GSLC: Dissertations

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Metropolitan writing practices in a local context : a Southern theory-informed critical discourse analysis of knowledge production and dissemination in the discipline of second language writing in Thailand
Kiatipong Rerkwanchai; Savitri Gadavanij (National Institute of Development Administration, 2022)
The dominance of metropolitan academic writing practices has been examined in many studies in various fields. However, the focus of these studies seems to be on journals published by publishers based in the Global North, defined in this study as the U.S. and European countries (Dados and Connell, 2012). This dissertation shifts the focus from Anglophone-based artefacts and contexts to academic journals and textbooks produced in Thailand, a country located in the Global South, a term referring to countries located outside North America and Europe. It is aimed at exploring the extent to which periphery scholars conform to or deviate from metropolitan writing practices, while also attempting to account for such conformity and/or deviation. To achieve these goals, two sets of data consisting of 34 academic articles in PASAA, a local non-Anglophone academic journal, and 6 locally-produced college-level English writing textbooks were examined using the integrated southern theory-informed critical discourse analysis. The analysis involved quantitative analysis and deductive coding procedures to identify the presence and absence of writing practices which have been found to be characteristic of metropolitan writing practices, including claim of universality, reading from the center, metropolitan conventions of scholarly writing, the use of the English language, and the employment of Anglophone-based cultural content. Further, to account for the authors’ choices to either conform to or deviate from such writing practices, the three layers of critical discourse analysis—that is, text analysis, discursive practices, and sociocultural practices—were examined. As an interdisciplinary project, text analysis included close reading, which is a hallmark practice in the humanities, and transitivity analysis, which is a common text analysis in the social sciences. Data regarding discursive and sociocultural practices were collected from document research; surveys; academic public talks; and interviews with an academic journal editor, two journal reviewers, and two experts on genre studies. The analysis reveals that, despite evidence of conformity, writing practices of scholars publishing in local venues also seem to deviate from the metropolitan conventions in varying degrees, which could be ascribed to particular rhetorical situations and the influences of American ideologies (particularly, the culture of publish or perish and capitalism) that seem to be backfiring. Based on the findings, this dissertation argues that in contrast to previous literature pointing to a rather total domination of metropolitan writing practices in academic knowledge production and dissemination, other alternative writing practices in fact can find a footing in locally-produced journal articles and textbooks, meaning that there is still space and hope for nonmetropolitan writing practices to thrive. This understanding is important because it could help raise the status of local journals and textbooks, from being ascribed of as low quality and of less value, to be ones that could provide space for scholars in the Global South to express their identities and creativities, and to some extent to challenge the Anglophone dominance, in order to create a more democratic knowledge production and dissemination. Moreover, for this challenge to be sustainable, editors, reviewers, and writers should work in tandem; that is, editors and reviewers might consider being more generous to alternative writing practices, and researchers should also prioritize their local audience and be aware of the ideologies that are working their writing practices.
Unraveling discursive construction of Thai fandom : An analysis of Thai fans culture and identity in an online communication
Pitchapa Smutradontri; Savitri Gadavanij (National Institute of Development Administration, 2020)
In this digital era, fandom has become a social and cultural phenomenon, especially in Thailand. This study aims to explore Thai fan culture and identities from different online platforms. The three topics of fan culture, namely fan production, fan community, and level of fandom and hierarchy were explored in detail using mixed methods of textual analysis and questionnaire. These three topics were also discussed together as essential parts of fans’ identity construction. Bucholtz and Hall’s sociocultural linguistics approach and semiotic analysis were used as analytical frameworks, looking at how fans used language to construct their identity in Thai context. The first research question reveals how fans use fan texts to express their affection and feel connected to their object of fandom. The second research question suggests themes of fan interaction within fan online communities. The third research question presents the characteristics of the five level of fandom, namely mere consumer, casual fan, big fan, true fan, and super fan. The fourth research question suggests that fan identity could be constructed mainly two ways. First is fans as a collective group, in which they shared some common fan engagements and special lexicons of fan talk with one another. Second is a fan as one’s own identity, suggesting that fan identity could bring about other identities and that it is transcultural. In addition, the dissertation proposes that a media fan, in Thai context, is mainly a person who feels emotionally connected or attached to particular media object(s). This positive connection ranges from a strong interest in the media object to deep attachment. It also discusses the close connection between fan discourse and online media discourse, how online fan community resembles an imagined community, and why the cause of active consumption is mostly due to the ‘affection’ factor and fans’ pleasure satisfaction more than a resistance to mainstream media or patriarchal society. Moreover, it discusses the transcultural aspects of fan identities and fans’ production of fan texts and conversations.
Augmented masculinity through knives and needles : a corpus-assisted discourse analysis on Thai cosmetic hospitals' websites
Nattawaj Kijratanakoson; Savitri Gadavanij (National Institute of Development Administration, 2022)
Cosmetic surgery is a thriving industry worldwide and Thailand is one of the market leaders. However, research which has explored issues concerning cosmetic surgery largely focuses on that of females. Moreover, it revolves around surveying clients, either quantitatively or qualitatively, rather than investigating the text which they consume. Even among the studies examining such text, they are predominantly conducted with the text published in offline media and within a Western context. Therefore, the current study seeks to address such knowledge gaps by concentrating on online texts which male clients possibly consult for cosmetic surgery in Thailand. Since it is required by law that cosmetic surgery be conducted within authorised medical establishments, Thai cosmetic hospitals play a vital role in pursuing particular discursive strategies to communicate with clients. It is those strategies which the present study intends to investigate. To be exact, it intends to answer the following research questions: (1) What discursive strategies are employed by Thai cosmetic hospitals to propagate the ideologies about cosmetic surgery for masculinity enhancement? and (2) How do such strategies operate? To answer the first question, the present study employs Van Dijk’s conception of the ideological square. It consists of how to: (1) emphasise our good things, (2) de-emphasise our bad things, (3) emphasise their bad things and (4) de-emphasise their good things. This framework is useful in providing a general principle of how hospitals are likely to communicate with clients. However, an additional issue may arise with regard to, for example, in which way hospitals actually emphasise the good things of cosmetic surgery. Such an issue connects with the second research question. Hence, the other framework, Taylor’s six-segment message strategy model, comes into play by functioning as a specific tool to answer it. The model consists of the ego, social, sensory, routine, acute need, and ration message strategies. Methodologically, the present study utilises a corpus-assisted discourse analysis which amalgamates a quantitative method (the identification of significant keywords and collocations) into a qualitative analysis (the investigation of data extracts containing those significant lexical items). The corpus consists of the English version of webpage content belonging to 20 Thai hospitals with a total number of 73,168 words. The findings reveal that, firstly, to emphasise the good things of cosmetic surgery, hospitals implement the ego, social, sensory and ration strategies. Secondly, to de-emphasise the bad things of post-operative complications, hospitals employ the ration strategy. Thirdly, to emphasise the bad things of not undergoing cosmetic surgery, hospitals adopt the ego strategy. Fourthly, to de-emphasise the good things of other means which are perceived as a rival to cosmetic surgery, hospitals pursue the ego and ration strategies. Overall, a preponderance of these strategies revolves around the notion of masculinity, which is conceptualised as the ideology concerning how to feel like a man, act like a man and have a body touted as a man. The current study makes a theoretical and practical contribution. Theoretically, it is among the first which triangulates the discourse and the communication frameworks to analyse gender-related discourse pertaining to cosmetic surgery for masculinity enhancement in the Thai context. Practically, it hopes to raise awareness and promote media literacy among male clients about how cosmetic hospitals manifest and medicalise the ideology of masculinity via their online platforms.
Belief-practice congruence/incongruence : an investigation into Thai EFL teachers teaching reading in an international university context
Nutcha Euanorasetr; Kasma Suwanarak (National Institute of Development Administration, 2022)
In the past decades, researchers have examined relationships between teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices in different educational settings. However, the literature on the examination of relationships between teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices in terms of congruences is not available in an international university context. This present study attempts to fill up this research gap. The results of this study are expected to increase teachers’ awareness of their own beliefs and practices with the hope to further accommodate the improvement of their professional skills and students’ learning achievement in this special context. This study aims at exploring Thai teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices towards teaching EFL reading skills in an international university context while also investigating the extent to which these two aspects are related. It focuses on two reading constructions of teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices, which are text-based and competency-based reading constructions. The data collection methods employed in this study were initially quantitative method through surveys, and qualitative method via classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The participants for the survey were twenty-four teachers in the Business English Department at the international university with the employment of the adapted TORI questionnaire to explore the participants’ beliefs towards ten themes concerning text-based and competency-based reading constructions. To elicit their teaching practices in actual classroom settings, six teachers teaching in three reading courses at this university were observed and interviewed sequentially. The results of the survey revealed that the participants strongly believed in ten themes within competency-based reading construction. For themes in text-based reading construction, they believed in “stressing students’ correct answer”, “giving detailed explanation of language elements”, “assessing students’ understanding of the text”, and “paying attention to knowledge transmission”, but not “applying teacher-directed instruction” in the reading instruction. More specifically, the results of the inferential statistics, Independent-Sample T-Test and One-Way ANOVAs, unfolded that the demographic factors, which are teachers’ gender, academic qualification, educational background, and years of teaching experiences, have an impact on teachers’ beliefs. The results of the beliefs from the interview were based on competency-based themes more than text-based. The results of the classroom observation uncovered that the participants tended to perform their teaching practices according to text-based reading construction themes. In terms of congruency between teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices in text-based reading construction, the incongruences happened for all participants on “giving detailed explanation of language elements”. Conversely, the congruences were found on “stressing students’ correct answers” and “assessing students’ understanding of the text” for five participants, and “applying teacher-directed instruction and “paying attention to knowledge transmission for four participants. With reference to congruences of competency-based reading construction, the congruences of teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices were identified in “applying reading strategy instruction” and “assessing students’ reading competencies” for all participants, in “creating multiple-answer questions” for five participants, and in “applying student-directed instruction” for four participants. On the contrary, the incongruences between teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices on “enhancing students’ self-learning abilities”, for five participants. The investigation of teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices help teachers gain their self-awareness through their reflection on their beliefs and actual performance. In addition, the information from the investigation is useful for researchers to seek for ways for improving teaching and learning within the context and for educators in the context to consider the professional training and developments for those teachers. This study suggests that enhancing teachers’ awareness of their beliefs and their understanding and knowledge based on themes driven from text-based and competency-based teaching reading constructions is needed. Moreover, the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices can be possibly influenced by contextual factors because of their complexities.
The effects of task-induced involvement load and language of glosses on L2 incidental vocabulary learning
Parichard Phadungsilp; Sarut Suparisaprapa (National Institute of Development Administration, 2022)
The current study was motivated by the involvement load hypothesis (Hulstijn & Laufer, 2001), which predicts that the higher involvement an incidental vocabulary learning task induces, the more effective the task is in promoting second language (L1) vocabulary learning. Moreover, tasks with equal amounts of involvement loads should yield similar learning outcomes. The involvement load consists of the components of need, search, and evaluation, all of which can be present or absent in a task. Particularly relevant to the current study is the search component, which is absent when glosses for words unknown to second language (L2) are provided in the task. However, the hypothesis does not indicate whether language used in glosses (L1 and L2) affects the involvement load and L2 vocabulary learning. The current study aimed to investigate the possible interaction between task-induced involvement load and language used in gloss on incidental vocabulary learning in low proficiency EFL learners, who appear to gain more benefit from L1 gloss than L2 gloss in L2 vocabulary learning based on previous studies (e.g., Arpaci, 2016; Ertürk, 2016; Fang, 2009; Kongtawee & Suppapan, 2018). The study asked two research questions: (1) Do tasks with a higher level of involvement load promote greater vocabulary learning than tasks with a lower level of involvement load regardless of the language used in vocabulary glosses? and (2) Do tasks with an equal level of involvement load have a similar effect on vocabulary learning when the language used in glosses differs? One hundred and twenty-eight EFL learners at low proficiency level were randomly divided into four groups. Each group was assigned to complete one of the four types of computer-based vocabulary learning tasks, including (a) reading comprehension with L1 glosses task, (b) reading comprehension with L2 glosses task, (c) reading and fill-in-the-blank with L1 glosses task and (d) reading and fill-in-the-blank with L2 glosses task. Each group completed the task during a two-week period. In the first week, participants completed a task developed from one reading text, and, a week later, they completed another task with the same learning condition as in the previous week but the task was developed from another reading text. Both reading texts contained the same 10 target words, which were unknown to the participants. After completing the task in the second week, participants were unexpectedly given immediate word recall posttests (i.e., active recall and passive recall), and, two weeks later, they completed the same tests as delayed posttests. The findings indicated that the effect of task-induced involvement load was mediated by language used in glosses. That is, depending on whether language used in glosses, a task with a higher level of involvement load may not necessarily lead to better outcomes than a task with a lower level of involvement load, and two tasks with an equal amount of involvement load may lead to different outcomes. Moreover, the results revealed that low proficiency learners gained great benefits from the task with high involvement load and L1 gloss, which facilitated initial form-meaning connection of new L2 word. The findings add valuable insight into the involvement load hypothesis and provide implications for L2 incidental vocabulary learning and teaching.
The 2013-14 Thai political crisis as reflected in Thai political cartoons
Iamlaor, Aram; Savitri Gadavanij (National Institute of Development Administration, 2018)
Thailand in 2013-14 is a period of political instability. The protest organized by the PDRC is one of the world’s largest political protests. The movement was an anti Thaksin cronyism effort to expel Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government. Eighty-four political cartoons during the period were collected from four newspapers Bangkok Post, The Nation, Thai Rath, and Daily News. This study aims to investigate 1) how the political cartoonists create humor in their cartoons, 2) kinds of humor the political cartoonists use in their cartoons, 3) the differences between Thai political cartoons published in Thai and English newspapers, and 4) ideologies underpin Thai political cartoons published in the four newspapers. The analysis reveals that in multipanel cartoons, the cartoonists create humor by using incongruity which intentionally misleads the readers, followed by a punch line so as to make them feel surprised or laugh. In the cartoons that contain dialogue between two characters, flouting maxims of Cooperative Principle is also used to create humor. Secondly, the major differences between Thai and English language newspapers include 1) most of the cartoons in the Thai language newspapers are in multi panels containing dialogues between two characters while most of the cartoons in the English language newspapers are in one panel without dialogues, 2) most of the cartoons in the Thai language newspapers contain humor but all of the cartoons in the English language newspapers do not contain humor at all, 3) most of the signifiers in the second-order system used by the cartoonists to convey meanings on political issues are related to the anti- government side, especially Suthep and the PDRC, while most of the signifiers related to the pro-government side are about the amnesty bill and the rice pledging scheme, and 4) most of the cartoons in the Thai language newspapers emphasized bad things of the antigovernment side but nearly all of the cartoons in the English language newspapers emphasize bad things of the pro- government groups. Finally, after the cartoons were analyzed by using the ideological square to find ideologies underpin the cartoons, it can be concluded that each cartoonist has strong opinions on political issues. They always emphasize bad things of the persons or the political groups that they oppose, especially on the issues related to politics rather than on personality of a person.
An exploration of the effectiveness of the use of multimedia computer-assisted english writing
Sirin Sawangwan; Kasma Suwanarak (National Institute of Development Administration, 2017)
This study aims to investigate the effects of multimedia computer-assisted English writing (MCAEW) on English writing performance and to explore motivational factors together with perceptions towards the use of MCAEW. Both quantitative and qualitative research techniques were employed. The quantitative method was used to investigate the difference in overall English writing performance of students before and after the integration of MCAEW by comparing pretest and posttest mean scores. The quantitative technique was also applied to discover motivational factors towards the use of MCAEW. Qualitative method was conducted to explore the students’ perceptions towards the use of MCAEW. Data were collected from 200 EFL non-English major students from a public university. The pretest and posttest of the students’ English writing mean scores were examined through a paired-sample t-test. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to find the motivational factors through a five-point Likert scale items questionnaire. A semi-structured interview was conducted in order to explore perceptions towards the use of MCAEW. The results show that a highly significant difference exists in overall English writing performance after the integration of MCAEW. The difference between the means of the pretest and posttest scores was reported (p < .001). Four influencing motivational factors have been found. The students revealed that MCAEW influent their communicative competence, task completion, autonomous learning, and communication. Some course and technical resolutions regarding constraints of MCAEW functions were reported. Overall, the students’ performance and views on the use of MCAEW can raise awareness of educators involved in EFL writing. The findings would be valuable resources for considering appropriate ways in which the MCAEW might be useful for teaching EFL writing. Finally, implications are drawn regarding the implementation of MCAEW, adjusting EFL writing curriculum, as well as recommendations for future research.
Interactional metadiscourse markers in applied linguistics research articles: a cross-cultural and cross-sectional analysis
Thapanee Musiget; Kanyarat Getkham (National Institute of Development Administration, 2017)
This study examines how interactional metadiscourse markers, written by native and non-native English writers in English applied linguistics research articles, are cross-culturally and cross-sectionally used. The selection of five leading journals, Journal of Second Language Writing, Language Learning, English for Specific Purposes, Studies in Second Language Acquisition and Reading and Writing, was based on SCImago Journal Rank 2014. A total number of 60 research articles were randomly selected. The model of analysis was suggested by Hyland’s (2005a) interactional metadiscourse markers which are hedges, boosters, attitude markers, self-mentions and engagement markers. The findings revealed that interactional metadiscourse markers had been higher in research articles written by native English than non-native English writers. The highest incidence had been reported in hedges followed by boosters, self-mentions, attitude markers, and engagement markers, respectively. Unlike other four elements, self-mentions had been higher in research articles written by non-native English than native English writers. In addition, significant differences cross-culturally existed in the use of hedges, attitude markers, and engagement markers. Furthermore, significant differences cross-sectionally existed in the use of boosters and self-mentions written by native English writers, and in the use of hedges, boosters, attitude markers, and engagement markers written by non-native English writers. For main functions of each interactional metadiscourse marker, hedges had performed as objective presentations of the writers. Boosters had been used as a conviction when the writers had been equipped with plausible evidence. Also, attitude makers had been employed to convey the writers’ evaluations. Fourth, self-mentions had been used to emphasize the writers’ ownership of the text. Finally, engagement markers had performed as tools to assist the writers to engage and to invite their readers to participate in the text. These cross-cultural and cross-sectional similarities and differences reveal the fact both NE and NNE researchers have been affected by their national and professional-academic culture significantly.
Using metacognition training in improving business writing: a case study of efl tertiary students in Thailand
Natrada Tiyaphorn; Jirapa Abhakorn (National Institute of Development Administration, 2018)
This study applied a mixed research approach to investigate the extent to which metacognition training could develop students’ writing skills. The student participants were a group of third-year university students majoring in Business English, Faculty of Arts who enrolled in the Business Communication in English II course. They were grouped into experimental and control groups. For the experimental group, the metacognition training was conducted as an intervention in teaching business writing. The pretest and posttest writing scores of both groups were analyzed to find the significant difference between groups in the three component scores of the writing tests; i.e., relevance and adequacy of content, compositional organization, and cohesion. In addition, four students from the experimental group were selected based on their pretest scores to represent two high and two low proficient writers to participate in three retrospective interviews. Each interview was conducted when the participants finished each writing task. Qualitative data from the retrospective interviews before, during, and after metacognition training with the high and low proficient writers were analyzed to find the development of person, task, and strategic knowledge. The results showed that a significant difference between the two groups exists but only in the mean scores of posttests’ relevance and the adequacy of content component. The retrospective interviews revealed that both high and low proficient students could be developed, though the high proficient writers showed more evidence of development. Moreover, the teacher’s diary was used to reflect the
Contentious identities of the mekong karaoke girls: a nexus analysis of social actions and a critical discourse analysis of ideologies
Worathanik Photijak; Savitri Gadavanij (National Institute of Development Administration, 2017)
This dissertation examines the social actions and discourses of the Mekong karaoke girls focusing on contentious Identity construction and ideologies within the liminality of the Mekong border karaoke bars and Khong Chiam community settings. The study triangulates Critical Discourse Analysis and Nexus Analysis. The first trajectory of nexus analysis, historical body is supported with bodily capital concept; the second trajectory of interaction order is relied on Goffman concept of situated activity system, and the third trajectory is analyzed by Sociocultural Linguistic Approaches focusing on discursive practice of othering and discursive practice of used pronouns. The data is collected according to Nexus Analysis guidelines. Participant observation is conducted in six months, interviews with 22 MKGs, one police officer, six karaoke bar owners, and four hospital staff. Also, three sessions of focus group with the MKGs, hospital staff, and male karaoke customers Findings from the historical body anaylsis reveal that there are three main pre-karaoke identities; young girl, female, and Laotian. The present-karaoke body shows that their bodily capital constructs young girl, adult female, Laotian, karaoke girl, and other contentious identities such as bread winner, explorer, mother, daughter, and lover. Processes of constructing those identities through investing on their bodily capital are underpinned by both patriarchal and capitalist ideologies. The interaction order reports processes of contentious identities through normative roles and their situated activity system in the greeting and singing sessions. Patriarchal and capitalist
Development discourses in the context of mekong hydropower development: a critical discourse analysis
Woraya Som-Indra; Savitri Gadavanij (National Institute of Development Administration, 2017)
The study investigates the notions of “development” in the context of Mekong Hydropower Development. Through the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), the study aims to examine 1) What are the notions of Development constituted in the context of Mekong hydropower dams found in the news articles? 2) What are the discursive strategies employed to establish the notions of development in such context? 3) What are contending discourses generated under development discourses in such context? 108 extracts of news related to Mekong hydropower development were collected from two databases: the NewsCenter and the Google search Engine. The selection of the news was produced from 1995 to 2017.
A comparative corpus-based study of nursing and language teaching research articles: a multidimensional analysis
Woravit Kitjaroenpaiboon; Kanyarat Getkham (National Institute of Development Administration, 2016)
This paper presents the results of multidimensional analyses investigating patterns of linguistic features in Nursing Research Article Corpus (NURAC) and Language Teaching Research Article Corpus (LTRAC). The findings showed the nursing research articles contained four stylistic patterns and communicative functions. They are Evaluative Stance Focused, Established Knowledge Focused, Claim Focused, and Intention Focused. The language teaching research articles contained six stylistic patterns and communicative functions. They are Persuasion Focused, Evaluative Stance Focused, Claim Focused, Established Knowledge versus Past Action Focused, Ownership Focused, and Modified Information Focused. An intersectional comparison within NURAC and within LTRAC indicated that each pattern was found in different research article’s conventional sections. An interdisciplinary comparison indicated that three out of the four dimensions in NURAC were also found in LTRAC. Herewith, the findings argue that the professional research article writers employ several stylistic patterns for writing each research article’s conventional section. The use of these patterns depends primarily on the functional properties and the textual variation. A possible reason why some stylistic patterns used in NURAC slightly differ from LTRAC might presumably be due to differences of their writings natures. In the researcher’s opinion, the findings from this dissertation could be beneficial to ESP / EAP course and curriculum designers, teachers of English language in academic writing courses, non-native English and novice researchers and students particularly from these two disciplines for the application of this knowledge to improve their academic writing skills.
Thai elf learners' and teachers' perceptions toward intercultural communicative competence: its roles and possibilities for integration into Thai elf classrooms
Kanchana Cheewasukthaworn; Kasma Suwanarak (National Institute of Development Administration, 2017)
In light of the growing volume of communication between people from different cultural backgrounds around the globe at present, this mixed methods study aims to investigate how Thai learners and teachers of English understand and perceive the role of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in their English language learning and teaching, respectively.
Thai EFL teachers' beliefs and practices in CLT in a Thai university context: a study of Rajabhat universities in lower Northeastern area
Chayanant Pitikornpuangpetch; Kasma Suwanarak (National Institute of Development Administration, 2020)
This study investigates Thai EFL teachers’ beliefs regarding the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach and the use of the CLT approach in a Thai university context. It aims to identify difficulties that Thai EFL teachers encounter when applying the CLT approach, and to explore Thai EFL teachers’ beliefs about CLT in relation to their teaching practices in the development of students’ communicative skills. The research tools consisted of survey questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and fieldnotes. The participants were Thai EFL teachers from four public Rajabhat universities in urban parts of the lower northeastern area of Thailand, in the first semester of academic year 2019. The interview sessions were conducted to explain the quantitative findings and discover the difficulties in CLT implementation while the classroom observations were carried out to examine teachers’ teaching behaviors in regards to how the teachers applied the CLT approach in General Education (GE) classrooms. Selection of participants was conducted via the purposive sampling technique. The main CLT principles in a Thai version questionnaire based on Karavas-Doukas’s (1996) framework were adapted to serve this study’s purpose. This study employed explanatory mixed-methods in two phases. Data from questionnaire were analyzed through descriptive statistics and the interview and observation data were analyzed using the interpretive approach in thematic strategies. The findings revealed that teachers’ beliefs were aligned with most CLT principles of group/pair work activities, quality and quantity of error correction, the role of the teachers in the classroom, the role and contribution of learners in the learning process, and teaching materials except for the importance of grammar. The teachers adhere to the CLT principles. The highest mean score fell in the area of roles of teachers in language classrooms whereas the lowest mean score was in regard to the importance of grammar. The difficulties in CLT implementation reported by Thai EFL teachers could be classified into five categories: those caused by teachers, students, classroom management system, CLT itself, and other factors such as a non-supportive language learning environment. Teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices were inconsistent, and some constraints possibly were related to local teaching contexts. Even though they realized that the CLT approach was very useful for the development of students’ communicative competence, the mixed-use of the CLT approach and the traditional approach such as Grammar-Translation was pervasively seen in the current contexts. This study suggests considering implementing a CLT model suitable for the Thai university context, and more professional development and training related to CLT principles for teachers.
The roles of indirect asynchronous electronic feedback versus direct corrective feedback in improving students' l2 writing: a multiple-case study of Thai undergraduate students
Pratabjai Tatsanajamsuk; Saksit Saengboon (National Institute of Development Administration, 2020)
This qualitative multiple-case study investigated the roles of indirect asynchronous electronic feedback and direct feedback on lexical errors (calques and collocations) produced by Thai undergraduate students. The study consisted of two phases: 1) a pilot study and 2) the main study. Data collection was carried out through text analysis, interviews, and observations. The pilot study was conducted with university students who shared more or less the same characteristics as those in the main study. More specifically, six typical cases were divided into two groups receiving two different types of feedback (Group 1: direct feedback and Group 2: indirect asynchronous electronic feedback). The participants in Group 1 were asked to write English paragraphs on paper while those in Group 2, on Google Docs software. Feedback on their writing was focused on calque and collocation errors, in which the participants were required to correct the errors based on the feedback given. After the participants had completed each writing task, they were interviewed individually. Subsequently, focus-group interviews were conducted with the teacher and the participants in a bid to verify construct validity. In addition, an inter-rater commented on the participants’ original and revised drafts of in-class written texts. Thematic themes were identified based on the analysis of each participant’s writing. Findings revealed that the participants in Group 2 outperformed their counterparts in Group 1 when it came to calque error correction. However, as regards collocation errors, the participants in Group 1 outperformed their Group 2 counterparts. It should be noted that the participants in Group 2 had more difficulty understanding the teacher’s feedback and therefore found it harder to revise their writings. The participants had mixed perceptions towards the teacher’s feedback. In fact, it seems they preferred direct, indirect electronic and teacher-student conferencing feedback. In this respect, such factors as individual differences and types of feedback contributed to their ability to benefit from the teacher’s feedback. This study suggests that direct feedback is more conducive to writing improvement than indirect asynchronous electronic feedback. Given the complex nature of writing itself, negative feedback (explicit error correction) is preferred as much as extensive reading. It should be pointed out that an integration of technology in a writing class should be done carefully to make certain that EFL learners are familiar with and know how to use digital technology. Equally important is that the participants viewed the teacher feedback as multi-dimensional. That is, the feedback not only provided correction but also increased their trust on the teacher’s credibility. Moreover, individual differences in terms of their learning styles and English proficiency played important roles in their ability or inability to respond to the teacher’s feedback.
Dialectic of friendship: discourse analysis of communication and relationship between superman and batman in superhero comics
Manatchai Amponpeerapan; Jaray Singhakowinta (National Institute of Development Administration, 2020)
This study conducted a 2-stage analysis of dialectics in a discourse of a seemingly antagonistic superhero partnership between Superman (Clark Kent) and Batman (Bruce Wayne) while aiming to expand upon our understanding of dialectical relationships, American friendship, masculine-heroism ethics, and the evolution of society. Firstly, the study used Quantitative Content Analysis (CA) in corroboration with William Rawlins’s Dialectical theory of Friendship (DTF), to extract themes and patterns shown in communications between the protagonists. Then, the study utilized Critical Narrative Analysis (CNA) in corroboration with Georg W. F. Hegel’s Speculative Dialectics to unmask critical implications created from the Superman-Batman dichotomy. The results showed that Superman and Batman have a complex friendship relationship, displaying a dominant frequency of expressiveness, judgment, and affection in communication. Such patterns in communication contribute to the expressive and honest friendship patterns shared between male friends in critical and industrialized reinforcement of opposite relationship, bipartisanship, and peaceful discourse in a rivalry which is a surprisingly common discourse in American culture. By using theories of archetypes, dialectical relations and dialectics to conduct content analyses in several media featuring Superman and Batman, the study argued that Superman and Batman as a complex and globally relative discourse that encourages an ethical hegemony and dialectical tension between fiction and reality that could potentially inspire people to read such media text seriously and adopt lessons from the two heroes to lessen socio-political disharmony improve how we live in reality.
Interactional Patterns of Thai politicians' answers during broadcast tv interviews
Kornkamol Waiyaraphutra; Jirapa Abhakorn (National Institute of Development Administration, 2016)
Though a number of studies reveal different discursive techniques used by politicians during live interviews, few has been conducted in Thai political contexts. This study examines patterns of answering developed by the Thai politicians to respond to different types of questions in broadcast news interviews during an electoral campaign for Bangkok governor in 2013. With an application of conversation analysis (CA), this study also reveals the relationship between the interviewer (IR) and the interviewees’ (IEs) discursive and cooperative practices in pursuing the institutional goals and role relationships.
An investigation into the perceptions of Thai international tertiary students towards the outward ethnic looking appearance of their EFL teachers in Thailand
Yuth Thongcharoen; Lee, Yu-Hsiu (National Institute of Development Administration, 2016)
English Language Teaching is a field of research with a vast body of knowledge which has cultivated a plethora of related subjects of interest such as: ELF, World Englishes, Native-ness, ESL/EFLetc… However one topic which can still benefit from more research in ELT is the perception of the language students about their teachers and how it pertains to their outward appearance, ethnicity and teachers’ competency. The thesis will explore these attitudes in the context of Thailand in order to confirm to debunk their accuracy.
The effect of computer assisted pronunciation learning program on Thai college students' pronunciation performance and autonomous learning capacity
Narathip Thumawongsa; Kanyarat Getkham (National Institute of Development Administration, 2014)
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the computer assisted pronunciation learning (CAPL) program on Thai college students’ English pronunciation performance and autonomous learning capacity. Some quantitative and qualitative techniques were applied. Forty nine Srinakharinwirot university students who enrolled in English Phonetics were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Students in the experimental group studied pronunciation by the integration of the traditional teaching style and the CAPL program, while students in the control group learned pronunciation by the traditional teaching style only.
Culture-bound elements in Thai literary translation : a case study of Marcel Barang's Thai-English novel translation strategies and reader responses
Vethang Masong; Ora-Ong Chakorn (National Institute of Development Administration, 2023)
This study investigated culture-bound elements in Chart Korbjitti's literary works, Marcel Barang’s translation strategies, and the readers’ responses to the translator’s strategies. It drew primarily on two frameworks developed from existing categorizations of culture-bound elements and taxonomies of translation strategies postulated by notable scholars in the field. In addition, the framework for measuring foreignization in literary translation proposed by Poucke (2012) was also adopted in the questionnaire design process. The findings revealed eleven types of culture-bound elements, namely: 1) Buddhism, comprising nine subcategories; 2) proper names, consisting of eight subcategories; 3) cultural artifacts; 4) figurative language, consisting of four subcategories; 5) onomatopoeic words; 6) sex, containing three subcategories; 7) swearwords; 8) music and arts; 9) greeting expressions; 10) units of measurement; and 11) others. Four types of culture-bound elements emerged from this study, including figurative language, onomatopoeic words, sex, and swearwords. Concerning the taxonomy of translation strategies, it was found that the translator adopted eleven strategies as follows: 1) description, 2) transposition, 3) combined strategies, 4) superordinate, 5) literal translation, 6) definition, 7) transliteration, 8) reduction, 9) subordinate, 10) omission and 11) alteration. The last strategy emerged from this study as it was not included in the preexisting taxonomies in the framework. Taking three of the most prevailing strategies (i.e., description, transposition, and combined strategies) into consideration, it could be summarized that the translator tended to adopt a target-text oriented style as shown in a series of efforts in facilitating his readers by not allowing the foreignness of the source culture to affect his readers’ enjoyment. In relation to the quantitative analysis, the findings revealed the respondents’ levels of agreement on foreignization, domestication, and the reduction of foreignization degree. Firstly, it was found that the respondents had a strong preference for the shift from domesticating to foreignizing translation strategies, with the weighted mean at a high level. This signified that they preferred to read the translated texts that enabled them to understand and absorb the source culture. However, their agreement on the application of domestication translation strategies was rather different. To illustrate, the respondents were found to be undecided when asked whether they agreed with the replacement of the foreignized translations with the domesticated ones. This meant that it remained unclear whether the readers wanted to read the translated texts that could be read with ease or the ones that contained exotic foreign culture. Lastly, the respondents’ agreement on the reduction of foreignization degree was at a high level. The fact that moderate foreignization was preferred over strong foreignization signified that the readers still felt the need to be facilitated by the translator. The high levels of agreement on the application of foreignizing strategies and the reduction of foreignization degree contributed to the conclusion that while reading literary translations, the readers also wanted to broaden their knowledge of the source culture; however, it was the translator’s task to maintain a balance between presenting the source text’s identity and assisting the readers to grasp the message intended by the author.

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