were complicated expressions that could not be broken down to their word level. For example, in the sentence, “if you just want to talk about sex, please don’t contact me,” the intention of the writer was to deter those users whose purpose is just to talk about sex. In another sentence, “I can’t have a sexual relationship if we don’t love each other,” the writer wanted to say that she would not have sex if she was not in a serious relationship with that person. Therefore, the first part of the sentence was put in the “requirements” category, while the second was put in “sexual preference”. Another example is, “I want to learn English”. The intention is to state the purpose of using this site, which meant it was classified as “purpose”. But in the sentence, “my English is not good”, the user wanted to inform others that she could not communicate well in English. So, this sentence was placed in the “language” category.


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Findings and Discussion The results from data analysis show the ways Thai women on dating sites portray themselves in 13 categories, as was mentioned in the Data Analysis section. The frequencies of each category are shown in Table 2. Table 2: Frequency table for 13 categories of self-portrayals of Thai women Category Frequency Example 1. Achievement 8

(1.00%) a. I am educated lady b. I am educate lady with good and value

profession c. Good education

2. Career 89 (11.14%)

a. I am not lady bar b. I am not girl sexual service c. I have good job. Not sell body na ja d. I am singer. I am working women type e. I teach English. not female prostitute

3. Activity 71 (8.89%)

a. I like cooking b. I like shopping c. like to cook Thai food

Category Frequency Example 4. Sports 20

(2.50%) a. I like to play football b. I play sport

5. Care 17 (2.13%)

a. I am sweet and I care you

6. Physical attributes

58 (7.26%)

a. Sorry I don’t have tan skin b. I am not slim not tan skin c. I AM SO FAT IN PERSON d. I can be sexy e. I am very ugly

7. Faith 5 (0.63%)

a. I like to go to temple b. i do meditation


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8. Sexual preferences (interests)

25 (3.13%)

a. i dont like sex talk or sex cam b. I can’t have sexual relationship if we

don’t love each other 9. Finance 28

(3.50%) a. I can find money by myself b. My family have enough money to spend c. I am not looking for ATM machine d. I never trick people for money e. I don’t want your money

10. Language 36 (4.51%)

a. Sorry my English not well b. I can speak a little but I can understand

what you speak c. I can speak English quite well. d. If you wanna learn some basic Thai I

can teach you. e. I am not good at English I apologise for

mistake I may cause 11.Personality (habit, characteristic)

227 (28.41%)

a. I am normal girl not special b. I am funny girl c. I honest and I have sincere d. I am nice e. I have good heart f. I am good lady, I am easygoing

12.Requirement 116 (14.52%)

a. No photo no talk b. Don’t ask for sex cam c. Please don’t be older than 30 I don’t

want father d. Don’t playboy with me na e. Not fun with me here

13. Purpose 99 (12.36%)

a. I want to have international friends for practice language

b. I want to have foreign boyfriend c. I would like to practice with native

speaker


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d. I want to marry a foreigner Total 799

(100%)

As can be seen from the 13 categories in Table 2, the self-portrayals of Thai women on

the dating site do not use every category equally. The four categories that seem to be most prominent for Thai women in describing themselves are personality (28.41%), requirement (14.52%), purpose (12.36%) and career (11.14%). This result shows that personality and requirements play an important role in finding a potential partner. They may help the users to find compatible people by stating their characteristics and particular needs. Also, their statement of purpose may help to clarify their intentions in joining the dating site. Moreover, career is often included in their profiles to showcase their professional lives. Apart from these four categories, the other categories occur less than 10 percent of the time.

The results show that Thai women commonly list activities such as shopping, singing, and watching movies (8.89%). Another significant activity that they include in their profiles is cooking. It is common for Thai women to mention that they can cook and do it as an activity. This shows that even though some Thai women nowadays also work outside the home and they expect to be treated equally, (i.e., in some families, couples have to help each other to take care of their homes), Thai women still tend to value cooking – which is traditionally a task of Thai women – as an attribute to list in their profiles. For physical attributes (7.26%), Thai women are confident enough to describe themselves positively as “sexy” and “cute” ladies. Nevertheless, some of them also appear to account for the stereotypical perception of color preference. In Thailand, most people prefer to have light skin since it is counted as a characteristic of people from the upper class. Light skin symbolizes health and wealth, while people with dark skin are considered as laborers (Chaipraditkul, 2013). However, some Thai women write that they do not have tanned skin as an apology, because they might assume that foreigners prefer tanned skin. It might signal that Thai women on dating sites change their self-perception in order to cater to foreigners’ perceived tastes. In the language category (4.51%), those who mention it at all appear to recognize that language competency may be an obstacle in their communication. So they decide to state that their language ability is not good and that they are trying to learn. Moreover, they offer to teach foreigners the Thai language; for example, through personal chat.


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For finance and sexual preferences (3.50% and 3.13%, respectively), Thai women use negation to defend their self-image because they may presume that people take a negative view of Thai women using online dating websites. In addition, Thai women on this dating site do not mention much about sport (2.50%) since physical activities are normally associated with males which is similar to the result of Marcus’ (2004) study which found that male users tend to emphasize careers and sport. Two other categories that Thai women rarely mention are achievement and care (1.00% and 2.13%, respectively), as an acknowledgement of these categories is probably discouraged by Thai cultural norms that value humility. Humility is a cultural preference that Thai people have passed down, generation to generation (Chaidaroon, 2003). As Thailand is a high-context culture, being humble is a strategy used by Thais to gain respect or recognition from others without explicit effort (Knutson, Komolsevin, Chatiketu & Smith, 2002), Therefore, Thai women on this dating site do not talk much about their achievements, even though it could prove helpful in boosting their appeal to prospective partners. In the meantime, they prefer to create a positive image by mentioning care and kindness in their profiles. The last category, which has the lowest percentage, is faith (0.63%). This suggests that Thai women do not see faith as an important topic in their self-portrayals.

To qualitatively analyze the content of Thai women’s online dating profiles, the four predominant categories – personality, requirement, purpose and career – are taken into consideration. 1. Personality Basically, in self-presentation, people tend to describe themselves as having a positive personality. Likewise, Thai women on this online dating site also describe their personality in a positive light, to create a good self-image. For example: 1. I am easy going 2. I am good human relationship 3. I am friendly 4. I am nice girl


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One interesting point is that since Thai people normally consider humility as a positive characteristic, Thai women on this online dating site – even if they wish to portray their personality rather positively – try to be humble at the same time. In other words, they avoid exaggerating or boosting themselves too much. Some even try to make their descriptions rather neutral. For example:

1. I am not perfect but i am not bad girl. 2. I am a normal girl not special.

During the content analysis, some descriptions were found to be potentially confusing to

non-Thai speakers. The difficulty comes from how Thai women use the English language. It was found that most Thai women, in presenting their personality, usually use a direct translation from Thai into English. For example: 1. i like sour dressing 2. i am one normal girl 3. i am good human relationship

Actually, in the first sentence, the profile’s writer very likely wanted to say that she likes to dress in a sexy way. ‘Sour dressing’ is a Thai expression that describes this. However, in directly translating this expression from Thai into English, the meaning changes to the extent that it may no longer be understood. 2. Requirement In the textual profiles, Thai women’s requirements can be categorized as follows: 2.1 Requirement in sexual issues Sexual issues are rarely discussed openly in Thai society, especially among females. Talking about sex is considered inappropriate behavior (Piayara, 2012). However, Thai women on the


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online dating site prefer to talk frankly about sex. This might be a defensive strategy, as they may be wary of being stereotyped as prostitutes. They may have previously been asked by foreigners about their sexual preferences, and felt uncomfortable in answering. Therefore, in their written profiles, Thai women sometimes express a demand of not communicating with people who are interested only in having sex. They also state their sexual preferences explicitly in order to find their ideal partner and protect their self-image. For example:

1. I don’t like to talk about sex. 2. I don’t talk sex phone, sex cam. I am not interested. don’t ask me that 3. I don’t give you naked pic I don’t like. If you want it don't talk to me and go away 4. don’t ask for sell sex

2.2 Requirement for photograph As Hancock and Toma (2009) showed, “In online dating, where physical interaction is absent, users are more likely to review a dating profile that contains a photograph.” The same was found in Thai online dating. Thai women in online dating sites require that other users include a picture in their profiles in order to show sincerity. It is reasonable to believe that at present there is an increasing number of scammers who use online dating sites to defraud victims. Thus, to be safe, people tend to review other users’ photographs to help determine whether or not those users are genuine. For example:

1. No picture no reply 2. If don’t have picture I don’t answer. I don’t know you are real or fake 3. Don’t send me message if you don’t have picture. 4. No picture no answer.

2.3 Requirement for ideal partner In this online dating site, some Thai women also require that their prospective foreign partners have decent character, and mention that they do not want to talk with men who are not sincere.


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For example:

1. If you are not sincere don’t talk to me. 2. Don’t playboy with me na 3. Not just fun with me here 4. Please sincere with me. i want to talk with honest guy not play boy 5. If you want just joking with feeling me please don’t add me

Apart from the content, it should be noted that Thai women on this online dating usually

produce English replete with grammatical mistakes. As can be seen from the above examples, they regularly use wrong parts of speech; for example, the use of a noun (“playboy”) as a verb, and the use of an adjective/noun (“fun”) as a verb. When these mistakes appear with such frequency, the resulting messages may seem strange to foreign readers. 3. Purpose Even though the main purpose of using dating sites is to find a partner, on this online dating site, Thai women state other, varied purposes in their written profiles. It can be seen that they likely avoid being direct in stating their real purpose for using the online dating site, as it might be considered inappropriate in Thai culture (Yoddumnern-Attig et. al., 1992; Klausner, 2002).

For example:

1. I would like to have international friends 2. I want to practice English. 3. I want to meet new friends and maybe more.

Nevertheless, though Thai women may simply wish to show discretion in being indirect

like this, their discretion might be seen by foreign users as dishonesty. People from direct cultures, especially Westerners, are typically more straightforward about finding partners or starting romantic relationships. In using an online dating website, one may expect to see such desires explicitly expressed. In other words, those who simply want to find new friends or learn a new language would be advised to use other kinds of websites.


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4. Career Normally people may inform others about their work by describing their current jobs and responsibilities, and perhaps showing how good their jobs are. After analyzing how Thai women describe their jobs, a unique pattern is found to be shared among them. Most Thai women on this dating website, instead of describing their current jobs, tend to defend themselves from negative prejudices. Therefore, they use a lot of negation in declaring that they are not doing sex work.

For example:

1. I am not a female prostitute or bargirl 2. I am not girlfriend holiday. 3. I am not girl sexual service.

This defensive strategy used by Thai women might result from their prior negative

experience with foreigners. Thai women actively searching for partners may frequently experience prejudice. This may be an effect of Thai women’s image from a Westerner’s viewpoint. Thailand seems to have a negative reputation, as prostitution is a commercial industry for the country and it is thus a destination for sex tourists, with many foreigners coming to Thailand solely for this reason (Romanow, 2012). Thai women also face a second stereotype. Though many Thai women have decent careers and education, they may be thought of as gold diggers (persons who pursue a romantic relationship to extract money or material benefits from others) (Lee, 2012). Therefore, Thai women on online dating sites, even if they do not explicitly mention their not being sex workers, may still feel that they have to defend themselves from being viewed as gold diggers. For example:

1. I HAVE GOOD JOB AND I DON’T WANT YOUR MONEY. 2. I am not gold digger or beggar I have job.. So don’t worry about your ATM or credit

card 3. I can work for myself.


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Conclusion The purpose of this research was to investigate the English self-portrayals produced by Thai women on an online dating website. As culture is one of the major influences on self-presentation and image (Shweder & Bourne, 1984; Triandis, 1989), the results of this study show that Thai women’s self-descriptions are still based on Thai culture and its perceived stereotypes. From the Thai native’s perspective, it can be understood that Thai women on dating sites try to protect themselves by using negation, apology and humility. Conversely, however, these strategies can sometimes create or reinforce a negative image of Thai women. These embedded concepts may lead to a wrong interpretation and/or a misunderstanding when these profiles are reviewed by online dating users who do not understand Thai cultural and social values. Furthermore, Thai women generally do not understand the communication techniques, international pragmatics and international cultural values influencing online dating sites, especially when they have to communicate in English. An understanding of and a certain facility with these each of these factors are crucial in self-presentation on such an online forum.


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Needs Analysis and Course Evaluation of the ESP Courses Provided for Banking Customer Service Representatives

Tipkrita Phumkumarn Prapaipan Aimchoo Walaiporn Chaya

Faculty of Humanities, Srinakharinwirot University, Thailand

Abstract Currently, the demand for English speaking staff in call center services is increasing in the competitive business world, especially in the banking services sector. The English for Specific Purposes (ESP) training course has played an important role in helping banks to develop and improve the English language competence of their Customer Service Representatives (CSRs). The objectives of this study were to analyze the needs for ESP courses for CSRs in banking call center services, to investigate the satisfaction level with current English courses, and to recognize the expectations and additional suggestions toward ESP courses from the management level of the organizations being served. The present study applied the theoretical framework presented by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998) which focused on present situation analysis (PSA), target situation analysis (TSA), and learning situation analysis (LSA) in developing research instruments. The study engaged a mixed method research design which used both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. The instruments of the study consisted of questionnaires, course evaluation forms, and interviews, while the participants included 103 CSRs and 12 supervisors working at the Bangkok Bank Phone Banking Center, Thailand. The findings of this study would be beneficial to instructors and those involved in banking call center services involved in the development of ESP training courses designed to meet the needs of learners and organizations seeking to improve the English competence of the CSRs. Keywords: English for Specific Purposes (ESP), Needs of English language, Banking call center, English for call center


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Introduction Currently, a marked growth in the call center industry has been witnessed in many countries due to the economic expansion resulting from an increased development of the global business world. In fact, since 2007, the call center business in many Asian countries, such as the Philippines, India, Singapore, Malaysia, China, and Thailand, has been expected to grow by 23%, especially in Thailand which is expected to experience a growth of 33% annually (“Asian Call Center,” 2007). Furthermore, the fast rate of economic and business expansion around the world also affects the banking and financial industries, particularly frontline services such as bank branches and call centers. The banking call center has become an important channel because it provides the easiest route for customer contact. In addition, a bank’s call center staff are often referred to as Customer Service Representatives (CSR) whose responsibility is to deal with customers who request all banking services via telephone (Gans, Koole & Mandelbaum, 2003, p. 5).

Since the services of call centers are concerned with financial transactions, CSRs have to be careful with the information they provide. To provide accurate financial information for foreign customers, CSRs in non-speaking English countries need to be proficient in using the English language, as communication errors may damage business. Therefore in order to minimize such potential damage and error in service provision, banks are emphasizing the need to improve both the English language of their employees and their service competence.

Significantly, the ESP training course has played an important role in business in tandem with worldwide economic growth. To meet the demands of effective English communication among their employees, many companies provide English courses. According to Friginal (2013), the Philippines has been known as a major global hub for the outsourcing of call center services for American companies, since the early 1990s. Therefore, in order to meet the expectations of the American companies and their customers, the outsourced call center companies and training institutions in the Philippines have worked collaboratively with their government on an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) training approach to prepare Filipino agents (p. 25).

The current research focused on the English language needs and problems of the CSRs in phone banking services. This research was also aimed to investigate the level of satisfaction with the current English programs provided to the CSRs. The results of this study will be beneficial to instructors and others involved in banking call center services to design and/or develop the English courses appropriate for the needs of CSRs.


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Review of Literature ESP in Banking and Financial Areas English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has been long known as part of the teaching of English as a Foreign or Second Language (TFFL/TESL), in fact, since 1960 (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998, p. 1). The characteristics of ESP were explained by various researchers. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) describe that ESP is an approach to language teaching and learning which based on the learners’ need. ESP is not a special form or different kind of language, nor is it just the specific vocabulary and grammar specific to a particular occupation (p. 18). Furthermore, Robinson (1991) also supported the notion that ESP is primarily based on the learners’ needs and that “ESP is normally goal-directed” which means that the learners’ reasons for studying English are not only an interest in the English language, but also for their work purposes (p. 2).

Moreover, ESP has become important in international business firms in many countries. Zhang (2007, cited in Jiang, 2011) stated that over 80% of international corporations use English as their working language. In the banking and financial contexts, the language used in terms of banking terminology and phrases is quite unique. According to Roziņa and Zelgalve (2012), English for banking business has a specific context, meaning, and specific monetary and financial related information (p. 39). Bank employees have to know the meaning of the specific words and phrases which are frequently used in banking matters in order to deal efficiently with foreign customers. Furthermore, English listening and speaking skills are also important for bank employees who have to deal with foreign customers daily. Roziņa and Zelgalve (2012) also explained that English for banking is concerned with explaining and analyzing ‘the monetary matters-bound processes’ provided by the representation of both domestic and international areas. English Language Skills in Banking Call Center Services In banking call center services, listening and speaking are the most required skills for customer communication. Most of the call center tasks involve interpersonal communication. According to Vasavakul and Chinokul (2006), the results of their study revealed that listening and speaking are regarded as very difficult skills for Thai bank staff. Hence, oral and aural skills are both crucial for the CSRs who have direct customer contact. In order to serve and respond


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correctly to their customers’ requests, the bank staff should process good listening and speaking skills which are basic recruitment requirements (Fahmongkolchai, 2011).

According to Pinedo, Seshadri and Shanthikumar (2000), errors in transaction or service execution at financial call centers should be kept to a low level compared with other industries and a call center operator must be familiar with the products offered by her/his company as well as being knowledgeable of the laws that are applicable in each state (p. 368). In addition to providing accurate financial information, CSRs in non-speaking English countries need to be proficient in using the English language as communication errors may damage business. Therefore in order to minimize such damage and error in any service provision, banks are emphasizing the need for both improving the English language of their employees and their service competence.

Overall, several reasons have been uncovered for why English courses have not always been successful. For example, there may be a lack of instructors with a high degree of English proficiency, the basic requirement of CSR education, and an essential competency in English language teaching. Also, to meet the language learning needs and expectations of CSRs, it is necessary that these be accurately identified, along with the specific needs of those involved in the banking call center area prior to English training courses being conducted in order to reduce dissatisfaction levels. Needs Analysis Need analysis is an approach to the students’ specific needs in learning a language used for some specific purpose. Hutchinson and Waters (1987) stated that any language course should be based on perceived needs (p. 53). In order to identify these needs, they made the distinction between target needs (i.e. what the learner needs to do in the target situation) and learning needs (i.e. what the learner needs to do in order to learn). In addition, the target needs can be divided in terms of necessities, lacks, and wants. The “necessities” refer to "what does the learner need to know in order to function effectively in target situation," while “lacks” is defined as a gap between the target proficiency and the existing proficiency, and "wants" is defined as what the learners think they need to learn (p. 54-56). Hutchinson and Waters also suggested that the instrument used for identifying such needs should be questionnaires, interviews, observation, gathering texts for data collection, and informal consultations with sponsors, learners and other involved persons. Furthermore, more than one method can be used, and the questions should


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be about the target situation and the attitudes of the participants in different situations and within the learning process (p. 58-59).

Robinson (1991) interpreted needs as lacks. The “lacks” can refer to “what the students do not know or cannot do in English”. She stated that, to focus on the students’ needs at the end of course can be called “Target situation analysis (TSA)” (p. 8). Likewise, discerning the students’ skill level at the start of the language course and investigating their strengths and weaknesses can be called Present situation analysis (PSA). She also suggested that a needs analysis is the combination of TSA and PSA (p. 9), and the needs analysis should be completed before the course starts. However, a needs analysis needs to be repeated during the life of course, or annually, because the PSA may be changed by the students’ attitude and approach after they become involved with the course (p. 15).

In Dudley-Evans and St. John’s conceptualization (1998), a needs analysis is one of the key stages of ESP courses. It is neither unique to language teaching nor the needs assessment, but it is the basis of training programs. Dudley-Evans and St. John see a needs analysis as the corner stone of ESP that leads to a focused course (p. 122). They also explained the meaning of needs as a jigsaw which consists of three pieces: target situation analysis, learning situation analysis and a present situation analysis (p. 123).

A target situation analysis (TSA) includes "objective, perceived, and product-oriented needs". These objective and perceived needs are derived by outsiders from facts that can be verified. The learning situation analysis (LSA) includes "subjective, felt, and process-oriented needs". It means the subjective and felt needs that are derived from "the insiders and correspond to cognitive and affective factors". Accordingly, the product-oriented needs derive from the target situation and process-oriented needs derive from the learning situation. Meanwhile, a present situation analysis (PSA) will estimate "the strengths and weakness in language, skills, learning experiences" (p. 124). The concept of needs analysis as introduced by Dudley-Evans and St. John are illustrated in Figure 1 (p. 125).


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Figure 1. The Concept of Needs Analysis in ESP by Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998, p. 125).

The concept of a needs analysis in ESP, as proposed by Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998), is divided into the seven parts surrounding an environmental situation. A needs analysis takes personal information about the learners, language information about the target situations, the learners’ lacks, the learners’ needs from a course, the language learning needs, how to communicate in the target situation, and professional information about the learners - all significant factors to be taken into consideration. These important factors are a combination of the TSA, PSA, and LSA. To gather the needs of ESP learners, the researcher should consider all the important factors that will drive the development of an ESP course designed to meet all its learners’ needs. Course Evaluation Course evaluation is the process used to investigate the effectiveness of a course within the context of student learning. The evaluation results are crucial in considering any course re/design or improvement in the teaching and learning content and materials. According to Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998), evaluation in ESP is concerned with the effectiveness and the efficiency of learning that achieved the learning objectives, and it has to be built in as a part of the course design. They also suggest that the evaluation should not be used only to negatively comment on perceived problems, but rather a good evaluation should emphasize the successful aspects (p. 129). Furthermore, the evaluation might focus on course design, methodologies, the


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role of assessment, and other aspects of the learning situation (p. 129). According to Lesiak-Bielawska (2014), the objective of ESP course evaluations is much more complex than that for courses for English for General purposes (EGP). That is, the ESP course evaluation not only focuses on assessing the learners’ knowledge and skills obtained through to the end of the course, but it is to evaluate the acquired skills in the light of “the post-course vocational and academic experiences of the learners.”

In this study, the researcher applied the concept of needs analysis and evaluation introduced by Dudley-Evans and St. John (1998) to construct the research instruments in order to explore English language problems, the needs in English language skills, the needs in course content and materials, and the satisfaction levels with the existing English courses of the CSRs. Research Objectives This study addressed five research objectives as follows:

1. To explore the problems in English Language skills that CSRs always encounter in the phone banking service.

2. To analyze the ESP course needs for the CSRs in the phone banking services. 3. To investigate the CSRs’ satisfaction level with the existing English courses provided

for the phone banking services. 4. To recognize the Supervisors’ needs and expectations of the ESP courses for the

phone banking services. 5. To examine the relationship between the CSRs’ needs and the Supervisors’ needs

with regard to the ESP learning courses.

Research Methodology The research is an exploratory study with a mixed method research design integrating both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. This section then describes the research methodology in four sections: participants, instruments, data collection, and data analysis as follows:


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Participants The participants of this study consisted of 103 Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) and 12 Supervisors working at Bangkok Bank Phone Banking Center, Thailand. All participants had obtained the minimum of a Bachelor’s degree with majors in a variety of areas such as a Business Administration Program in Finance and Banking, Humanities, and Communication Arts. The participants were selected based on a convenience sampling technique through selection from the total population in this study. Instruments The research instruments for collecting the data consisted of the needs analysis questionnaires, course evaluation forms, and an interview form for use with the supervisors. All research instruments were designed based on the theological framework and the concept of needs analysis and evaluation introduced by Dudley-Evans and St John (1998). The questionnaire was divided into 4 parts aiming to explore English language skill problems encountered by the CSRs, their need of English language skills, and the needs of course content and materials, and finally the course expectations. Also, the course evaluation form consisted of only one part. The primary purpose of using the course evaluation form was to recognize the satisfaction level with the existing English courses. The questionnaire and course evaluation form were constructed based on a five-point Likert type rating scale, and it was written in two versions, both English and Thai, in order to ensure the respondents clearly understood all the questions. Furthermore, the researcher interviewed the supervisors regarding English language skill needs, the problems of the CSRs in the phone banking services, expectations, and suggestions. In the interview session, the supervisors were encouraged to give more fully detailed information and opinions related to the objective of the study. Data Collection The researcher administered the research instruments for collecting the data based on each objective of the study. The questionnaire and course evaluation were administered to 103 participants in September, 2015. They were asked to complete and return the questionnaires within 1 week. Moreover, the researcher conducted an interview with 12 Supervisors in September, 2015. The time used in an individual interview was approximately 20 minutes per interview. The interview data was recorded and then transcribed into English text format.


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Data Analysis The quantitative data collected from the questionnaires and the course evaluation forms were analyzed using descriptive statistics and interpreted in terms of percentage, mean and standard deviation. The percentage was calculated to present the personal information of the participants, their English proficiency, and the frequency of using English in their current work situation. The rating scales from the Needs Analysis Questionnaire were calculated for the mean and standard deviations and interpreted into the levels of the English language needs of the CSRs in the phone banking center. Also, the quantitative data from the Course Evaluation Form was calculated for the mean and standard deviations and interpreted onto the satisfaction levels based on the criteria of Srisaard (1996). The value of mean introduced by Srisaard (1996) was interpreted as (4.21 - 5.00) extremely, (3.41 - 4.20) very, (2.61 - 3.40) moderately, (1.81 - 2.60) slightly, and (1.00 - 1.80) Not at all.

Furthermore, to find out if there was a relationship amongst the needs of the Customer Service Representatives and Supervisors, as well as the expectations of the ESP courses, the qualitative data collected from the interview session were analyzed, using directed content analysis and a discussion of the findings using qualitative description.

Results and Discussions Problems in English Language Skills Encountered by CSRs The results from the questionnaire revealed that the overall problems in English language skills of the CSRs can be rated at a low level (M = 2.60; SD = 1.32). Most of the CSRs encountered a problem in understanding the customers’ requests at a moderate level (M = 2.66; SD = 1.22), as well as when they needed to greet, thank or apologize to their customers (M = 2.66; SD = 1.22). Meanwhile, the lowest problem amongst the CSRs’ English language skills was the correct pronunciation of English words (M = 2.52; SD = 1.29). In fact, these results were in accordance with a related study that English listening and speaking skills are the most important for the Thai Bank Staff in a similar service. For instance, according to Fahmongkolchai (2011), the bank tellers have a problem in listening when they encounter different English accents. Therefore, an English course for bank tellers should pay particular regard to the listening and speaking skills.


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The reason why the overall score of the English language skill problems of the CSRs was rated at a low level was because the majority of the CSRs in the Thai bank had passed the minimum qualification and testing in fundamental English before the start of their work. According to the Bangkok Bank, prior to any new employee qualifying to be a CSR, they had to pass a standard-testing exercise conducted by the Bank’s Recruitment Department. The standard-testing exercise assesses the employees’ cognitive aptitudes, personality, and English language proficiency (“Frequently Asked,” 2014). Therefore, the CSRs working at the Bangkok Bank Phone Banking Centers are expected to possess a knowledge of fundamental English in order to communicate with foreign customers.

Consequently, the results of English language skill problems expressed by the CSRs were related to the opinions expressed by the supervisors. Some supervisors revealed that the CSRs regularly encountered a variety of English accents from people of different countries. Some transcribed information was revealed as follows:

“…The nature of call center services was mainly communicating with customers over the telephone. Most of the CSRs in phone banking services in Thailand were non-native English speakers, and the CSRs always encountered a variety of English accents from people of different countries. Therefore, a top priority was listening skill in order to accurately understand a customer’s request.” Supervisor A.

Needs of ESP Courses for the CSRs on Phone Banking Services This section reports on the needs of the CSRs in term of English language skills (i.e. English listening, speaking and other related skills), and the ESP course content and materials that were gathered from the results of the questionnaire. In terms of the needs for English language skills, course content and materials, the results showed that listening to understand a customer’s needs was rated as the highest item of need amongst the listening skills (M = 3.45; SD = 1.33). Next, the skill to speak English in general conversation was the most selected by the CSRs (M = 3.37; SD = 1.39). Moreover, learning general vocabulary and sentence structures for telephone conversations were the most selected by the CSRs (M = 3.39; SD = 1.40). Therefore, the research results reflect the CSRs’ need of sufficient knowledge of general English language topics to communicate with their customers. Interestingly, although the language and terminology used in banking and financial contexts are quite unique, it is not amongst the most


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important things that the CSRs require for their daily work. In accordance with the research of Robinson (1991) who supported the notion that ESP is primarily based on learners’ needs, this study’s findings indicate that the learners who are studying English are not only interested in the language itself but also its use for their work purposes. Some of them may wish to apply their knowledge of language to communicate on general topics in daily life (P. 2). Moreover, some supervisors also supported the idea that the CSRs should develop their competency of English listening and speaking skills, as well as skills in English sentence structure, as seen in the following details.

“…The CSRs should develop their competency of English listening skills because if they cannot listen to understand a customer’s request, they will not able to respond correctly to the customer. Moreover, they have to improve their ability to speak with correct sentence structure.” Supervisor B.

Regarding the English Course Content and Materials, the CSRs require English dialogs

related to their working functions as the highest item (M = 3.76; SD = 1.26). In the banking call center itself, there is quality control in order to guarantee that the CSRs will not provide customers with incorrect information. It was noted that some service functions require more guidance in terms of information and specific dialogs in order to handle different customer encounter situations. In contrast, the CSRs gave the lowest scores evaluating the helpfulness of giving presentations in English learning classes. It was noted that it is not necessary to conduct such presentations in English learning courses. Moreover, some supervisors added more requirements to the content and materials of the courses, accordingly.

“…I think that the company should have a Sound Lab room using for listening practice particularly. The CSRs should start listening with the general topics such as listen to the English song or watching to the English film, then listening to the tape recoded from real working situation to learning technique and being familiar with the nature of real working situation.” Supervisor C.

Furthermore, the participants were encouraged to answer an open-ended question regarding the target and expectation of an English course. It was showed that 38.46% of the


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CSRs expressed that they want to improve their English language competency upon completion of the course, while 28.21% expected to improve their capability of making conversation exchanges with their foreign customers. The Satisfaction with the Current English Courses Provided to the CSRs The results of the course evaluation revealed that 56 CSRs had experiences in previous English training courses provided in their workplace. Investigating of their satisfaction with the current English courses was needed for this study. The researcher used the course evaluation form in order to obtain more opinions regarding the previous courses which could be beneficial to guide the planning of further ESP courses. The results of this study revealed that the CSRs were satisfied with the current English course (M = 3.51; SD = 0.87). For example, they were satisfied that the course included proper English conversations and etiquette for telephone communication and the lessons provided an opportunity to practice speaking in the classroom with the instructors and other students. However, it is to be noted that the overall satisfaction score was not rated at the very satisfied level. Therefore, future courses should fill the gap between the requirements of the CSRs and their supervisors in order to achieve higher satisfaction scores that reflect the effectiveness of the course. On the contrary, the majority of supervisors were not satisfied with the current English courses although they agreed that the CSRs’ English had improved following their attending the course. They believed that the competence in the English skills of the instructors will help the CSRs to achieve their goals even though banking and financial knowledge are considered as the essential skills that are required for instructors of the ESP course. The following comment was made by one supervisor:

“…Recently, an English course was conducted by the staff organization itself. It was good that the CSRs can learn from the real experience of the instructor; however they can provide only English knowledge at an intermediate level. It will be better if the CSRs have the opportunity to learn with the professional native English speaking instructor.”

Supervisor D.


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Supervisors’ Needs and Expectations of the ESP Courses The supervisors were encouraged to give more detailed information and opinions related to the objectives of the study. Therefore, qualitative data was gathered from the interview which was then analyzed by using a direct approach to content analysis. In conclusion, ten from the twelve participants agreed that listening skill was the major problem for the CSRs (83.33%), followed by the problems in speaking (50.00%). In terms of general English language skill needs, the eleven supervisors also commented that the CSRs should improve their listening skills (91.67%) and improve comprehension and interpretation skills (66.67%). Regarding the needs of English course content and materials, the majority of the supervisors mentioned that the course should provide listening practice using general topics (41.67%), followed by listening practice in specific work topics (33.33%). The supervisors were asked for their opinions toward the current English courses and the data analysis shows that seven from the twelve supervisors were not satisfied with the current English courses (58.33%). The supervisors also expected that further English courses could help to increase the efficiency of English usage (58.33%), followed by improving English language skills (41.67%) of the CSRs. In terms of the expectations of the supervisors towards the ESP learning courses, the supervisors expected that the CSRs could improve their listening, comprehension, and interpretation skills after attending an ESP course in order to respond correctly to customer requests. The Relation between the CSRs and Supervisors’ Needs and Expectations of the ESP Learning Courses The data analysis of the questionnaire and interviews shows that the opinions between the CSRs and the supervisors matched in 3 areas: 1) they both expected to improve their listening, comprehension, and interpretation skills in order to better understand the customer needs, 2) they expected to improve their speaking skills to be able to be more comfortable speaking in general conversation, 3), they expected to improve their English grammar and sentence structure. Moreover, the CSRs need to learn more general vocabulary, as well as specific banking and financial vocabulary. However, the supervisors did not mention this latter issue.


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Implications and Recommendations The results of the study disclose the needs and expectations of future ESP courses provided for the CSRs and supervisors in banking call center services. It can be argued that the English courses provided to the CSRs in the banking call center service should make use of content and materials regarding English listening and speaking practice which include both general English conversations and specific English for banking. If the bank chooses to offer English training courses based on the needs of CSRs, the results from this study would be beneficial for the bank to apply to the activities, content and materials used in future courses.

Secondly, as this study was conducted with CSRs from only one bank in Thailand, it is possible that its findings might not reflect the needs of all banking CSRs. Therefore it is recommended that future studies could be conducted to include a wider range of the CSRs from several banks in order to increase more accurate results and obtain more widely based perceptions.

Conclusion The primary purpose of the present study was to explore the problems in English language skill levels of CSRs working in phone banking services, to analyze the need of ESP courses for these CSRs, to recognize the CSR Supervisors’ needs and expectations regarding the ESP courses, to investigate the satisfaction levels amongst the CSRs with the existing English courses and, finally, to examine the relationship between the CSRs’ needs and the CSR Supervisors’ needs and expectations of the ESP courses. The data analysis reveals a result and discussion in accordance with the objectives of the study. Thus, the results show a collaboration of the needs of English language skills, course content and materials between CSRs and supervisors. Both want the training courses to integrate activities for practicing English listening and speaking. They also see the importance of speaking using a correct sentence structure. Moreover, lists of general and specific vocabulary might be included in the course.


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References

Asian Call Center Industry to Grow in 2007--callcenters.net. (2007). Abstract retrieved from http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/24038650/asian-call-center-industry-grow-2007-callcentres-net

Dudley-Evans, T., & St. John, M. J. (1998).Developments in English for specific purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Fahmongkolchai, A. (2011). Needs and problems in English listening and speaking skills of CIMB Thai bank tellers (Master’s project, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand). Retrieved from http://ir.swu.ac.th/xmlui/ handle/123456789/530

Frequently Asked Questions.(n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2014, from http://www.bangkok bank/aboutbangkokbank/aboutus/careers/pages/faq.aspx

Friginal, E. (2013). Evaluation of oral performance in outsourced call centers: An exploratory case study. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esp.2012.06.002

Gans, N., Koole, G., & Mandelbaum, A. (2003), Telephone calls centers: A tutorial and literature review. Manufacturing and Service Operations Management,5, 79-141.

Hutchinson, T., & Walters, A. (1987).English for Specific Purposes: A learning-centered approach [M]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lesiak-Bielawska, E. D. (2014). English for instrumentalists: Designing and evaluating an ESP course. English for Specific Purposes World, 15(43).Retrieved fromhttp://www.esp-world.info/Articles_43/Lesiak-Bielawska.pdf

Pinedo, M., Seshadri, S., & Shanthikumar, J.G. (2000). Call centers in financial services: Strategies, technologies and operations. In Creating Value in Financial Services,18, 357-388. Kluwer, Boston.

Robinson, P. (1991). ESP Today: A practitioner's guide. UK: Prentice-Hall International (UK). Roziņa, G.,& Zelgalve, E. (2012). English for banking: An instrument for international

communication. Humanities and Social Sciences Latvia, 20(1).University of Latvia. Vasavakul, A., & Chinokul, S. (2006). Business English oral communication (BEOC) for

customer services staff at international banks: Translating needs analysis to a course development (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.


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The Intersection of Language and Culture: English as an International Language and its Impact on Inter-cultural

Communication and Inter-cultural Integration

Valentin Valentinov Tassev Assumption University, Thailand

“English has become somewhat an exploration of the ‘self’ and ESL learners are given the opportunity to explore their identities and see themselves as representatives of a wider

community through the use of the language” (Tassev, 2014: 46)

Abstract This research paper investigates whether communicating in English allows a certain group of university students to become more inter-culturally competent or aware of other cultures as they use English in their daily lives.1 I have conducted a research study of a selected group of advanced students at a university based in Thailand and tried to determine whether while communicating in English, they have built a certain degree of intercultural competence and awareness, and how awareness of these existing cultural differences have influenced their perceptions of how they view themselves after all. Moreover, I am trying to explore whether awareness of these existing cultural differences have changed students’ roles and the nature of their relationships while interacting on a daily basis in a diverse, multicultural and international environment, such as their university (and beyond). Thus, I am trying to investigate the extent to which English as an international language has transformed boundaries with regards to

1 This particular study is an extension of a study that I conducted a while ago. This present study offers a more elaborate and detailed discussion of all the findings. Moreover, for the purpose of the present study, more participants were added and, therefore, more findings were obtained. Thus, the present study provides a summary of both the previous findings and the new findings obtained. The previous study could be found under: Tassev, V. (2015). See bibliography for more details!


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inter-cultural communication and inter-cultural integration, and therefore it could be regarded as cultural tool that brings people closer to one another nowadays.2 Keywords: culture, global citizen, identity, inter-cultural awareness, inter-cultural communication, inter-cultural competence, inter-cultural integration, international language, lingua franca, pragmatics, pragmatic awareness, pragmatic competence, self

2 Please, note that whenever keywords throughout the text are highlighted in italics, they therefore require increased attention and consideration, and are therefore quite important for the meaning of the sentence.


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Introduction Nowadays, English is considered as the lingua franca among nations and peoples all over the world. English language, thus, is the medium through which we communicate irrespective of our cultural, religious or ethnic beliefs and differences. In this regard, McKay (2002: 5) argues that as it is a language of wider communication among individuals from different countries (or native speakers of other languages), English therefore could be defined as “the international language par excellence”. Even though it is quite difficult to determine the number of English users nowadays, Crystal (2008) explains that the number of English users worldwide is estimated to reach the number of 2,000,000 people (ibid.).

Knowing English, therefore, is said to promote new levels for cooperation and integration among peoples and nations in today’s rapidly changing world. With regard to Thailand, Kongkerd (2013: 4) explains that English language education (ELE) is “extremely important” for Thais as they need to be able to communicate with people from various countries and multicultural backgrounds. For that reason, the author states that in order to be “effective English users”, Thais need to possess the knowledge and skills required for successful inter-cultural communication and integration (ibid.).

Aim and Objectives In light of this, the purpose of this study is to highlight the extent to which learning English also helps a number of Thai university students to learn more about the cultures, values and beliefs of other people. In other words, the particular purpose of this study is to explore whether language learning promotes learning about culture(s) as part of ELE in Thailand. On a broader level, this study aims to explore the relationship between language and culture, and reconfirm the belief (or statement) that they are mutually inter-dependent and inter-twined and, therefore, cannot be separated from one another.

For this particular purpose, this study is organised around two research questions kept in mind: 1. Provided that English has the status of an international language, what is the role of

English in bridging the cultural gap that divides peoples and societies all over the world?


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In other words, my intention here is to investigate whether English could simply be viewed as a medium of communicationor rather a phenomenon of culture that helps promote global cultural awareness. In particular, I would like to explore whether English should rather be considered as a transformational tool that enables one to feel part of a larger community and adopt new social roles. My aim therefore is to discuss whether the process of learning a language could lead to the promotion of inter-cultural awareness and inter-cultural competence.

Herewith, inter-cultural awareness in my understanding largely refers to the ability to understand and acknowledge the values, beliefs and perceptions that underlie the act of communication among people coming from different cultures. Similarly, as Zhu explains (2011: 116), it refers to the ability of one “placing himself into the cultural background of the target language” and being able to communicate effectively into this new foreign language environment.3

Moreover, I would also like to offer my personal thoughts on whether one could rather talk and think of English language learning as politics of integration in today’s rapidly changing world. Last but not least, I would like to discuss what role English language learning plays in promoting global citizens in the information age. These thoughts and ideas provide the foundation for a subsequent issue to be explored throughout this research study. 2. Does communication in English help create and add new perceptions of the self and new

perceptions of identity on behalf of those who learn it and use it?

In particular, my intention here is to investigate whether learning English allows people to extend or expand upon their own identity (identities) in new and multiple dimensions. In other words, I would like to explore whether English language learning allows its users to add new perceptions of the self and see themselves differently and in different light after having used it. 3 For the purpose of this analysis, the terms inter-cultural awareness and inter-cultural competence will be used mostly interchangeably as they both refer to building the linguistic and inter-personal skills needed for successful intercultural communication.


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Methodology One type of research instruments was used throughout this study: a semi-structured interview. The idea behind it was that the interview questions would be determined and designed based on the course of the interview; so, the interviewer allowed for a certain degree of freedom and flexibility on behalf of the interviewee to dictate the course of the interview. The interview consisted of mostly open-ended questions based upon and organized around the two research questions that were shown earlier. The findings were categorised whenever there were consistencies, recurring patterns and similarities among students’ responses as they were providing, justifying and elaborating on their answers. In other words, the procedure adopted was a ‘key word’ analysis, generating categories from the statements made by the respondents. This type of analysis thus allowed for the groupings of findings, so the data could be analysed and interpreted more easily later.

Subjects for the purpose of this study were seven graduate university level students based in Thailand. All these students were doing their MA in Applied Linguistics (ELT) or MA in English for Professional and International Communication (EPIC) at the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) at the time of the research study. These students have been deliberately chosen as subjects, because they were believed to be more advanced and proficient in English and expected, therefore, to be able to give more well-argued and well-supported opinions when interviewed. They were pursuing their MA degrees entirely in English and previously they had done courses specializing in intercultural communication at the MA level. Moreover, they also had had vast exposure to communicating with foreigners and they were pursuing their studies in quite an international setting: KMUTT.

Theoretical Framework This research study revolves mainly around the theoretical framework of pragmatics. According to Yule (1996: 4), pragmatics is the study of peoples’ intended meanings, their assumptions, their goals and purposes, and the types of actions (such as requests) that they perform when they speak. In other words, pragmatics could be defined as the study of how people “make sense of each other linguistically” (ibid.). Grundy (2000: 214), moreover, defines pragmatics as the study of language from a functional perspective or the study of the context-dependent nature of language use and language understanding.


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In my opinion, studies aimed at building pragmatic awareness or pragmatic competence are extremely important for the English language classroom as they could help introduce English language learners to the contextual meaning hidden behind words and utterances as one uses the new language/foreign language (L2). According to Fraser (2010: 15), pragmatic competence is indeed the ability to convey your intended message along with “all its nuances in any socio-cultural context” as well as to interpret the message of your interlocutor as it was initially intended.4

I believe that all English language learners need to undergo training and courses specialized in building pragmatic awareness/competence since such courses would help them learn more about the socio-cultural context of the L2 and, as a result, they might be able to integrate more easily within the new language community. As LoCastro (2010: 7) argues, even if speaker and listener share the same language (hence English), misunderstandings and glitches could often arise from the fact that language use is still embedded in the contextual framework that each speaker brings along.

Therefore, building pragmatic awareness/competence I believe is crucial for learners if they are willing to integrate more successfully in the new language community and convey and interpret meaning in the L2 appropriately and successfully. The concept of pragmatics is also appealing for the purpose of this study because, as it will be shown later, it explains how important it is for one to build the competence and skills needed for inter-cultural communication and inter-cultural integration in the era of English as the world’s dominant language. Pragmatics indeed is the conceptual framework that I believe explains best how culture and language co-interact and constantly influence one another, and the remainder of this research paper will indeed illustrate the nature of that mutually inter-dependent relationship. 4 For the purpose of this analysis, the terms pragmatic awareness and pragmatic competence will be used mostly interchangeably as they both refer to building the linguistic skills needed for successful intercultural communication.


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Data Interpretation and Discussion Section One English and the Promotion of Inter-cultural Awareness and Competence At large, the findings reveal that the use of English among participants has led to deeper awareness of other peoples’ cultures, their beliefs, cultural rituals, norms and practices. Participants have become more aware of other peoples’ cultures on a broader level and their knowledge has extended beyond what was previously known to them.

For example, a student revealed that by observing how people communicate and interact in English, she has now become aware of what they value in life; how they think and how their behavior and social norms are expressed and become apparent through language. For example, she has observed that greetings in English are more informal than in Thai, and that led her to the conclusion that greetings in English, thus, reflect the more Western idea of social relationships that are far less based on age and/or social status than they are among Thais: indeed an aspect of culture.

Another student revealed that through communicating in English, she has learnt to be more culturally aware and sensitive. In this regard, she stated that using English has taught her to consider what is the right (appropriate and socially acceptable) thing or wrong thing to say in various English contexts. Thus, when using English, she considers the socio-cultural aspects of communication that underlie or go along with the use of the language: the study of pragmatics. As one could see, the study of pragmatics helps explain well how important it is for students of English to be aware of the socio-cultural context underlying the usage of English for the purpose of successful communication and integration into the L2 community.

Another student too revealed that using English has exposed to her a whole new set of cultural differences and norms encoded and reflected through the use of language. And now, as she communicates in English, she considers all the cultural aspects that go along with the use of the language. For example, she has to apply more politeness strategies and be more culturally sensitive when functioning in the new context of language use or in English. According to Yuka (2009: 60), people use politeness strategies in order to “soften the threat to each other’s face”; i.e. they use these strategies in order to maintain good inter-personal relationships throughout the act of communication.


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Even when joking, the same participant stated that she had to bear in mind the appropriateness of words and phrases in the new socio-cultural context that surrounds English usage. She stated that in English unlike in Thai, one could not use the following expression: ‘You are fat’. That same student also stated that through being exposed to English, she has learnt more about the concepts of individualism versus collectivism when comparing Thai with English. She also has observed that perhaps English language is more direct than Thai as it represents more direct and open set of relationships that are more typical for the Western world. Thai, in contrast, is more indirect and/or formal as speakers consider the social aspects and norms of their inter-relationships that reflect the Thai culture (of speaking and doing things). As one can see, again these all are aspects that differ between English and Thai on a socio-cultural level and from students’ eyes, they become apparent through the use of language.

Two other students also noted the socio-cultural differences and contexts that underlie the usage of both Thai and English. For example, one student has observed that greetings in English are perhaps more neutral while greetings in Thai are more socially-oriented or based upon some pre-determined social roles and relationships. Thai speakers, therefore, have to be more aware of their social roles when communicating with one another unlike when communicating in English. Once again, these are aspects of culture that define the major differences between both cultures (Thai and English/Western) that become apparent as one produces the L2, here English.

Having explored the influence of English on the promotion of inter-cultural awareness and inter-cultural competence, I then proceeded to explore the role language learning plays in adding new perceptions of the self. Thus, my intention was to investigate the extent to which learning English allows people to extend or expand upon their own identity (identities) in new and multiple dimensions. Section Two English and Its Impact on Behavior, Identity (Identities) and New Perceptions of the Self At large, the findings of this study suggest that learning and using English has led to changes in behaviour and identity among the participants. Moreover, communicating in English has resulted in them expanding upon their identities; adopting new social roles and personas.


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English to a certain extent has made them see themselves and perceive themselves differently after having used it extensively.

For example, one student expressed that using English has allowed her to be more informal and feel closer to the other speaker, unlike in Thai. That perhaps has resulted in a more personal and open relationship when interacting with foreigners. Another student revealed that when communicating in English, she too feels she performs a different social role: she tends to be more direct and informal. Thus, in the context of her interaction with others, she perceives herself to be behaving differently and the nature of her talk with foreigners has made her see herself in a different way perhaps.

Another student shared that when using English, she indeed “expresses her ideas from a different perspective...from a foreigner’s perspective...” Thus, she stated that she perhaps thinks and talks like a foreigner. She is, thus, quite aware of her social role in the act of conversation and considers all the socio-cultural aspects that go along with the use of English.

In this regard, she tends to be more polite, culturally sensitive and culturally aware of what the right (appropriate and socially acceptable thing) is to say in the new, different context. She again explained the difference in terms of appropriacy of usage on a socio-cultural level when comparing English and Thai with regard to the following expression: ‘You are fat’. Lastly, the participant stated that in the context of her interaction with others, she too perceives herself to be behaving differently and the nature of her talk with foreigners has made her see herself in a different way perhaps. As it has become obvious once again, the study of pragmatics is indeed so appealing as it highlights the importance of students’ awareness of these cultural and contextual differences for the purpose of successful communication and integration into the L2 community.

Another student noted that communicating in English has changed her perception(s) of the self or has impacted profoundly on her behavior and identity. She stated:

“…According to self, I used to think that it is about myself, just about me. Nowadays, I

realize that self means you and social. If you want to be happy in society, you have to adjust yourself with intercultural.”

This student thus explained that the process of language re-adjustments that one goes

through constantly in the L2 also has an impact on their behavior and is largely a part of one’s personality development. She suggested therefore that communicating in the L2 leads to changes in one’s character and relationship with the surrounding reality and as language


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changes, so do one’s identity, their values, system of beliefs and, largely, how one views their position in society and interaction with others. In this regard, the last statement that she made was that now she knows how to “act in appropriate behavior” and “survive in the real world” after having built up the required pragmatic competence and knowledge.

Another participant added that she has now become more “socially-oriented”, socially aware and perhaps more socially responsible. She too added that English has helped her change her perceptions of the world a lot and also how to interact with others.

Furthermore, another student expressed that the language has made her more curious and willing to learn more about other peoples’ cultures and beliefs. She thus explained that she started simply with acquiring knowledge about the language and now she uses the language to acquire more knowledge about other peoples’ cultures.

Concluding Remarks As it has become obvious, English language learning has helped promote peoples’ inter-cultural awareness and understanding, and communicating in L2 has thus brought about a multi-cultural society whereby despite their own diversity (diversities), people are united via a single language: English. Moreover, communicating in the L2 has enabled people to extend upon and expand their own identities/personas and perform new social roles in today’s rapidly changing world. In conclusion, I would argue that English, therefore, is a transformational tool that helps people integrate in new frameworks of communication and communities of interests world-widely and, as such, it successfully facilitates the promotion of global citizens nowadays.


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References

Fraser, B. (2010). Pragmatic Competence: The Case of Hedging. In Kaltenbock, G., Mihatsch, W. & Schneider, S. (Eds.), New Approaches to Hedging. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Available online at: http://www.bu.edu/sed/files/2010/10/2010-Pragmatic-Competence-The-Case-of-Hedging.pdf

Grundy, P. (2000). Doing Pragmatics. Arnold: Oxford University Press. Kongkerd, W. (2013). Teaching English in the Era of English Used as a Lingua Franca in

Thailand. Executive Journal, 33 (4): 3-12. LoCastro, V. (2010). Misunderstandings: Pragmatic Glitches and Misfires. In Tatsuki D. &

Houck, N. (Eds.), Pragmatics: Teaching Speech Acts. Alexandria: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc.

McKay, S. (2002). Teaching English as an International Language: Rethinking Goals and Approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Tassev, V. (2013). English in the Age of Globalization: A Transformational Tool for Cross-Cultural Cooperation and Integration. GALAXY-The IELE Journal,2: 44-49; Available online at: http://www.iele.au.edu/galaxy/2013/Galaxy%202_2013.pdf

Tassev, V. (2015). English as a Lingua Franca in the Information Age: Insights into its Role in Promoting Global Citizens and Creating New Definitions of the Self. ASEAN Journal of Education (AJE),1 (1). Available online at: http://www.aje.research.dusit.ac.th/flie/vol2_1/1_Valentin.pdf

Yuka, A. (2009). Positive Politeness Strategies in Oral Communication 1 Textbooks: Focusing on Terms of Address. The Economic Journal of Takasaki City University of Economics, 52 (1): 59-70. Available online at: http://www1.tcue.ac.jp/home1/kgakkai/ronsyuu/ronsyuukeisai/52_1/akutu.pdf

Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Zhu, H. (2011). From Intercultural Awareness to Intercultural Empathy. English Language

Teaching, 4 (1). Available online at: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/viewFile/9671/6919


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English in Thailand: From EFL to ELF

Wannapa Trakulkasemsuk King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract The status of English in Thailand has long been stated as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, since English is highly recognised as a major international language worldwide, the status of English, in the real use of Thai users, might have changed. This study presents a survey result of how regular Thai English users from various areas of professions in Bangkok use the language. The findings illustrate that the Thai English users commonly use English as their Lingua Franca (ELF), rather than as their Foreign Language (EFL). With this major tendency in the status change, this paper calls for a reconsideration of English models and English language teaching in Thailand to assist Thai English users for the real English international communication. Keywords: EFL, ELF, Thai English users, English in Bangkok


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Introduction With its wide spread over the world, English is undoubtedly recognized as a major international language by global communicators (Crystal, 1997; Graddol, 1997; Halliday, 2005; Jenkins, 2003; Kachru, 1986, 1992; Kirkpatrick, 2007). English has been described with several terms depending on where it is situated, its status and/or how people use it. Based on the classic model of Kachru (1986, 1992), English(es) can be classified into three concentric circles with different status. In the inner circle, English is regarded as a native language of the people (ENL). In the outer circle, English is used as a second or official language of the countries (ESL). In the expanding circle, English is set as a foreign language (EFL). Since the notion of World Englishes (WE) has flourished, scholars in the field then argue for distinct varieties (Crystal, 1997; Jenkins, 2003; Kachru, 1992; McKay, 2002; Schneider, 2011). Mostly, Englishes in the outer circle are accepted to be legitimate varieties as the outer circle English users have been using English much enough until they can develop their own standards and norms of English to serve their intranational communication in their own local speech communities. Meanwhile, the English users in the expanding circle still need to depend on the standards and norms provided by the users from the inner circle.

However, that was the phenomenon in the past century. Now in this complete globalization era where communication technology is tremendously advanced, global communication is changed. The world of communication seems to be much smaller making people from every corner of the world easily communicate to one another in a few seconds. This leads to the rapid growth of the need for English as a medium of global communication. Thus, the number of English users is increasing sharply. As it can be noticed that non-native users of English pervasively outnumber native speakers (Crystal, 1997, 2000; Graddol, 2006), scholars then have paid attention to the use of English among non-native speakers, not only those in the outer circle but also in the expanding circle. Instead of non-native speakers using English to communicate with its native speakers, it could be observed that English has reached its true status as an international language (EIL) in that non-native speakers from different language backgrounds use it to communicate with one another and most of the time without the presence of the native speakers (Jenkins, 2007; McKay, 2002; Seidlhofer, 2011).

Then, the concept of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) was introduced. ELF is different from WE in that WE describes distinct characteristics of a variety of nonnative speakers in a particular speech community or country (e.g. Singaporean English, Chinese English, Indian English and so on) while ELF describes possible global characteristics of English produced by


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English users from different first language worldwide. (Jenkins, 2007, 2014; Seidlhofer, 2011). In sum, the main difference between studies of WE and ELF is that WE studies how nonnative speakers use English intranationally and ELF studies how nonnative speakers use English internationally. English in Thailand Turning to a country in the expanding circle like Thailand, the status of English in the country has long been formally described as a foreign language. Since 1824, English has been taught in Thailand. However, it was restricted to a certain group of people: diplomats, royalty and courtiers (Darasawang and Watson Todd, 2012). Later in 1921, English has been integrated into Thai formal education since then. This means all Thai students in formal education are required to learn the English language. As Thailand is a country which has never been colonized by any English speaking countries, the national language remains its strength and English remains its foreign language status in the Thai national curricula (Darasawang, 2007).

The emphasis on English as a foreign language in English language teaching in Thailand leads to the selection of native speaking models either British or American (Watson Todd and Keyuravong, 2004). EFL implies the target of native-like proficiency and standards. The EFL notion seems to be contradicting if ones consider the general phenomenon of English use nowadays in which native speakers are usually absent. The role of English in Thailand seems to be more than just a foreign language. In fact, it should be called an international language of the country (Smalley, 1994) since Thai people use it as the foremost additional language to communicate with non-Thai speakers both inside and outside the country.

Since the view on the status of English in the country can generally dictate English teaching and testing, it might be a time for authorised people involving in the area to rethink about it. The relatively low English proficiency of the Thais (Bunnag, 2015) might have been caused by the view of the language that then influences educational policy (Darasawang and Watson Todd, 2012). The main concern of EFL for learners to achieve the native standards, norms and culture might not be truly applicable in nowadays authentic use of the language. In reference to the realm of global communication, the real need of English learners and users might not be to communicate with the native speakers, but mainly to other nonnative ones. Therefore, to gain more input for further reconsideration of ELT in Thailand, this study aims to explore how Thai English users really use the English language in their daily practice and thus the current status of English in Thailand can be suggested.


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Methodology A survey questionnaire was distributed online with an aim to gather as many responses as possible. An online questionnaire was produced. Then, the link to the questionnaire was posted on the researcher’s Facebook. An informal snowball method was applied. That is the people on the researcher’s network completed the questionnaire and shared it on their networks to help recruit more respondents. The questionnaire was separated into three main sections. The first two sections were to gain related information from the respondents in order to make sure that they were a good representative of a typical Thai English user. Information from these sections include the respondents’ personal and educational background. Before proceeding to analyse the main data from the last section of the questionnaire, data from these two sections were considered so as to exclude some respondents who were not match the research purpose. The information must help confirm that the selected respondents were a native Thai speaker who was born and raised in Thailand and they must not be a true bilingual of Thai and English. To scope down the target, the selected respondents must hold at least a bachelor’s degree and they are now in Bangkok. This is to ensure that the participants have sufficient exposure to the learning and the use of English. With the advantage of an online questionnaire, it was distributed to many different groups of people. As a result, the respondents’ occupations are various and thus they could represent the Thai English user population well. After considering the respondents data from the first two sections of the questionnaire, a total of 136 survey respondents were selected and the information about their language use provided was analysed.

Limitation There is a main limitation of this current study. Since the study aims to explore how Thai English users ‘use’ the language, the selected respondents should be those who present a certain tendency of English communication. Therefore, only university educated people who were currently in Bangkok, the capital city, were included. This limitation makes the results of this study not generalizable to the whole Thai population. To most of the Thais, English might be seen as a foreign language as they may never or rarely use it. However, if ones would like to know how English is really used in Thai contexts, the samples in this study can reasonably illustrate the situations. Thus, it can at least provoke some thought of how English language teaching in Thailand should be conducted. If it aims to equip Thai people with a tool for


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international communication, this study can then provide some initial information for further consideration.

Results To prospect the current status of English in Thailand, first thing first we need to see how frequently Thai users use the language. From Table 1, it could be seen that English is used for a reasonable frequency. None of the respondents never use English in their daily routines and only a few of them saying that they rarely use it. In contrast, the majority of the respondents reported that they have integrated the use of English on a regular basis. This can be interpreted that English certainly have its roles in the country, at least by the use of those educated Thai people working in the capital city. Table 1: Frequency of English use by Thai users

Always 24 17.65% Usually 40 29.41% Occasionally 56 41.18% Rarely 16 11.76% Never 0 0.00%

Table 2 shows that English used by the Thais mostly takes place inside the country. This signifies that even if the native language of the country highly remains its strength, English is another additional and important language in the country. In other words, English is not only used by the Thais only when they are abroad where the use of the Thai language cannot be expected nor possible. Table 2: Places where English is use by the Thais

Thailand 106 79.1% English speaking countries 45 33.6% Other foreign countries 72 53.7%


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The next dimension explored is the domains of English use by the respondents. For this question in the questionnaire, the respondents were allowed to provide more than one answer since a person might not use English in only one domain. It can be seen from the results that English is significantly used by Thai users in the work domain. This can possibly be interpreted that jobs in Thailand, at least in Bangkok, generally demand English use and communication. If this is so, knowing English does not seem to be a special skill that can provide some advantages to the workers. In fact, it should be understood as a common skill required by most of the jobs and those who are not able to use the language might be disadvantaged. Table 3: Domains of English use

Work 112 82.35% Study 80 58.82% Socializing 59 43.38% Travel/Pleasure 84 61.76% Family 13 9.56% Friends 57 41.91% Other 3 2.21%

Study is another formal domain that Thai English users regularly use the language. Since

the respondents in this study hold at least a bachelor’s degree, it could be said that the ability in English use and communication is required in the graduate level of education: Master’s or Doctoral degree.

Apart from the formal domains, Thai English users usually incorporate their use of English into many domains of their personal life as well (i.e. socializing, travel/pleasure, and friends).

It is not beyond expectation that English is normally used in the formal domains of communication that are work and study as we may generally notice the influence of the language. However, it is interesting to see that English use is also integrated into personal domains. This means English is not only required by professions. Thai users also use English for some other purposes that they can choose if they want to use English or not. This piece of findings can suggest that English has become an important additional language in the Thai society. Even though the current study did not explore in details in terms of the depth of English use, the use in personal domains may help signal it. In friendly talk, for example, interlocutors


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need to incorporate some sort of in-depth communication. They can communicate naturally about any unexpected topics, express their emotions, sharing detailed information and so on. In other words, their English communication might not include only the surface and rigid or formulaic patterns. Thus, it can be concluded that Thai English users have gain some reasonable English communication proficiency and English has become an important language in communication of Thai people, apart from Thai.

When asking about their target audience in English communication, it is very obvious that English is used by Thai users in communication with foreigners much more often than with English native speakers. Moreover, it is interesting to see that English also plays some roles in communication among the Thais, even if they share the same native language. Table 4 Target audience of Thai users in English communication

Thai speakers 51 38.3% English native speakers 60 45.1% Foreigners 107 80.5%

This piece of findings illustrates that English is no more a language that Thai people only

use to communicate with its native speakers. The fact that the respondents use English with foreigners twice as highly as they do with English native speakers agrees with what the scholars in the field of World Englishes and English as a Lingua Franca are arguing. Thai English users have more opportunities to use English with foreigners than with native speakers. Thus, norms of communication and language forms might be deviated from those of the native speakers to those of nonnative speakers, even unintentionally. From this point, it seems possible that Thai English users might not really have to apply native standards in their use of English although they might attempt to.

Even if the portion of English use between Thai users themselves is relative small comparing to that between Thai users and foreigners, it is interesting to note that it occurs quite as often as English communication between Thai users and English native speakers. If the frequency of communication could possibly shape the way people use a language, this can mean that a possibility for Thai English users to gain English native communication norms is equal to a possibility for them to develop their own Thai norms of English communication.


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Discussion The survey results illustrate the current situation of English use in Thailand by the Thai educated users in the capital city, Bangkok. The results reveal that the role of English in Thailand might not be only a foreign language. English is not used mainly for the Thais to communicate with English native speakers. Thus, the form of English use in real practice might be deviated from the native standard.

To explain English in Thailand, there were several attempts by many studies in the field of World Englishes to describe certain distinct characteristics of Thai English so as to argue for the existence of Thai English varieties (Chutisilp, 1984; Pingkarawat, 2002; Trakulkasemsuk & Pingkarawat 2010; Tsukada, 2008, 2009; Watkhaolarm, 2005). However, when considering the range and depth in use and the status of English in the country, it seems too early to confirm the existence of Thai English variety. Comparing the state of English in Thailand to Schnieder’s model (Schnieder, 2011), roughly I could posit that it is only in the second stage from the five stages in which legitimate variety can be confirmed. Nonetheless, the findings of this study have shed some light to the beginning of Thai English variety in the next stage. As World English concepts are stated as a discussion of English version of intranational communication, that the findings reveal that Thai English users are starting to use English among themselves inside the country indicates a possibility of Thai nativised variety of English in the near future if Thai English users keep expanding the use of English in this way.

Turning to the discussion of the current status of English in Thailand at present, the concepts of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) might suit best. English is the main medium of communication between Thai users and other nonnative speaking foreigners. With different language backgrounds and cultures, ELF users might then together learn to alter or adjust their English communication. The use of ELF may not strictly require the knowledge of native norms and culture. In fact, to use ELF effectively, ones should be sensitive to international norms and intercultural differences instead.

Based on the Basic Education Core Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2008), English is stated as the main foreign language that the standards of the core curriculum prescribe. Even though it is stated that the knowledge of foreign language (English) should help learners “know and understand diversified matters and events of the world community and will be able to creatively convey the conceptions and cultures of Thainess to the global society”, the prescription of language ability and learners’ quality strictly relies on the native model still.


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Since it is clear in the real practice of Thai English users that they use English as a lingua franca, the view of English teaching and learning in the country might need to be reconsidered. What is prescribed in the Basic Education Core Curriculum can be appropriate for other foreign languages since they might still be used by Thai learners to communicate with their native speakers. However, English should be viewed separately. In other words, English should not be simply classified as a foreign language given its special status in the country.

If the heart of using a language is successful communication, intelligibility can be more important than accuracy, based on native standards. Teachers and/or educators may need to bear in mind about this point. That Thai students are not quite successful in their learning of English might be resulted from the target language proficiency prescribed by the EFL curriculum. Since typical Thai students in Thailand do not generally have much contact with English native speakers, the EFL goal in English teaching may be difficult for Thai learners to approach. Therefore, students may lack motivation through the way they learn the language or they might learn the language only for passing tests but not for communication. Therefore, it might be the time that one may have to rethink about the change in English teaching model from EFL to ELF since ELF may possibly offer a more tangible goal. If so, instead of trying to teach how to use English accurately; communication strategies, how students could make their English intelligible and awareness of intercultural differences can be regarded as additional essential elements in English classroom teaching.

Conclusion The study has investigated how Thai educated English users in Bangkok use the language. The findings show that Thai English users usually use English in their daily life including professional and personal domains. Also, they most commonly use English to communicate with foreigners who are not English native speakers. Therefore, it could be interpreted that, by practice, the status of English in Thailand has been changed from the formerly stated one as a foreign language to a lingua franca. With this change, the goal of English teaching and learning may need to be reconsidered and that could lead to a revolution of how English should be taught and evaluated.


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Bunnag, S. (2015). English skills lowly ranked. Bangkok Post, 5, 10 August 2005. Crystal, D. (1997). English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D. (2000). The future of Englishes. In A. Burns & C. Coffin (Eds), Analysing English

in the global context: a reader (pp.53-64). London: Routledge. Jenkin, J. (2003). World Englishes: A resource book for students. London: Routledge. Jenkin, J. (2007). English as a lingua franca: attitude and identity. Oxford: Oxford University

Press. Jenkin, J. (2014). English as a lingua franca in the international university. London:

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PhD dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Darasawang, P. (2007). English language teaching and education in Thailand: a decade of

change. In D. Prescott (Ed), English in Southeast Asia: varieties, literacies and literatures (pp. 185-202). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press.

Darasawang, P. and Watson Todd, R. (2012).Policy on English language teaching at secondary schools in Thailand. In E. Low & A. Hashim (Eds), English in Southeast Asia: features, policy and language in use (pp. 207-220). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English? London: British Council. Graddol, D. (2006). English next: why global English may mean the end of English as a foreign

language. London: British Council. Halliday, A. R. (2005). The struggle to teach English as an international language. Oxford:

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Englishes. Oxford: Pergamon. Kachru, B. B. (1992). The other tongue: English across cultures. Urbana and Chicago:

University of Illinois Press. Kirkpatrick, A. (2007). World Englishes: implications for international communication and

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Pingkarawat, N. (2002). Cohesive features in documentary articles from English newspapers in Thailand and in America. Asian Englishes, 55(2), 24-43.

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Smalley, W. A. (1994). Linguistic diversity and national unity: language ecology in Thailand. Chicago IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Trakulkasemsuk, W. & Pingkarawat, N. (2010). A comparative analysis of English feature articles in magazines published in Thailand and Britain: linguistic aspects. In R. Facchinetti, D. Crystal & B. Seidlhofer (Eds), From international to local English and back again (pp. 79-92). Bern: Peter Lang.

Tsukada, K. (2008). An acoustic comparison of English monophthongs and diphthongs produced by Australian and Thai speakers.English World-Wide, 29(2), 194-211.

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Are Thai and English News Stories Structured Differently?

Watcharee Wongthanet, Richard Watson Todd School of Liberal Arts,

King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract Contrastive rhetoric involves examining the different ways through which writers using different languages shape their discourse, and emphasises that one style of writing is not necessarily better than others. In this paper, we investigate whether the discourse structures of Thai and English are different by using news reports written by Thai journalists on the same topics from Thai and English newspapers widely published in Thailand. Six pairs of short domestic news articles were analysed focusing on the sequencing of concepts in the news stories. Differences in the sequencing of concepts were apparent in the onset of the reports on the first few paragraphs. The concepts in these sections were organised into text-specific schematic hierarchies following topic-based analysis, and the distances of moves between concepts in the hierarchies were calculated. Findings show that Thai discourse tends to closely follow the schematic structures of the hierarchies, whereas English discourse prioritises concepts based on their newsworthiness. Keywords: Contrastive rhetoric, Sequence of concepts, Newspaper discourse


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Introduction Contrastive rhetoric involves examining differences and similarities in writing across languages and cultures. Under the basic assumption of contrastive rhetoric that written discourse is culture specific, every language is thought to have its own preferred writing conventions and specific rhetorical expectations (Connor, 1996). This area of research was initiated by Robert Kaplan in 1966 with the original aim to explain the writing problems of students of English who have different cultural backgrounds and to offer pedagogical implication. He contrasted the linear pattern of the English paragraph structure with the organization of paragraphs in Semitic, Oriental, Romance and Russian languages. He found that native speakers of English tend to write with linear logical progression; Asians tend to write in a circular, recursive logical progression; speakers of Semitic, Romance, and Russian languages were found to write in multi-iterative, back-and-forth progression (Kaplan, 1966). His oversimplified structural patterns of five cultural traditions suggested that different languages, as a consequence of culture, have different rhetorical structural norms.

However, Kaplan’s contrastive rhetoric was criticised for promoting the superiority of the writing of native English speakers and regarding L1 transfer on L2 writing as a negative effect (Zoltán, 2001; Connor, 2002; Saracino, 2004). The area of study has moved from student writing to ESP writing in different genres, such as research articles, economic texts, textbooks, business writing and newspaper columns (Mauranen, 1993; Zoltán, 2001; Dafouz-Milne, 2008; Rahimpour & Faghih, 2009). Connor (2002) asserts that “all groups engage in a variety of types of writing, where preferred patterns of writing are genre dependent.” (Connor, 2002). New contrastive rhetoric stresses that one style of writing is not necessarily better than others, thereby focusing on awareness of the different writing conventions, different roles of writers, and different audience expectations across language, culture, and even specific discourse communities.

News media are a common form of written discourse and constitute a particular type of discourse, which has become an important field of research in applied linguistics (Renkema, 2009). It is important for a number of reasons (Bell, 1991), among which the most interesting for this study are the easy accessibility and the representation of the language in use. News stories are one of the most prevalent discourses in everyday life; therefore, they are a great source of naturally-occurring data for linguists. Several works on news stories, including those of van Dijk (1998), Bell (1991) and Fairclough (1995), have particularly looked at the textual properties of the texts of the news which have suggested features of rhetorical patterns of the


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genre. Due to local diversity and global connectedness, there are print and online English language newspapers published in almost every country. This fact allows contrastive rhetoric to be done to compare data sets of discourses across different languages.

From a contrastive rhetoric perspective, this present study investigates whether the discourse structures of Thai and English are different by using news reports, focusing on the sequencing of concepts in the news stories.

Contrastive Rhetoricon News Discourse There has been some contrastive rhetoric-related research in the area of news discourse. These studies revealed that there were some similarities and differences between news rhetoric structures across languages or in one language across L1 groups.2151 Along this line, Tirkkonen-Condit and Lieflader-Koistinen (1989) compared Finnish, German and English editorials. The study revealed that English editorials put the argument statement at the beginning of the text less frequently than the German editorials, while the Finnish texts did not have an argument statement. In another study, Afzal and Harun (2013) made a comparative analysis of editorial contents taken from The News International and the Arab News. The main focus of the research was the rhetorical strategies and persuasive type of language employed by editors in their texts. It was found that the two newspapers followed generic rhetorical strategies; however, some devices were more preferred over others by editors of different backgrounds. Similarly, Babaee (2010) analysed twenty English and twenty Persian newspaper editorials from The New York Times and Tehran Times in terms of the employment of rhetorical structures and devices. The analysis revealed that editorial writers employed certain rhetorical structures such as Personification, Metaphor, Metonymy and Irony to persuade the readers. However, they were not consistent in the frequency of using these devices. Following a contrastive rhetoric method, Zoltán (2001) analysed the rhetorical structure of Hungarian and English newsmagazine articles by applying van Dijk’s (1988) framework for the analysis of news reports on their schematic superstructure. The findings showed that even though there are many similarities in the rhetorical structure of English and Hungarian background articles on politics, two clear differences, namely, functions of leads and the use of explicit advance organisers and metalinguistic devices, were detected.


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There have been a few contrastive rhetoric studies investigating Thai news discourse. Navarat (1989), for example, compared the business journalism styles in The Nation, an English language newspaper in Thailand, and The Wall Street Journal, an American English newspaper and found that The Nation’s business journalism style is more formal than that of The Wall Street Journal. Another work by Chana and Tangkiengsirisin (2012) investigated the differences in discourse structure between English news stories published in Thailand and those published in the U.S.A. and found that news articles reported by different news agencies were differently presented. The American newspaper presented many more events than the Thai counterparts when reporting the same story. In addition, source attribution and news actor were presented differently by each news agency. There seems to be room for further research on a micro-level rhetorical structure of news reports which could contribute to a better understanding of the rhetorical differences between English and Thai discourses. Hence, this study seeks to explore the differences of discourse structures between Thai and English news reports with an emphasis on sequencing of concepts. The study takes on a contrastive rhetoric approach to identify writing conventions between the two languages used by Thai writers. A consequence of the discrepancies in styles and conventions between Thai and English news stories could also shed light on the different standards regarding what constitutes proper writing in each culture.

Methodology The principal aim of this paper is to analyse the conceptual structure of Thai and English news articles from a contrastive rhetoric perspective. The contrastive rhetoric analysis of two sets of newspaper articles was carried out in order to observe how the reports of the same events were constructed in two different languages. Topic-based analysis proposed by Watson Todd (1998; 2003) and newsworthiness analysis were adopted for the data analysis. The former was applied to analyse and organise nominal concepts into text-specific schematic hierarchies, whereas the latter was performed to examine the newsworthiness based on the givenness and newness of information. The detailed methods are presented as follows.


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The data To uncover similarities and differences of news discourse structures across languages and cultures, contrastive rhetoric studies have primarilycomparedpairs of news items. For example, several comparisons have been made between newspaper reports from different countries, mainly looking at the writing conventions between writers of different L1 or between native and non-native writers. In most such studies, the content of the articles analysed differed between the two groups being compared, adding an extra variable to the comparison and making it difficult to conclude that L1 differences were the cause of any differences in rhetorical structures. To avoid this problem, in this study the data consists of pairs of articles of similar length on the same topic written in different languages.

To achieve the aim to examine the different ways through which writers using different languages shape their discourse, six pairs of short domestic news articles were selected to be compared. The news reports were taken from Thai and English newspapers widely published in Thailand. Since the study focuses on examining conventionalised features of the genre with an assumption that genre has generic characteristics which are independent from the characteristics of the writers or journalist institutions, the new articles selected were not restricted to particular newspapers. The major selection criteria considered in selecting pairs of news articles are that both articles of each pair are minor domestic news stories on the same events with roughly the same length, and that both texts contain roughly the same information. With the attention to identify writing conventions between the two languages used by Thai journalists, international news, which tend to be products of direct translation from the original source, are considered inappropriate for the study. The researchers also made sure that the news articles were originally produced by Thai journalists, judging from the names of writers for English newspapers. A complete list of the selected articles can be found in Appendix 1. The methods of analysis The major analytical procedures of the present study are the identification of nominal concepts, construction of schematic hierarchies and identification of newsworthiness.


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1. Identification of nominal concepts For the initial stage, concepts were identified and filtered from the news reports. Due to the fact that concepts are usually labelled by nouns and that nouns carry information rather than other word types, concepts, for this study, are taken to be represented by nouns and noun phrases. The identification is not always an easy task. Identifying nominal concepts in Thai texts suffers from ambiguities in determining word boundaries. For instance, the phrase .................from text T4 (translated into English as ‘to chair’ or ‘to be a chairperson’) can be considered either one meaning unit as a multi-word verb or two units as a verb plus a noun. To resolve ambiguities when necessary, the identification of Thai concepts is based on what is suggested by the paired English text. For this case, in Text E4 the verb ‘led (by)’ is used in semantic parallel to the Thai phrase, so it is considered as a multi-word verb. To check the intra-rater reliability, the process was performed a second time on different days.

For a further analysis, the filtered concepts are assigned a number according to the order in which they occur in the text. This helps determine the salient features of the conceptual sequences and facilitates in locating the boundary of data chunks to be further analysed. Since differences in the sequencing of concepts are apparent in the onset of the reports on the first few paragraphs, the concepts occurring in these sections are taken for the next stages of analysis.

To illustrate the concept identification, consider the following example of a pair of articles. The nominal concepts are underlined with an assigned number of their occurrence order in brackets. When there are variant terms referring to the same concept, only the term in the first occurrence was taken. As in the text E4, the terms 5 new members, the names and the list all refer to the same concept; therefore, only the term 5 new members, which occurs first in the text, was used. Text E4 (© Bangkok Post, 5 new members join NACC, 21 October 2015)

Five new members(1) are set to join the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC)(2), replacing retired commissioners(3). A selection panel(4) led by Constitution Court president Anurak Mapraneet(5) announced the names yesterday after whittling down the list from more than 50 candidates (6).

‘เปนประธาน’


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Text T4(©Dailynews,เคาะแลว 5 วาท ป.ป.ช. “วชรพล-สวณา” ตามคาด, 19October2015)

เมอวนท 19 ต.ค. เวลา 13.30 น. ในการประชม(1)คณะกรรมการสรรหากรรมการปองกนและ

ปราบปรามการทจรตแหงชาต (ป.ป.ช.)(2) ทมนายนรกษ มาประณต ประธานศาลรฐธรรมนญ(3)เปน

ประธาน ไดประชมเพอพจารณาเลอกผสมควรไดรบการเสนอชอ(4) ใหเปนกรรมการ ป.ป.ช.จานวน 5

คน(5)จากผเขารบการสรรหาทงสน 59 คน(6) [On October 19 at 1.30 p.m., at a meeting (1)of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) (2),Anurak Mapraneet Constitution Court president (3) led a selection panel (4)to elect 5 new members (5)from 59 candidates (6).]

The concepts derived from this stage were used in the next stage of analysis. The number

of concepts from each pair of articles is shown in Table 1. Table 1 The number of concepts for analysis

Text pair 1 2 3 4 5 6 No. of

concepts 7 7 7 6 6 8 2. Construction of schematic hierarchies To provide understanding of how concepts are differently sequenced and connected by writers of the two groups to construct their news discourses, the concepts are organised into text-specific schematic hierarchies for each pair of the news reports. In this stage, we applied Watson Todd’s (1998; 2003) topic-based analysis. In constructing a hierarchy, schematic relations between concepts are text-specific, based on relations suggested in the discourse. First of all, we have to say that any kind of analysis like this can be subjective and debatable. However, Watson Todd (2003) asserts that despite minor variations in the schematic hierarchy, the effect on the overall analysis is seemingly small because the purpose of constructing the hierarchies is merely to understand the writer’s schemata that are generating the discourse.

After creating schematic hierarchies, the next stage is mapping the occurrence of the concepts in the discourse onto the hierarchy to examine moves between two consecutive


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concepts. Then, the distances of a move between concepts in the hierarchies are calculated by assigning value of 1 to the move. There are two types of moves:

1. Moves between a superordinate and a direct hyponym 2. Moves between co-hyponyms

Data from text E4 and text T4 will be used to illustrate the analysis. Six concepts

occurring on the first paragraphs are taken to create a schematic hierarchy as shown in Figure 1. There are 5 moves in both texts. We shall take a look at Move 1 of both texts to illustrate an analysis of distances between concepts. Move 1 of the Thai text is between meeting and NACC, which are superordinate and direct hyponym, so it can be given the value of 1. Move 1 of the English text between 5 members and NACC has a distance value of 3, moving along a path from 5 members to 50 candidates to selection panel and to NACC.

As shown in Table 2, overall in the Thai text, there are 4 moves having a value of 1 and 1 move with a value of 2, giving an average distance of moves for the text of 1.2, while 2 moves have a value of 1 and 2, and 1 move is given a value of 3, having an average distance of 1.8 for the English text. Table 2 Average distances of moves for Text T4 (Thai text) and Text E4 (English text)

Move Distance of moves Thai text English text

1 1 3 2 1 1 3 1 2 4 2 1 5 1 2

Average distance 1.2 1.8


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3. Analysis of newsworthiness Newsworthiness is a term referring to elements that make a story worth telling and can be assessed in various ways. With a focus on sequencing of concepts, newsworthiness could be conceptualized at a micro-level. In this analysis, newsworthiness is based on newness of the information. From this perspective, newsworthiness is regarded as something new and prominent.

Examining newsworthiness of the news reports based on given-new information, the concepts were hand-coded as ‘given’ or ‘new’ information by adopting Prince's (1981) idea of ‘Assumed Familiarity’ which distinguishes an entity into addressee-given/new, instead of discourse given/new. In this study, the information status ‘inferable’ is conflated into ‘given’ information. Apart from a simplified version of Prince’s taxonomy, the idea of ‘definiteness’ that the indefinite reference is normally associated with new information; definite with given, is also employed to facilitate a decision whether a concept is given or new. For instance, whether the concept ‘the NACC’ from text E4 is known or is already in the reader’s consciousness at the time of reading is unclear based on the Assumed Familiarity. With the definite marker ‘the’, ‘NACC’ could however potentially account for given information according to definiteness.


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In order to make the data sets comparable and to determine whether there are any differences between the Thai and the English structures from this perspective, an ascending value is assigned to the concepts according to their order of occurrence in the text. The parallel ‘new’ concepts occurring in both texts of each pair were analysed. The assigned numbers of the ‘new’ concepts were averaged to produce the values indicating the placement of ‘new’ information or ‘newsworthiness’ in the text. The average score is calculated by totalling the values of ‘new’ concepts and dividing by the number of concepts in the data chunks. The smaller the average value is, the earlier the newsworthy information is presented in the text. In other words, the lower score represents priority towards newsworthiness, which is likely to occur earlier in the onset of the text.

Among the parallel concepts in text T4 and E4, selection panel, 5 new members and 50 candidates are regarded as ‘new’information. According to their occurrence order, the values 4, 5 and 6are given to the concepts from the Thai text, while the concepts have the values of 4, 1 and 6 from the English text respectively. As a result, the values give an average newsworthiness placement of 2.50 for the Thai text, and 1.83 for the English text.

Results and discussion 1. Discourse structures of Thai and English new stories The analysis of the news reports detected some differences between Thai and English rhetorical characteristics in terms of the concept sequencing. In spite of the fact that the concept sequencing of the two sets of articles was relatively similar when considering the whole text, it is apparent that there was different concept sequencing at the beginning of the articles, say, the first few paragraphs. The concept structures were found different in the onset of all the reports. A possible explanation for this might be related to the news writing conventions where the most important and interesting elements are put at the beginning and are tailored to the targeted audience. This would imply that Thai and English news in Thailand represent different target groups of readers.

This finding also reveals that despite reporting the same events, writers of different languages might adopt different ways of organising the news elements. That the writers sharing the L1 background structured the discourse differently suggests that language used in writing might be the prime factor leading to the dissimilarities between the news articles. The writers


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seem likely to respect the writing conventions of the language in which they are writing, instead of following the culture they come from. 2. Average distances of a move Table 3 shows distances of a move for each text in the two sets of discourse. Overall, distances of a move of the Thai discourse were smaller than those of the English discourse. The average distance of a move for the Thai articles was 1.42, whereas the average value of the Thai set was 1.17, showing a closer relationship between concepts in the discourse. Regarding individual pairs, the greatest difference was between articles of the second pair with a difference value of 0.66. The average distance of a move for Thai discourse was very close to the value of 1, indicating the tendency of moves between superordinate and hyponyms or between co-hyponyms on the hierarchical structure. According to the topic-based analysis, it can be noted that the moves in Thai news discourse are more coherent. Table 3 Average distances of a move for English and Thai texts

Text pair Average distance of a move E-T distance difference English text Thai text

1 1.71 1.14 0.57 2 1.66 1.00 0.66 3 1.43 1.14 0.29 4 1.80 1.20 0.60 5 1.20 1.00 0.20 6 1.71 1.31 0.40

Overall distance 1.59 1.13 0.46

The hierarchical structure of concepts revealed a clear difference in sequencing concepts by the two groups. The Thai discourse tends to closely follow the schematic structures of the hierarchies. The moves are usually between superordinate and hyponyms or between co-hyponyms. News writers of Thai articles have preferences towards writing in a logical schematic manner. This finding might disclose the writer’s intention to make use of schemata


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which allows readers to easily relate the new information to what has come before, or what they already know, thus aiding the readers in understanding the news texts. 3. Newsworthiness The figures in Table 4 show the average orders of occurrence of newsworthiness represented by new information. The lower score of newsworthiness placement indicates the prioritising of newsworthy information by placing it earlier at the beginning. It was found that ‘new’ information regarded as newsworthy was presented earlier in English news stories (with an average score of 2.58) than that in Thai (with a score of 3.00), with all of the six English texts having a lower score.

The findings reveal that English discourse is inclined to depend on newsworthiness, following the genre writing traditions in which journalists organise facts according to their news’ worth and place the most important facts at the very beginning of the text, which facilitates the grasp of the news by a reader with no time or interest to quickly learn the essence of the story. Following inverted-pyramid structure, the most important items of information in a newspaper report are presented first, at the top of the “pyramid”, in the opening sentences of the text. On the other hand, Thai news discourse is likely to adhere to the given-before-new principle. This aligns with the employment of schematic structures in that the ordering of information may be helpful to the reader’s comprehension. Table 4 Average orders of occurrence of newsworthiness

Text pair ‘Newsworthiness’ placement English text Thai text

1 3.00 3.57 2 2.00 2.43 3 3.29 3.57 4 1.83 2.50 5 1.83 2.17 6 3.50 3.75

Average score 2.58 3.00

Conclusion


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Taking a perspective of contrastive rhetoric, this study analysed pairs of Thai and English news reports to determine whether they are structured differently. The analysis focusing on sequencing of nominal concepts was based on Watson Todd’s (1998; 2003) topic-based analysis and newsworthiness analysis. This rhetoric contrastive of news discourse structure provides insight into how news articles are composed across languages. The study reveals the differences in terms of move relations and newsworthiness between Thai and English news articles. Thai news discourse is structured based on schematic organisations and the given-before-new principle. English news discourse, on the other hand, is more dependent on newsworthiness which prioritises the ‘new’ information. These two approaches to organizing news articles have advantages and disadvantages. In following schematic structure, the Thai news articles may be easier to comprehend. From Kintsch’s (1988) construction-integration model of reading, texts are easier to comprehend if their schematic structure mirrors the content schemata available in the minds of readers. However, the reader may be less clear about the purpose of a news article since the content that makes the article news is not prioritised in the structure of the article. In the English news articles, on the other hand, the reason for the news article may be clearer as the newsworthy concepts are prioritised, but fitting this news with existing understandings may require more cognitive processing since the article structure does not match the probable existing schemata.

It can be concluded that these differences may result from writing conventions of the language the writers are writing in, and reader’s expectations. The results obtained clearly indicate that discourse structure of a news report is not only dependent on the genre but also on different cultural rhetorical traditions. It is thus recommended that readers be aware of these differences in order to have a better understanding of news reports. These results also have some pedagogical implications for teaching writing in journalism. Student’s awareness of different writing conventions and different audience expectations across languages should be raised.


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Citation Practices of Thai Graduate Students in Applied Linguistics

Woravut Jaroongkhongdach King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand

Abstract How citations are used in research has received attention from academics in several disciplines in several countries. This issue, however, seems to be much less explored in the Thai context. This paper aims to look at citation practices of Thai graduate students in applied linguistics through an analysis of 15 theses and 15 research papers, and in-depth interviews of five graduate students in the field. The findings reveal that the non-integral citations were used more in the articles (69.29%) than in the theses (28.07%), and this pattern is reversed for integral citations which were used less in the research articles (30.71%) than in the theses (71.93%). The paper ends with a call for more attention to the teaching of citations and reporting verbs to graduate students in applied linguistics. Keywords: citation, Thai students, applied linguistics


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Introduction

“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” (Isaac Newton) Newton’s statement implies that the advancement of scientific discovery or research is possible due to previous researchers or academics who made their contribution to the field. One form of their contribution is their discovery or research written records which are useful to later generations of researchers as these records can be seen as sources of the body of knowledge.

Citing sources is a standard practice in research writing whether it be a thesis or a research article. This practice has a key role in academic writing because it is an indication of the continuing conversation of the academics in the field (Charles, 2006), and also allows for the novice researchers to affiliate themselves to their academic community (Pecorari, 2006). However, citing sources properly is not an easy task as revealed in previous studies looking into citation practices (e.g. Abasi & Graves, 2006), pointing out that most students attempting to use citations in their research more or less do not have skills in doing so. Some problems identified by Thompson & Ye (1991) are the overuse of quotations without any interpretation, the simple crude evaluation of the citations, or the unclear relationship between the citation and the content referred to. These problems, McCulloch (2013) argues, are related to several factors, namely language proficiency, cultural differences, and a vague understanding of how to use citations. It is then not surprising to learn that “understanding how and why to cite takes time and represents a challenge for novice student writers” (Davis, 2013, p.126). Such a challenge is the impetus for this study. Previous work on citation research Citations investigation is an issue that researchers and academics have been interested in for almost a century. The pioneering work of citations studies, as Frost (1979) suggested, was done by Gross and Gross in 1927. Ever since 1961, when the Institute for Scientific Information’s Science Citation index was founded, research into citations has been given more attention (Swales, 1986), and the issues related to citations are still of recurrent interests of academics in various academic fields (see e.g. Samraj, 2013; Thompson, Morton, & Storch, 2013).


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Previous studies into citations can be grouped into two main different focuses. The first group is concerned with the use of citations as a measure for the author impact or research quality (Vieira & Gomes, 2010). The second group consists of two subgroups: one focuses on linguistic features of citations such as the surface features of citations (e.g. Swales, 1986) or reporting verb of citations (e.g. Charles, 2006; Hyland, 1999), and the other (e.g. Frost, 1979; Petrić, 2007) focuses on rhetorical functions of citations. In this second subgroup, it seems that initial studies (e.g. Thompson & Ye 1991; Hyland 1999, 2002, 2005) tended to mainly focus on linguistic features, especially the published research articles as they can be considered as models of academic writing. However, more recent research (e.g. Mansourizadeh & Ahmad, 2011; McCulloch, 2013) seems to aim at looking at students’ citations practices. This study aims to contribute to this recent line of research by exploring citation practices of one group of Thai graduate students, namely master’s students in applied linguistics.

Researchers in the field of applied linguistics seem to pay far more particular attention to the linguistic issues and the rhetorical functions of citations, rather than the use of citations as a measure of author impact. The study of citations analysis from an applied linguistics perspective was pioneered by Swales who created a distinction between non-integral and integral citation forms. These two forms can be easily identified as they rely on surface features of text (Swales, 1990). In a non-integral citation, the researcher’s name occurs in a parenthesis, but in an integral citation, the name of the researcher occurs as part of a sentence in the actual citing sentence. Knowing these surface forms of citations, although not providing us with an understanding of which form to use (Thomson & Tribble, 2001, p.92), can provide a useful starting point about citation practices of a certain group of academics (see Hyland, 1999; Jaroongkhongdach et al., 2012a). Therefore, in this study, I look at citation forms of theses produced by the master’s students. Note that these theses are in the form of a researcher paper, not a thesis in the traditional view. Studying these two forms produced by a single group of students does not yield much understanding if we do not have a benchmark for comparison. Thus, to better understand these students’ citation practices, I also compare citation forms of theses with those of research articles published in international journals in applied linguistics. Note also that any similarities or differences revealed through such a comparison is not related to issues of quality, but may shed light on attitudes towards the use of citations by the two groups of researchers.

Related to forms of citations are their rhetorical functions. Two studies into the functions of citations are Petrić’s (2007) and Harwood’s (2009). While both studies share a common interest in looking at the rhetorical functions, they differ in their approach to the creation of


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citation functions. Approaching citation functions from a reader’s perspective, Petrić’s study (2007) compares rhetorical citation functions in eight high-graded and eight low-graded master’s theses in the field of gender studies by reading and identifying the functions from reading the texts. Petrić (2007) created nine functions, some of which are adjusted from Thomson’s citation classification (2001), which are 1) attribution, 2) exemplification, 3) further reference, 4) statement of use, 5) application, 6) evaluation, 7) establishing links between sources, 8) comparison of one’s own findings or interpretation with other sources, and 9) other. The findings reveal, interestingly, that citation use in the high-graded theses has a greater variety of rhetorical functions, implying that the use of citations may be related to quality of the written work. This can be supported by a more recent study (Mansourizadeh & Ahmad, 2011) which compared papers written by master’s students and published research articles in the engineering field, and found that the use of citations by students were less sophisticated than the published research articles.

While these text-based analysis studies are useful in shedding light on rhetorical functions of citations, these functions are derived from the researcher’s perspectives which may be different from the writer’s views. Realizing such a limitation, other researchers (e.g. Harwood, 2009) use an alternative approach in exploring functions of citations. Harwood’s research looks at the functions of citations in academic writing of computer scientists and sociologists by interviewing the authors. Her study reveals 11 functions which are 1) signposting, 2) supporting, 3) credit, 4) position, 5) engaging, 6) building, 7) tying, 8) advertising, 9) future, 10) competence, and 11) topical (see Harwood, 2009 for more explanation). This interview-based study, although probably reporting functions based on the authors’ opinion or experience which may not actually exist in the texts, provides us with an understanding of citation functions from an insider’s perspective. Given this benefit, in the current study, I also aim to interview the students to find out about their use of citations and their attitude towards such use to complement the textual analysis of the citations.


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Research purpose Based on the literature review, using citations effectively in research or academic writing is important, and graduate students are reportedly likely to have problems with using citations. This issue seems to be not given much attention in the field of applied linguistics in Thailand. This paper then aims to look at citation practices of Thai graduate students in applied linguistics. The findings may provide us with insights into what problems these students have in as well as their attitudes towards using citations.

Methodology The data for this study are 15 theses and 15 research papers, and in-depth interviews of five Thai graduate students in the field. The theses are produced in a similar format to a research paper, but with a fewer number of words, with each one containing approximately 4,000-5,000 words. These theses, written in English by Thai graduate students and related to applied linguistics, are part of a graduation requirement of master’s students of a university that offers a master’s degree related to applied linguistics. The 15 research papers were randomly selected from the international peer-reviewed journals, including TESOL Quarterly, Applied Linguistics, and Journal of English for Academic Purposes. These theses and research papers were written between 2010 and 2013.

Once the theses and articles were collected, they were analyzed. The guiding principle in analyzing the citations was considering whether the author name(s) is inside or outside the parenthesis. If the author name is outside, it is a non-integral citation. If it is inside, it is an integral citation. In counting the non-integral citation, one author’s name or a list of chained names was taken as one as one non-integral citation. For instance, John (2000), OR John and Davies (2000), OR John and Davies (2000) and Philip (2001) was each considered as one non-integral citation. In counting as the integral citation, one bracket, rather than the author name or a list of author names, was considered as one integral citation. For instance, (John, 2000), OR (John & Davies, 2000; Philip, 2001) each was considered as one integral citation.

In looking for these two forms of citations, I did not divide the article into sections, but took it as a whole unit for analysis. Once the forms of citations had been identified, they were counted by frequency. For the reliability check, I recoded the articles myself, as the identification of the two forms of citations were obvious. 20% of the data (three theses and three research articles) were recorded, and the reliability was 98%.


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To identify functions of citations, five students were interviewed. Three students were in the process of writing their theses, and the other two students had recently finished writing. The interviews were conducted based on a set of broad-to-specific questions. The broad questions were: Why do you need to cite other researchers’ work? What do you think are the functions of citations? Do you think the two forms of citations (shown to the interviewees) are similar or different? Which form do you prefer and why? Then the interviewees were asked about their own citations. To do this, I asked the interviewees to show me their drafts/papers, and I randomly pointed to certain citations, and asked the interviewees about them. Examples of the specific questions are: Why was this citation form (integral or non-integral) used in this statement?, What is the function of the citation used here?, or Why is this particular phrase (e.g. according to) used?. Since I am one of the lecturers in the applied linguistics program, I emphasized that the interview would not have any effect on their paper evaluation, and no identification could be traced. Each interview lasted 15-20 minutes. I noted down the interviewees’ responses and showed them the note as a validity and reliability check.

Findings This paper aims to look at citation practices of Thai graduate students in applied linguistics through an analysis of 15 theses and 15 research papers, and in-depth interviews of five graduate students in the field. The data from the analysis of 15 theses and 15 research papers reveal differences between the two groups of data as revealed in Table 1. Table 1 Differences between non-integral and integral citations of theses and research articles Non-integral citation Integral citation Total Theses 71 (28.07%) 182 (71.93%) 253 (100%) Research articles 264 (69.29%) 117 (30.71%) 381 (100%)

From Table 1, we can see the differences between the types of citations used in the two

groups. Overall, we may see that more citations were used in the research articles than in the theses. However, given that the number of words in the articles were higher than those in the


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theses, we cannot be certain that more citations were indeed used in the research articles than in the theses.

Nonetheless, it is clear that the non-integral citations were used more in the articles (69.29%) than in the theses (28.07%). Interestingly, this pattern is reversed for integral citations which were used less in the research articles (30.71%) than in the theses (71.93%). From these surface differences in the citation choices, we can tell how the article authors, and the graduate students engage with previous literature as “[t]he use of one form rather than the other appears to reflect a decision to give greater emphasis to either the reported author or the reported message” (Hyland, 1999, p.344). By using more integral citations, the students were giving priority to the reported author rather than the reported message.

To understand more of the reasons why the author-prominent style seems to be more preferred by students, we need to look at the interview data. The interview data revealed that all the interviewees were aware of the importance of using citations in their research. Two examples of the interview protocol are given below. “Using citations is important. They help my work to be stronger.” (Interviewee 1) “Citing other researchers’ work makes my research look good.” (Interviewee 3)

When asked about the functions of citations, the interviewees did not have a clear idea the functions of citations as seen in the comment: “I’m not sure what functions of citation are, but I think if I use more references, my work will look good.” (Interviewee 3)

When asked about the differences in the two forms of citations, four interviewees replied that they knew that the two forms were different, but were not certain how they were different. However, two interviewees suggested that they would feel more confident to refer to the names of previous researchers such as ‘according to Swales’, or ‘John suggests’. From this, it is possible to say that while the students were aware of the importance of citations, they were not aware of the differences in using different forms of citations in research writing. They also tended to depend on previous researchers to create the credibility of their research.

However, I noticed that one interviewee’s work tended to use non-integral citations rather than integral citation. When asked about this, he replied that


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“I am not sure about what verb to use. So it is easier to use something like ‘(John, 2000)’ rather than ‘John (2000) suggests’ or ‘John (2000) states’. I don’t know.” (Interviewee 5)

This answer led me to explore more closely 6 randomly selected articles (three from the

students’ work and the other three from published journals). It was found that the students tended to use a limited variety of verbs (e.g. define, explain, reveal, say, show, and state) and the article authors tended to use more variety (e.g. apply, argue, claim, comment, discuss, and put forward). When considering the meanings of these verbs, we can see that the students seem to refer to the previous researchers as a source of credible information (that is, authorities), while the article writers seem to refer to the previous researchers as a source of theoretical discussion in the research paper.

Discussion While the data in this study may be considered small, and based on only five Thai graduate students in applied linguistics, this study has yielded two interesting preliminary findings. Firstly, the students tend to use integral citation and, secondly, they use less variety of reporting verbs. These findings suggest that graduate students in applied linguistics in Thailand seem to give importance to the author rather than the idea being cited. This can be further seen in the verbs used with the cited authors by the students to see their attitude of the current research writer towards the previous authors.

The findings from Table 1 are in line with Jaroongkhongdach et al. (2012a), suggesting that ELT academics in Thailand are likely to confer the importance to the author rather than to the content. Given that the data in this study were collected from Thai graduate students and that data in Jaroongkhongdach et al. (2012b) were collected from ELT academics in Thailand, it is possible that using this form of citation reflects a preference of Thai academic writers. Thai academics and students may view those researchers who have previously published research as teachers or authorities whom they are supposed to show respect, rather than to argue with. It should be noted that the overuse of naming the previous researcher is a sign of a lack of authorial voice of the current researcher as implied by Casanave (2009).


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The issue with the use of limited reporting verbs is similar to Davis (2013) in that “[i]t has been reported that international students tend to use a small range of reporting verbs” (p.126). If we look at the examples of reporting verbs used by the students (e.g. define, explain, reveal, say, show, state), we can see that these verbs indicate the dependence on the reported authors, and reveal a certain attitudes towards to the cited author. The limited knowledge of reporting verbs can “limit their ability to engage with research and create arguments (Davis, 2013, p.126) (see Davis, 2013 for more discussion about citations and problems for international graduate students.). This problem may be due to the lack of proficiency as Campbell (1990) points out that “language proficiency affects the use of information from background reading texts in academic writing” (p.224).

The findings reported in this study then may be an indication that more attention needs to be given to the teaching of the use of citations and reporting verbs in academic or research writing because

“Insufficient knowledge of verbs that are typically used in academic written discourse is a serious handicap for learners as it prevents them from expressing their thoughts in all their nuances and couching them in the expected style” (Granger & Paquot, 2009, p. 194)

One method that could be used in teaching is having the students notice and compare the

citations and reporting verbs used in research articles written by students and by the experts. This practice would raise the awareness of the students in making use of citations and reporting verbs in their own research writing.

Conclusion

This paper has looked at citation practices of Thai graduate students in applied linguistics. The aim was to find out the students’ use of citations in their research writing and their understanding of the use of citations. I found that most of the citations in the students’ writing are integral citations (that is, the author-prominent style), while the published articles were more likely to use non-integral citations. With respect to the students’ understanding, I found that their understanding of citation use is limited, and that the reporting verbs used were limited, potentially due to the students’ lack of linguistic resources. These limitations call for more


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attention to the teaching of citations and reporting verbs to graduate students in applied linguistics.


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“Sing-in-Interaction”: An Interpersonal Analysis of Zhuang dialogue folk songs in China

Yushan Lu

Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia Mahidol University, Thailand

Abstract This study aims to investigate the interactivity of the Zhuang dialogue folk songs – the singing dialogue used for communication purposes by the Zhuang people in China. Drawing upon the framework of systemic functional linguistics, the study focuses on the interpersonal analysis of speech functions and tenor relationships. The data for analysis are five texts selected from the collection, Liao songs of Pingguo Zhuang. The results of the analysis reveal that in the process of singing interaction, the male singer always plays the role of initiator by making all the initiating moves, while the female always plays the role of respondent by making all the responding moves. The speech function choices of the two singers are constrained by the social convention of pre-allocated turn-taking in the songs and the tenor relationships changing within the situational context. Keywords: singing dialogue, the Zhuang, interactivity, speech function, tenor relationship,


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Introduction

Conversation has emerged early in human history as an important mode of interaction, creating and sustaining interpersonal relations in social groups and societies. The study of conversation is our most important window on the relationship between language and the social system of any society.

–Matthiessen and Slade (2010, p.375).

As conversation is all-pervasive and plays an important role in many of the key institutions of our society (e.g. family, friendship, workplaces), it has received extensive attentions within discourse analysis and other related fields (e.g. sociolinguistics, pragmatics) in recent decades. As a result, different analytical approaches (e.g. speech act theory, conversation analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, systemic functional linguistics, etc.) and various conversation types (e.g. casual conversation, task-orientated conversation, service encounter, interview, consultation, etc.) have been involved in the study of conversation (Matthiessen & Slade, 2010).

In the tradition of conversation analysis (CA), researchers use the term “talk-in-interaction” to refer to the social practice of spoken conversation (see e.g. Schegloff, 1996). This study employs a derivative term –“sing-in-interaction” to denote the social practice of singing conversation, or also referred to as singing dialogue. More specifically, singing dialogue is a significant mode of interaction in which the interactants integrate spoken dialogue and singing arts together for communication purposes. Interaction of this type is usually found in rural areas or minority ethnic communities. For instance, Kerr (1977) found that songs are a form of dialogue in the Cuiva ethnic community in Colombia. In the context of China, improvised singing dialogue is a very common phenomenon found among both the ethnic majority (i.e. the Han) and the ethnic minorities (e.g. the Zhuang, Miao, She, Buyi, etc.) (Lu, 1992, pp. 159-160).

This study is in particular concerned with the singing dialogue of the Zhuang, or called Zhuang dialogue folk songs. The Zhuang is the largest group among the 55 ethnic minorities (other than the Han) in China. According to the 6th national population census of China in 2010, the Zhuang has a population of over 16 million, and most of these reside in southern China, such as the provinces of Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan and Guangdong. This ethnic group is well known for its custom of singing communication. That is, in some special occasions (e.g.


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worship ceremonies, traditional weddings, song festivals, etc.), the Zhuang people prefer to communicate with each other by singing rather than saying. “Through dialogic singing, they make friends, find love, welcome guests, and tell their own stories” (Qian, 2008). In other words, the Zhuang dialogue folk songs play an important role in many of the key institutions of Zhuang society, by means of which Zhuang people enact their social value and relationships.

Interestingly, there has been an increased attention paid to the study of Zhuang dialogue folk songs in the last two decades, especially after the Liao Songs (a type of Zhuang dialogue folk songs found in northern Guangxi) were listed in the second batch of National Cultural Heritage in China in 2008. Previous studies have investigated the songs from different disciplinary perspectives, such as those of musicology, literary, cultural anthropology and linguistics. In the area of linguistics, despite great attention directed at the rhyming features (Wei, 2013), semantic uses (Lu, X. 2012, 2013; Zhou, 2011), and the translation strategies (Zhang, 2013; Zhou, 2012a, 2012b) of the songs, the discourse features remain unexplored.

From the perspective of discourse analysis, the Zhuang dialogue folk songs are a type of dialogic texts unfolding in various situational contexts for different interpersonal communication purposes. This study attempts to provide insight into the interactivity of the songs. In particular, focus will be on an analysis of the interactive structure and interpersonal relationships in the songs. Specifically, the study addresses the following research questions:

i) How do the Zhuang people interact with each other in the singing dialogue? And ii) How do they enact their interpersonal relationships throughout the process of the singing?

Theoretical Framework In order to investigate the interactivity of the Zhuang dialogue folk songs, this study draws upon the theoretical framework of systemic functional linguistics (henceforth SFL) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, 2014). In SFL, language is treated as a social semiotic system for making and expressing three strands of meaning in context, namely, ideational meaning, interpersonal meaning and textual meaning. The three strands of meaning bring out how people construe their experience of the world (ideational), enact their social roles and relations (interpersonal), and manage the flow of information (textual) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, p. 29-30). This


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study focuses on the analysis of interpersonal meaning, because this strand of meaning provides the singers with the resource for exchanging meaning and enacting interpersonal relationships in the singing process. The interpersonal analysis in the study is carried out at two levels: i) the semantic analysis of speech functions, and ii) the contextual analysis of tenor relationships. This double level approach, where semantics and context are analyzed separately but also brought together, makes it possible to describe the interactivity of the Zhuang dialogue folk songs in a more comprehensive sense, and interprets the correlations between the semantic strategies for interaction and situational context.

Speech Function Within the account of the interpersonal meaning at the semantic stratum, dialogue is approached as an interactive event for exchanging meaning. In the interactive development of a dialogue, each utterance serves as a move. Matthiessen and Slade (2010) define move as “the basic interpersonal semantic unit in conversation and other types dialogue. It indicates a point of possible turn-transfer, and therefore carries with it the idea of ‘it could stop here’” (p.388). In a move, the speaker adopts a speech role (e.g. questioner), and assigns a complementary role to the addressee (e.g. answer) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, p.106).

The exchange process in a dialogue embodies two crucial variables: i) the nature of the commodity exchanged (either information or goods-&-services), and ii) the orientation of the exchange (either giving or demanding). The simultaneous cross-classification of the two variables of exchange varieties define the four primary speech functions (i.e. offer, command, statement and question) for initiating an interaction, as set out in Table 1 together with typical grammatical realizations (indicated by ↘).These initiating speech functions are matched by a set of expected responses: accepting an offer, undertaking a command, acknowledging a statement and answering a question. However, there are also discretionary alternatives, such as rejecting the offer, refusing the command, contradicting the statement and disclaiming the question (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, p.107-109).


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Table 1. Initiating and responding speech functions (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, p.108) initiation response

expected discretionary give goods-&-services offer

↘various acceptance rejection

demand command ↘imperative

undertaking refusal

give information statement ↘declarative

acknowledgement contradiction

demand question ↘interrogative

answer disclaimer

This study adopts the approach of speech function to explore the interactive (or exchange) structure of the Zhuang dialogue folk songs. More specifically, an analysis of the speech functions is to account for how one singer’s initiating move leads to another singer’s responding move, and how this initiating-responding process unfolds. Tenor Relationship The interpersonal meaning of language is a correlation to “tenor” in the particular context. Tenor is one of the three contextual variables (the other two being “field” and “mode”).It is concerned with the interrelations (status and role relationships) among the participants who are taking part in the situational context (Halliday, 1978, p.62). Halliday and Matthiessen (2014) describe the term “tenor” as follows:

Tenor – who is taking part in the situation: (i) the roles played by those taking part in the socio-semiotic activity – (1) institutional roles, (2) status roles (power, either equal or unequal), (3) contact roles (familiarity, ranging from strangers to intimates) and (4) sociometric roles (affect, either neutral or charged, positively or negatively); and (ii) the values that the interactants imbue the domain with (either neutral or loaded, positively or negatively). (p.33)


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The present study identifies the tenor of the role relationships (including institutional roles, status roles and contact roles) of the two singers in different situational contexts, and correlates the change of the role relationships to speech functions choices. The concern in the analysis of tenor relationship is to account for how the situational context change affects the singers’ interaction strategies.

Methodology Data Selection and Transcription The data for the current study center around five texts selected from one of the most widespread collection of Zhuang dialogue folk songs, entitled Liao songs of Pingguo Zhuang. It was edited by Luo Hantian and Tan Shaoming and published by Beijing Ethnic Publishing House in 2008. The collection is divided into five volumes, according to the five different themes involved (as indicated in Table 2). To scope the data, only one chapter from each volume was selected for analysis. The criteria for text selection are based on the content and the text size of the chapters. Table 1 sets out a count of the five selected texts. In sum, the data include five texts, 418 singing turns, 1672 lines and approximately 8000 words. Table 2. Text selection Volume Selected chapter Theme Text size

(turns/lines/words) 1 Songs of March Busy spring farming 92/368/1840 2 Songs of the Road Tiring love travelling 86/344/1720 3 Songs of Daytime Getting married wedding 86/344/1720 4 Songs of War Seeing off warfare 76/304/1520 5 Songs of House

Building Laying foundation stones

house-building

78/312/1560

Total 418/1672/8360


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The original texts in the collection are written using a Romanization system of the Zhuang language and translated into Chinese. In this study all the selected texts are transcribed into the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) system and translated into English. Data Analysis After data selection and transcription was completed, all the texts were analyzed in terms of interpersonal meaning. As mentioned previously, the interpersonal analysis in the study is carried out at both the semantic and contextual levels.

In the semantic level, the texts are analyzed in terms of their speech functions. The first step of the speech function analysis is to identify moves. In move identification, this study found that a move is coincident to a singing turn in the songs. This coincidence is determined by the essential nature of move – the ending of a move indicates a point of possible transfer. In the case of the Liao Songs of Pingguo Zhuang, only after a singer fully completes four lines (i.e. a singing turn), can the other singer take a turn transfer to sing. In this sense, the unit of turn is applicable for the speech function analysis of the songs. The second step is to determine the code speech functions of each move/turn. The data coding process was carried out on computational software – UAM Corpus Tool (version 2.8) which was developed by Michael O'Donnell (2008). In this study, the UAM Corpus Tool enables the annotation and statistics of the speech functions in the songs.

In context, the texts are analyzed in terms of tenor relationships. The contextual analysis is also divided into three steps. The first is to identify the roles relationships (including the institutional roles, the contact roles and the status roles) of the two singers in each of the five texts; the second step is to track a change in their roles in the different situational contexts involved in the five texts; the last step is to determine the correlations between the role relationships change to the speech function choices of the singers. The main results of the two levels of analysis will be presented and discussed in the next section.


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Results and Discussion Interactive Structure Drawing upon the interpersonal semantic system of SPEECH FUNCTION (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004), this study models the interactive (or exchange) structure of the Zhuang dialogue folk songs as a system network, as shown in Figure 1. This network is data driven, having been based on an analysis of the five selected texts. It captures the main resources available to the two singers to initiate or respond within a singing interaction. This initiating-responding structure will be discussed in detail, with concrete examples, as follows.

Figure 1. The system of SPEECH FUNCTION in the Zhuang dialogue folk songs (adapted from Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004 )

Initiating moves As indicated in Figure 1, the moves in the singing interaction are primarily distinct from the initiating and responding ones. The initiating moves involve a singer “proposing terms for the interaction. They are generally assertive moves to make, indicating a claim to a degree of control over the interaction” (Eggins & Slade, 1997, p.194). Four primary initiation types, namely statement, question, offer and command, are derived from the cross-classification of the ORIENTATION and COMMODITY of the dialogic exchange. This is already familiar from the work of Halliday and Matthiessen (2004). An extension is to further divide the question into


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two types as a polar question and an elemental question (or called a yes/no question and a content question).These initiation types are illustrated with examples as follows.

A statement, defined as “giving information”, is the most common type of initiating speech function in the songs. The typical grammatical realization of a statement is a declarative mood. In Example 3 below, the male singer states that he is busy with farming work in April so that has no time to take care of the female singer. This statement is matched by a supporting response (i.e. an acknowledgement) as the female singer responds that “[I know] you are really tired and weary,” in line 208. Example 1 [Text 1, Turn 51-52, Line 201-208]

Question, defined as “demanding information,” has two subtypes, polar question and

elemental question. Polar questions present a complete proposition for the addressee, and elemental questions seek to elicit the completion of a proposition from the addressee (Eggins & Slade, 1997, p.194). Polar questions are grammatically realized through polar interrogatives, and elemental questions are realized through wh-interrogatives. Example 4 presents an elemental question whereby the male singer tries to elicit information about the time to make house frames by using a wh-interrogative mood in line 308 (“when should we make frames?”). This question gets a direct response from the female in line 312 (“we’ll make frames tomorrow”).


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Example 2 [Text 5, Turn 77-78, Line 305-312]

An offer speech function is defined as “giving goods and services.” Various grammatical moods lead to the realization of an offer. Example 3 illustrates a case of offer which is realized by the imperative mood in line 92. In this example, the male singer offers his help to the female to clear the cotton field, as indicated in line 92 (“Let me help you to clear it up”). This offer is accepted by the female, as she responds in line 96 that “I am waiting for you to do it”. Example 3 [Text 1, Turn 23-24, Line 89-96]


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A command speech function is defined as “demanding goods and services.” The typical grammatical realization of command is an imperative clause. The male singer’s turn in Example 4 is a clear case of command in which he uses the constant imperative mood to urge the female singer to dress up and go downstairs for their wedding. This commanding move is supported by the female (i.e. undertaking the command to dress up).


Responding moves Responding moves capture the options available when turn transfer occurs during the singing process. This study recognizes the four major types of response as: supporting, confronting, developing and repeating. The four types are further sub-divided into more subtle classes, as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, this study is also concerned with the impact or contribution of each type of response to initiation. In general, supporting moves enacts consensus and agreement; confronting moves enact disagreement or non-compliance; developing move simply a high degree of acceptance of proposition or proposal of the initiator; repeating moves barely contribute to interactive development since they do not add new information to the initiation. From the viewpoint of the initiator’s expectation, supporting and developing moves are more expected (or more positive, indicated by “+” in Figure 1), confronting moves are less expected (or more negative, indicated by “−”in Figure 1), and the repeating moves are neutral


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(indicated by “~”in Figure 1).The four types of responses are discussed with examples as follows.

Supporting moves include: acknowledging a statement (see example 1 above), affirming a polar question or answering an elemental question (see example 2 above), accepting an offer (see example 3 above), and undertaking a command (see example 4 above),

Confronting responses include: contradicting a statement, disagreeing with a polar question or disclaiming an elemental question, rejecting an offer, and refusing a command. Example 5 below is a case of a confronting response to a statement. In this example, the male singer makes a statement in the initiating move to describe his embarrassing situation: because he lacks help from his wife and children, his farming work has to be delayed. In the responding move, the female singer makes a contradiction to confront the original statement, replying, “you have wife and children, your work is fully done”. Example 5 [extracted from Text 1, Turn 85-86, Line 337-344]

Developing moves expand the initiating moves in three ways: elaborating, extending and

enhancing. Example 7 below presents an example of an extension of a developing speech function. In this example, the male singer makes a statement to describe the scene that his father goes to say goodbye to the female singer’s father after the wedding. This statement is extended by the female singer adding information that “your mother also goes to see my mother off”.


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A repeating move is identified when a responding singer fully repeats the proposition or

proposal expressed by the initiating singer. Repetitions are mostly paired with a statement speech function. For Example 6 below, the male singer makes a statement containing information about sowing rice in April in an initiating move; the female singer simply repeats the statement in the responding move.



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Based on the analysis of the five selected texts, it is found that during the singing interaction, all the initiating moves are made by the male singer, and all the responding moves are made by the female singer. This indicates that the turn-taking in the songs is highly controlled or pre-allocated, which is different from daily conversation where the turn control is relatively low (see Matthiessen & Slade, 2010, p.376). Qin (2005) explains this pre-allocated turn-taking as a reflection of the male-dominate culture of the Zhuang society:

The division of labor and the dialogic singing format in Liao Songs reflect a tradition that the male plays a leading role and the female plays a supporting role during the singing interaction process. This relates to the male-dominate culture of the Zhuang, that is, the males carry the major responsibilities for the family and society. (p.110)

In summary, this section has explored the interactive structure of the Zhuang dialogue

folk songs in terms of speech function. The next section will further the investigation of the interactivity of the songs by describing the correlation between tenor relationship and the speech function choices. Tenor relationship and speech function choices Drawing upon the contextual variables of “tenor” within the SFL framework (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014), this study identifies the institutional roles, contact roles (familiarity) and status roles of the two singers appearing throughout the five selected texts (see Table 3 below).It is found that the five texts represent the different stages of a love story. The episodes can be summarized as: encountering (Text 1) building relationships (Text 2) getting married (Text 3)separating because of war (Text 4) reunion and building new house (Text 5). As the story unfolds, the institutional roles the two singers change from strangers to lovers, to husband and wife. Their familiarity changes from distant to intimate. Their status roles also change with the development of the story. At the early stage, the status of the female is higher than the male’s, since she plays the role of the pursued, holding more power in the interaction, while the male, as a pursuer, has to lower his status and show his positive behavior to impress the female. However, the male gains a higher status than the female after their marriage. Because, according to the male-dominate culture of the Zhuang, males have more power in the family, as discussed above. What is of concern here is whether the changes of tenor


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relationships in the context affect the interaction strategies (i.e. the speech function choices) of the two singers.

Table 3 The change of tenor relationships of the singers in the five texts Text Institutional roles Familiarity Status 1. Busy spring strangers

lovers husband & wife

distant intimate

female > male male > female

2. Tiring love 3. Getting married 4. Seeing off 5. Laying foundation stones

The initiations of the male will be studied first. Figure 2 shows the male’s choices of

giving (i.e. offer and statement) and demanding (i.e. command and question) types of initiations throughout the five texts. As can be seen from the chart, the percentage of giving initiations is higher than the demanding ones, at the early stage of the story. For instance, over 80 per cent of initiating moves are giving types, in both Text 1 and Text 2. However, as the story unfolds, the choices of giving types show a downward trend. On the contrary, the demanding types show an upward trend. In Text 4-5, the percentages of giving and demanding types are about equal, both at around 50 per cent. This indicates that at the early stage, the male tends to play the role of a giver, in order to impress the female and form an intimate relationship with her. At the later stage, as the male gains more power in the interaction, he tends to balance the choices of the giving and demanding types of initiations.


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Figure 2. The change of choices of giving /demanding types of initiations The discussion now turns to look at the responses of the female. Figure 3 shows the

female’s choices of positive and negative responses throughout the five texts. We can see that the choices of positive responses show an upward trend in proportion, from 60 per cent in Text 1 gradually up to the peak of 100 per cent in Text 5; the choices of negative responses, on the contrary, show a downward trend, from 40 per cent in Text 1 gradually dropping to no instance (i.e. zero per cent) in Text 5. This change indicates that, as the interrelationship of the two singers changes from Text 1 to Text 5, the willingness of the female to support and facilitate the male is increased.

Text 1 Text 2 Text 3 Text 4 Text 5giving 80.43% 88.37% 62.79% 44.74% 56.41%demanding 19.57% 11.63% 37.21% 55.26% 43.59%

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

100.00%


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Figure 3. The change of choices of positive/negative types of responses

From the above discussion, the semantic strategies for the interaction (i.e. the choices of speech functions) between the two singers can be seen to change with their tenor relationships in the situation of context. The correlation between the tenor relationship and the speech function choices is set out in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Correlation between tenor relationship change and speech function choices

Text 1 Text 2 Text 3 Text 4 Text 5positive 60.00% 69.77% 72.09% 67.57% 100.00%negative 40.00% 30.23% 27.91% 35.14% 0.00%

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

100.00%


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Conclusion Regarded as a significant mode of interaction, the Zhuang dialogue folk songs play an important role in many of the key institutions of the Zhuang communities. Using a discourse approach, this study provides a systemic functional interpretation to the interactivity of the songs, by focusing on the interpersonal analysis of the speech functions and the tenor relationships (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, 2014). Based on an analysis of five texts selected from the collection of the Liao Songs of Pingguo Zhuang, this study concludes that:

In terms of interactive structure, the process of singing interaction in the Zhuang dialogue folk songs is always initiated by the male singer, and responded to by the female singers. The male singer initiates the singing process by making an offer, command, statement and/or question move. The female singer responds to the male singer either in a direct way (by making supporting or confronting moves) or in an indirect way (through repeating or developing moves). This division of labor indicates that the male plays a leading role while the female plays a supporting role in the singing process. This reflect the male-dominant culture in Zhuang society in which males have more responsibility in the institutions of family and society (cf. Qin, 2005, p. 110).

By correlating the semantic analysis of the speech functions to the tenor relationships in the context of the reviewed situations, this study found that as the interrelationships of the two singers change along the course of the singing interaction, the male singer’s initiations change from more giving types to more of a balance between both the giving and demanding types, while the female’s responses change from the more negative to the more positive. This change would seem to indicate that the interaction strategies of the two singers change according to their interpersonal relationships. This study thus argues that the semantic strategies for the singing interaction in the Zhuang dialogue folk songs changes with their situational contexts.

Acknowledgements This study is part of a master thesis entitled “A Discourse Analysis of the Zhuang Dialogue Folk Songs”. The author would like to thank the thesis committee: Asst. Prof. Pattama Patpong, Prof. Somsonge Burusphat and Assoc. Prof. Sujaritlak Deepadung for their support and commentson the study.


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