QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE VIEWS OF THAI EFL LEARNERS’ LEARNING ORAL COMMUNICATION SKILLS

As an impact of globalization, English has become an international language and a means not only to obtain further information or knowledge but also to access and socialize in international professional or academic communities. It is also considered the most important and popular foreign language taught in school in every country, including Thailand. As a result, effective teaching and learning English is vital. However, amongst the four macro language skills, speaking skills seem to be difficult for Thai learners because of the lack of opportunities to be exposed to authentic English and thus failed to achieve the standards required. To be successful in improving English speaking skills, this study has the principle objective of investigating five variables affecting Thai learners’ development of oral proficiency. To accomplish this goal, 327 Thai learners participated in this study. Based on an extensive review of literature, a systematically-designed questionnaire and semistructured interviews were used. The findings indicated that most of Thai learners relatively had high extrinsic motivation in learning English. They also had positive attitudes towards the English language which helped them learn English. However, many of them had inhibitions, hindering their success in mastering their English speaking competence. The implications of the findings are useful in providing a basis for improving English speaking instruction in general, and classroom activities and environment, and textbook development in particular.