English Learning Strategies Employed by Thai Students: A Case Study at Prince Songkla University, Pattani Campus

As elsewhere, Thailand, in the globalized world, English has gained an important role in different areas of life over the last decades. It is taught as an official second language in all elementary and many secondary schools and also in universities. Unfortunately, although Thai students spend a lot of time learning English, both in schools hours and after school tutorial classes, college graduates today cannot use English to communicate effectively in the real world. The purpose of this study aimed to investigate the English learning strategies among Thai university students. The study employed a survey design which involved administering questionnaires of rating scales by using Oxford (1990) Strategies Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) to measure language learning strategies. The study also used interview questions as part of data collection to investigate how ecological system influence learning English from twenty five students of Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Thailand. The research design of this study was a qualitative study focusing on in-depth interview session while questionnaires were the supplementary to explain the general language learning preferences. The result of this study revealed that most Thai students adopted cognitive strategy in learning ranging from repeating to analyzing expressions to summarizing. Also, they learned in transferring expressions from Thai language which is a mother tongue to English. The learners constructed a formal model in their minds based on analysis and comparison, created general rules and then revised the rules when any new information is available. Listening to music and watching soundtrack movies and clips were among the major activities employed by the students.