CULI Research Seminar 2015
Table of Contents
Background and Rationale
2
Seminar Programs
Plenary sessions
4
Parallel sessions
5
Keynote Speaker
6
Plenary Speakers
8
Parallel Speakers
11
Announcement
23
Organizing Committee
24
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
Chulalongkorn University Language Institute
International Research Seminar 2015
In Celebration of Chulalongkorn University Language Institute’s 38 Anniversary
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy
and Material Development
Friday, July 17, 2015
Mahitaladhibesra Building, Chulalongkorn University
Bangkok, Thailand
Background and Rationale
English education in Thailand has long been stigmatized by its ineffectiveness and
impracticality. To some, English classes place an excessive emphasis on grammar and
reading—as reflected from the University Entrance Examination and some local
standardized tests—while students could not really communicate when stepping out of
their school and university after over 10 years of English learning. With the advent of the
ASEAN Community establishment at the end of the year 2015, the importance of the
ability to communicate in English has become more pronounced. The ASEAN Economic
Community Blueprint stipulates the key characteristic of the region after the integration
as a single market and production base which allows free flow of goods, services,
investment, capital and skilled professionals in the Community.
Research on communicative English is needed to address the pedagogy and material
development at the tertiary and secondary levels. This, in turn, could conceivably help the
students meet the language demand. Chulalongkorn University Language Institute is
organizing an International Research Seminar entitled “Communicative English:
Research, Pedagogy and Material Development.”
The international research seminar is one of CULI’s academic activities to commemorate
its anniversary as well as to demonstrate its commitment to social contribution. The
seminar is open to all interested participants free of charge.
Objectives
1. To promote and disseminate research on teaching and material development of
English communication;
2. To provide the opportunity for all participants to discuss and share ideas and
experiences in conducting and implementing research on English communication
in different pedagogical contexts.
3. To provide a forum for English language practitioners, researchers, administrators,
and those working in various fields from Thailand and around the world to discuss
ways of addressing the challenges of teaching English communication in the
advent of the ASEAN integration.
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
Participants
English language practitioners, researchers, administrators, graduate students in related
fields and interested professionals in various fields from local and overseas institutions.
Responsible Organization
Research Coordination and Dissemination Unit, Research Department, Chulalongkorn
University Language Institute
Date
Friday, July 17, 2015
Venue
Mahitaladhibesra Building Room 202, Chulalongkorn University
Expected Outcomes
The participants will have the opportunity to:
1. broaden their views concerning teaching and material development on English
communication at both tertiary and secondary levels;
2. share ideas and experiences in conducting and implementing research related to
English communication; and
3. network with members of various interest groups.
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
Seminar Program
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
Friday, July 17, 2015
Mahitaladhibesra Building Room 202,
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
8:00-8:45
Registration
8:45-9:00
Opening Ceremony
9:00-10:00
Keynote Speech:
Mr. Jakkrit Srivali,
Director-General of the Department of ASEAN Affairs,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
10:00-10:15
Break
10:15-11:15
Plenary I:
Prof. Dr. Richard Kiely, University of Southampton
“The Craft of ELT: The Teacher as Curriculum Developer”
11:20-12:00
Parallel I (6 rooms)
12:00-13:30
Lunch (Not provided)
13:30-14:10
Parallel II (5 rooms)
14:15-15:15
Plenary II:
Prof. Dr. Icy Lee, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
“Two Decades of Research on Error Correction: Have EFL Teachers
Become Any Wiser?”
15:15-15:30
Closing Ceremony
Take-away refreshments
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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Parallel Sessions
Parallel 1 (11:20-12:00)
1A
Valentin Tassev
Pragmatic Competence as a Tool for Communicative
Efficiency in English
Room
515
1B
Wannapa
Jenwitthayayot
Students’ Perceptions about Their Self-Study Experience
Room
516
Saowaluck
Tepsuriwong
1C
Icy Lee
Eight Demotives in the EFL Writing Classroom
1D
Jirada
Suntornsawet
The Intelligibility of Thai English Pronunciation to
Native and Non-Native Speakers of English
Room
517
Room
518
1E
Andy Noces
Cubalit
Listening Comprehension Problems of Thai English
Learners
Room
615
1F
Jonathan Wright
The Problem of Prosody in Language Education
Room
616
Parallel 2 (13:30-14:10)
2A
Kandaporn
Jaroenkitboworn
Failed L2 Humor: A Case Study of EFL Thai Learners
Room
515
2B
Nutsakolpach
Chouvorrasista
The Scaffolding of Listening-Speaking in English
Room
516
2C
Yossiri
Yossatorn
Using the Audio-lingual Method for Teaching English
Irregular Nouns to Thai Primary Students
Room
517
2D
Eka Novita
Students’ Perception toward Online Collaborative
Writing Activity
Room
518
2E
Maneerat
Level of Student Reflection: A Study from an ELT
Chuaychoowong Course
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
Room
615
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
Keynote Speaker
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Mr. Jakkrit Srivali
Director-General of the Department of ASEAN
Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Biodata
Mr. Jakkrit Srivali holds a B.A. (honors) and M.A. in Political Science from
Thammasat University and from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He
was also a Ph.D Candidate (distinction in core) in International Relations at the
University of Southern California (USC). He has been working with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs for more than 20 years as Secretary, Counselor Deputy Director-General
and Ambassador before assuming his present position of Director-General of the
Department of ASEAN Affairs. Apart from his extensive experience in foreign affairs,
Director-General Jakkrit also has experience and expertise working in the English
language field as an interpreter and a lecturer. In addition, he has contributed to English
language teaching as the columnist of “ฟอไฟฟุดฟิ ดอังกฤษอเมริ กนั ” in the Daily News (Thailand)
since 1989. His outstanding talent has been widely acknowledged as he was awarded the
Outstanding Civil Servant Award in 2004, Ford Fellowship in 1995 and Hermann
Fellowship in 1986. Notably, he received the top score on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
admission exam and the Thammasat University entrance exam, as well as placed in the
top 50 on the National Board Exam.
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Plenary Speakers
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Richard Kiely
Department of Modern Languages,
University of Southampton, UK
rkiely47@gmail.com
The Craft of ELT: The Teacher as Curriculum Developer
Abstract
This talk explores the ways teachers work. It investigates the reasoning that shapes
planning and classroom teaching, critiques established notions of teachers applying language
learning theories, and outlines ways in which practice can be theorised, understood and improved.
In this talk I draw on recent work in Applied Linguistics, socio-cultural theory, and Wenger’s
notion of Communities of Practice. Looking at the work of English language teachers from a
social perspective, I examine the ways the policy context and the expectations of students can
limit the agency of the teacher. I draw on data and research findings from my own work to
document the complexities of ELT.
I then outline some ways forward for teachers to develop the curriculum and improve their
teaching. These include reflective practice, classroom evaluation and teacher research. These
activities facilitate the management of change, but are dependent on the dispositions of individual
teachers. Through raising awareness of the nature and role of disposition, capacity for teacher
learning can be enhanced, and the potential for transformation in ELT realised.
Biodata
Richard Kiely is a Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education. He currently works
in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Southampton in the UK. He has also worked
at the University of St Mark & St John and the University of Bristol, and has extensive experience as a
teacher, teacher-trainer, researcher and curriculum developer in English as a second language contexts such
as Poland, Hungary, Mexico, South Africa, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Zambia.
He has a PhD in language programme evaluation from the University of Warwick; an MA in Applied
Linguistics from the University of Essex; and a BA in French and English from the National University of
Ireland at Cork. His research interests include language programme evaluation, language teaching and
teacher development, and language learning explored from language socialisation and identity perspectives.
He supervises PhDs in programme, classroom, and teacher based research themes. He has published in a
range of journals (Arab World English Journal (AWEJ), TESOL Quarterly, Language Teacher Research,
Modern Languages Journal, ELT Journal, Language Awareness, Innovation in Language Learning and
Teaching, etc.) and is a member of the editorial Boards of AWEJ and ELT Journal. He is the author (with
Pauline Rea-Dickins) of Programme Evaluation in Language Education (2005), and (with Matt Davis and
Eunice Wheeler) of Investigating Critical Learning Episodes (2010).
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Icy Lee
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
icylee@cuhk.edu.hk
Two Decades of Research on Error Correction: Have
EFL Teachers Become Any Wiser?
Abstract
Since Truscott (1996) sparked a debate on the usefulness of error correction in
helping L2 students improve their writing, there has been a proliferation of research on
error correction which testifies to the overall benefits of error correction for students’
written accuracy development. With the research insights gained from two decades of
vibrant research, however, have EFL writing teachers become any wiser in their error
correction practice? To what extent are error correction research findings taken up by
classroom practitioners? In this presentation, I will address these questions by examining
and discussing areas in which error correction research findings have been well applied,
not well applied, and over applied. It is found that error correction is an area of research
where grave mismatches exist between research findings and classroom applications.
Drawing from the research-practice divide, the presentation concludes with implications
for error correction practice in the writing classroom and recommendations for further
research.
Biodata
Icy Lee is a Professor in the Department Curriculum and Instruction of the
Faculty of Education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her main research
interests are in second language writing and second language teacher education. She was
formerly President of Hong Kong Association for Applied Linguistics and Chair of the
Non-native English Speakers in TESOL (NNEST) Interest Section of TESOL
International Association. Her publications have appeared in numerous international
journals such as Journal of Second Language Writing, TESOL Quarterly, Language
Teaching, System, Language Teaching Research, and ELT Journal. She was a recipient of
the 2013 TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues (with Wong & Gao),
the 2010 TESOL Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the 1999 TESOL Award for
Excellence in the Development of Pedagogical Materials. She was also a recipient of the
2008 Journal of Second Language Writing Best Paper Award for her article
“Understanding teachers’ written feedback practices in Hong Kong secondary
classrooms”.
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Parallel Speakers
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Parallel
1A
Valentin Tassev
Institute for English Language Education (IELE).
Assumption University, Thailand
valentinetassev@gmail.com
Pragmatic Competence as a Tool for Communicative Efficiency in English
Abstract
The following research paper will argue that promoting Thai learners’ communicative
competency in English (L2) clearly involves promoting cultural awareness and knowledge shared
between them and native speakers. In particular, my intention will be to demonstrate that
promoting pragmatic knowledge and competence in English among Thai learners is a prerequisite
for successful communication in English. I will thus engage in a comparative study between Thai
language (L1) and L2, and look for areas where both languages convey and express the same
meaning in a given situational context even though they might differ immensely in terms of
grammar, choice of vocabulary etc. In other words, my intention will be to investigate areas
where both languages meet within the socio-cultural domain. I will then try to apply a number of
teaching strategies in order to match certain expressions between the L1 and the L2, and help
students learn new expressions in the L2 by consciously applying them to their correspondents in
students’ L1. I believe that this technique will enable students to communicate more efficiently
and accurately in the L2. My study will use the intercultural pragmatics’ approach as the main
theoretical background and framework for analysis. I am planning to conduct this research via
both semi-structured questionnaires and follow-up interviews with advanced students at university
level. Then, I will offer a new set of teaching techniques and tools to be used in the form of a
lesson plan, and lastly demonstrate how pragmatic competence leads to communicative
competency in the L2.
Biodata
Valentin Tassev is currently a full-time English lecturer at the Institute for English
Language Education (IELE) at Assumption University of Thailand (AU). He has been teaching
English in Thailand for the past four years. His research interests are the study of intercultural
pragmatics, English as a lingua franca and the inter-relationship between language and culture.
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Parallel 1B
Wannapa Jenwitthayayot and Saowaluck Tepsuriwong
School of Liberal Arts,
King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi.
wannjenn87@gmail.com
Students’ Perceptions about Their Self-Study Experience
Abstract
There are various ways to promote autonomous learning. Self-study can be a good
means of improving students’ sense of autonomy in English language learning. This
study, therefore, was conducted in order to investigate students’ perceptions towards their
self-study experiences in a self-study module. The subjects were eight first-year
undergraduate King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) students.
The instrument used for data collection was the structured-interview. The data obtained
from the instrument were analyzed to find out students’ attitudes towards the self-study
module, their self-efficacy on their learning, their opinions about the benefits of the selfstudy module, and their problems encountered while learning. The results revealed that
most students were satisfied with their performances. It also seemed that students’
attitudes, together with their self-efficacy and their opinions about benefits, influenced
their self-study learning. Moreover, problems had while learning should also be of
concern.
Biodata
Wannapa Jenwitthayayot is a graduate student in Applied
Linguistics for English Language Teaching (ELT) at the Faculty of Liberal
Arts, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT),
Bangkok, Thailand. Her recent study is Students’ Perceptions about their
Self-Study Experience. Her research interest is in the field of English
language for teaching, especially independent learning.
Saowaluck Tepsuriwong is a teaching staff at the Department
of Language Studies, School of Liberal Arts, King Mongkut’s
University of Technology Thonburi. Her interests include language
learning, strategies training and teaching pedagogy.
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Parallel 1C
Icy Lee
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
icylee@cuhk.edu.hk
Eight Demotives in the EFL Writing Classroom
Abstract
Motivation, or demotivation (i.e. negative influences that ruin student motivation),
is the result of dynamic interactions with the social context of learning. While a large
number of studies have investigated language learning motivation, much less has been
written about student motivation in the writing classroom, particularly in L2 contexts. Of
the limited literature on L2 writing motivation, it is found that EFL students are generally
not motivated to write in English, and the lack of motivation may hinder the development
of writing competence. In this presentation, I examine eight demotives that adversely
affect EFL students’ motivation. It is revealed that the EFL writing classroom as the
immediate context of learning, as well as the larger sociocultural context, has a significant
role to play in influencing and damaging student motivation. I end the presentation with
suggestions to help teachers re-think strategies to boost student motivation in the writing
classroom.
Biodata
Icy Lee is a Professor in the Department Curriculum and Instruction of the Faculty of
Education at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her main research interests are in second
language writing and second language teacher education. She was formerly President of Hong
Kong Association for Applied Linguistics and Chair of the Non-native English Speakers in
TESOL (NNEST) Interest Section of TESOL International Association. Her publications have
appeared in numerous international journals such as Journal of Second Language Writing, TESOL
Quarterly, Language Teaching, System, Language Teaching Research, and ELT Journal. She was
a recipient of the 2013 TESOL Award for an Outstanding Paper on NNEST Issues (with Wong &
Gao), the 2010 TESOL Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the 1999 TESOL Award for
Excellence in the Development of Pedagogical Materials. She was also a recipient of the 2008
Journal of Second Language Writing Best Paper Award for her article “Understanding teachers’
written feedback practices in Hong Kong secondary classrooms”
.
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Parallel
1D
Jirada Suntornsawet
Department of Education, University of York
js1712@york.ac.uk
The Intelligibility of Thai English Pronunciation to
Native and Non-Native Speakers of English
Abstract
The global spread of English leads to several controversies, especially in the issue
of intelligibility in English as an international language. This study aims to explore the
level of Thai accentedness in English pronunciation that is considered intelligible for
English native and non-native speakers and pronunciation features of Thai English
pronunciation that cause intelligibility failure. In this research, Thai English spontaneous
speech of six Thai English speakers with different level of Thai accents (low, moderate,
and strong as judged by a panel of phonetic experts) are recorded for 10 minutes. The
listeners or raters are three groups of English users; namely ten native speakers, ten nonnative speakers, and ten non-native speakers with Thai L1. They were asked to complete
a transcription task. The level of their understanding of the recordings is measured by the
accuracy of transcription, while the error transcription is phonetically analyzed to see the
main phonological features of Thai English that cause intelligibility failure. These
features hence cannot be neglected and must be the focused features in teaching English
for communicative purposes. The results of the study reveal that in general, Thai English
pronunciation does not have a significant negative effect on the level of intelligibility for
international users of English, and the main features that are frequently found to be
problems for intelligibility are the pronunciation of voiced as voiceless consonants, lack
of final consonant release, and an unstressed speech pattern.
Biodata
I am a doctoral candidate at the Department of Education, the University of York,
UK. After completing BA (English) and MA (English for Specific Purposes), I embarked
on a teaching career as a lecturer in both private and public universities in Thailand. My
research interest is in the field of EIL in the strands of intelligibility, attitudes, identities,
and pedagogy. In my doctoral research, I am focusing on the issue of Thai English (TE)
intelligibility in EIL. I aim to explore at what extent TE pronunciation can be intelligible
and the core of TE pronunciation features as the model in EIL pedagogy.
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Parallel
1E
Andy Noces Cubalit
Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, Thailand
anc457@yahoo.com
Listening Comprehension Problems of Thai English Learners
Abstract
This research investigated, identified, and analyzed listening comprehension
problems of EIC students in RMUTL. It also answered the following questions: 1) What
are the listening comprehension problems encountered by EIC students related to the
listening text, the speaker, and the listener? 2) What strategies do EIC students use to
resolve their listening comprehension problems? While grade schools and universities are
trying to put efforts in developing English education in Thailand, a number of studies
have shown that the achievement of Thai learners was unsatisfactory. As English is being
used as an international medium of communication, numerous factors hamper the success
of English language learning. Emphasis is given more to reading, writing, and grammar
than to listening and speaking. Students had very minimal opportunities to exercise
spoken English resulting to having a poor listening and speaking skills. The findings
indicated that most participants encountered English listening problems related to the
listening text, the speaker, and the listener at a high level. Other factors contributing to
listening difficulties of EIC learners were the lack of opportunity to practice and use their
English skills.
Biodata
Andy Noces Cubalit is a TESOL Specialist at Rajamangala University of
Technology Lanna. He holds a BA in Theology, MA in Education and now a candidate
for a Doctor in Education. His interests include traditions and cultures, curriculum design,
and language teaching development. He participated in the 35th Thailand TESOL
International Conference as a presenter. This August 2015, he will be presenting again his
research on Multiple Reading in the JACET 54th International Convention in Kagoshima,
Japan. He loves to travel, he has been to the Middle East, Europe, China, and just this
year he completed his ASEAN trips. He wishes to travel around the world.
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Parallel
1F
Jonathan Wright
Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
jonathanwright@yahoo.com
The Problem of Prosody in Language Education
Abstract
It is well known that children acquire language beginning with “intonation
contours” (Fromkin, 2011: 335). The prosodic features that children acquire as the first
step in the language learning process are vital to proper pronunciation. By contrast,
second language education demotes prosody to an afterthought. Pinker (2000: 168) points
out the result: “when the words in one language are pronounced with the sound pattern of
another, we call it a foreign accent.” The second language speaker then struggles to be
understood in every communication. This, in turn, destroys motivation, which is vital to
success in second language acquisition. To minimize the importance of prosodic
acquisition is to set a language learner on a path that leads to frustration and eventual
failure. This is not necessary. Prosody can be taught. The question is, how? This paper
will look at the importance of prosody in language acquisition, the result of its neglect,
and the difficulty of its implementation in the classroom. Then it will offer solutions to
the problem.
References:
Fromkin, V., & Rodman, R. (2011). An introduction to language (9th Ed.). Upper Saddle River:
International edition.
Pinker, S. (1994). The language instinct. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Biodata
Jonathan Wright is a full-time lecturer of linguistics and translation in the English
Communication department at Payap University. He has an MA in Linguistics from the
Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, and his previous experience includes 6 years of
teaching EFL in Myanmar and the development and analysis, including a phonology and
grammar, of Hkongso, a previously undescribed endangered language in Myanmar. He
has presented at conferences such as the International Conference on Sino-Tibetan
Languages and Linguistics and the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society.
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Parallel 2A
Kandaporn Jaroenkitboworn
Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
kandaporn.j@gmail.com
Failed L2 Humor: A Case Study of EFL Thai Learners
Abstract
To acquire L2 humor competence, there are many difficulties that learners have to
cope with. This research explored how EFL Thai learners failed to comprehend and
appreciate English jokes. Participants in this study were 16 undergraduate Thai students.
They were required to read 22 English jokes and reported their understanding and
appreciation of each joke. After they finished the reading test, each student answered a
questionnaire and then he or she was interviewed to answer some more open-end
questions and also to clarify some of his or her unclear answers in the questionnaire. The
study results showed that there were three types of relations between comprehension and
appreciation of the jokes which concern their failed humor. These are (1)
incomprehension and no appreciation, (2) incomplete comprehension but appreciation,
and (3) complete comprehension but no appreciation. Their failures can be classified into
4 types: failure to understand linguistic ambiguity, failure to understand socioculture,
failure to process the joke text in the same way as the native do, and failure to join in the
non-bona fide mode which is a mode of communication that differs from normal mode
that people are supposed to commit themselves to the truth. Implication for ELT indicates
that word plays or puns would not be the most advanced level as proposed before by an
applied linguist in this area for teaching humor to students in university-level, but
structural and discourse ambiguity. More importantly, the students in this study also
revealed in the interview several interesting viewpoints toward English native cultures.
Biodata
Kandaporn Jaroenkitboworn is now working for CULI as an EFL teacher. She
holds master’s and doctorate’s degrees in linguistics from Chulalongkorn University. Her
PhD. Dissertation is “A Discourse Analysis of Jokes in Thai”. She still has a passion to
work on humor research, but with more specific focus on acquisition of L2 humor. Other
areas of her interest include discourse analysis, pragmatics and semantics.
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Parallel
2B
Nutsakolpach houvorrasista
Huachiew Chalermprakiet University
cnutsakolpach@gmail.com
The Scaffolding of Listening-Speaking in English
Abstract
The term “scaffolding” in Nutsakolpach Chouvorrasista’s research implies “a
pathway, method, or strategy which helps learners achieve their goal of improving
language skills.” In listening-speaking skills, there are a lot of ways to help learners
overcome their obstacles in acquiring their target languages. At this point, the researcher
focuses on pronunciation, stressing, listening comprehension, and speaking (output). It is
inevitable to say that these aforementioned skills comes hand-in-hand to pursue the final
goal of listening and speaking competency. The Four different areas focus tools: “True
Calling” (pronunciation), “Drop Me Off” (stressing), “Pick Me Up” (listening
comprehension), and “Speak It Out” (speaking) are tools that he created to help students
mitigate their weak learning areas and strengthen both receptive (listening) and
productive (speaking) skills at Huachiew Chalermprakiet University. The researcher also
primarily concentrates on how much learners are exposed to the target language. “The
longer a learner is exposed to the language, the better his language skills would be
improved.”
Biodata
Nutsakolpach Chouvorrasista has been lecturing at Huachiew Chalermprakiet
University since 2008. After ten years of being exposed to the English language both
academically and socially including work experiences as a facilitator and a counselor in
Winona, Minnesota, He devoted his life teaching across a wide range of English courses
(Language arts, ESP) and doing his research on ESL communication. His concentration
basically focuses on listening and speaking in English in order to discover proper
teaching strategies for his students at the university. His current complete research
specially scrutinizes the students’ learning progress with creative measurement as called
“scaffolding.”
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Parallel
2C
Yossiri Yossatorn
Faculty of Liberal Arts,
King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
yossiri.y@gmail.com
Using the Audio-lingual Method for Teaching English Irregular Nouns
to Thai Primary Students
Abstract
Many teaching methodologies have been used to teach English language in
Thailand. (Methitham & Chamcharatsri 2011). However, most English language
instruction, especially lexical-grammatical lessons, is still based on translation and rote
learning (Foley 2005; Nonkukhetkhong et al. 2006; Thep-Ackrapong 1996). One area
that is often taught using rote methods is the pluralization of irregular nouns. These nouns
must be taught and learned separately as they do not follow the rules of morphemic
inflection generalization (Finegan 2011; Fromkin et al. 2014). This study, however, will
investigate the effects of teaching the transformation and pronunciation of irregular nouns
using the audio-lingual approach, which emphasizes listening to pronunciation formed by
ways of drills and exercises (Brown 2004; Flowerdew & Miller 2005; Richards &
Rodgers 2001). In this study, the rules of noun transformation and words were introduced
to Thai primary students at a state primary school in Thailand. The teacher articulated the
sounds and students were required to repeat after the teacher many times. There were a
total of 51 participants in this study: 22 students from the 5th grade and 29 students from
the 6th grade. The results of mean scores of pre- and post-tests from both groups were
quite low. This indicates that the problem in transforming English singular nouns to plural
nouns still exists among 5th and 6th graders. However, there was a positive change
between students’ pre- and post-test scores. Therefore, the discrete-item approach and the
audio-lingual approach may be an appropriate method to teach students at primary level.
Biodata
Yossiri Yossatorn is a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, King
Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, the Faculty of Education English Major,
Rajabhat Bansomdetchaopraya Rajabhat University, and the Royal Thai Naval Academy.
Besides teaching at universities, he has many years of experience teaching private English
lessons. He completed his master’s degree in Applied Linguistics at Mahidol University.
His research interests lie in the area of linguistics, particularly phonetics and phonology,
language and culture, and teaching methodology.
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Parallel
2D
Eka Novita
English Education Study Program,
Teachers Training Faculty
University of Bengkulu, Indonesia.
ekanovita3@yahoo.com
Students’ Perception toward Online Collaborative Writing Activity
Abstract
This study aimed at finding the students’ perception toward online Collaborative
Writing Activity. In this study, an online collaborative writing activity and material were
designed to fulfill the aims of the study. Thirty five pre-service English teachers of a
university in Indonesia were put into seven groups and were assigned into an eight-week
collaborative writing project using Google docs. Each group was assigned to write two
essays collaboratively on Google docs. At the end of the project, each student was asked
to write an anonymous reflection essay about how they perceive the online collaborative
writing activity. The essay was coded and analyzed using QDA miner. From the analysis,
it was found that: (1) most students have positive perceptions toward the online
collaborative writing activity eventhough they have problems with the internet connection
and group dynamic, (2) students report changes in their perception about the activity
before and after the project was completed.
Biodata
Eka Novita is a lecturer at the English Education Study Program, Teachers
Training Faculty, The University of Bengkulu, Indonesia. She graduated from Ohio
University, majoring in Linguistics, Master’s Program. Her research areas are Computer
Assisted Language Learning, and applied linguistics.
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
Parallel
2E
Maneerat Chuaychoowong
School of Liberal Arts, Mae Fah Luang University
Chiangrai, Thailand
maneerat.chu@mfu.ac.th
Level of Student Reflection: A Study from an ELT Course
Abstract
Reflection plays a vital role in professional education since Schön (1983) or
higher education across various disciplines such as engineering (Socha, 2003),
psychology (Conner-Greene, 2003) or nursing (Chirema, 2007). This research is a
preliminary study into writing assignments of 33 students enrolled in the Principles of
English Language Teaching course. With the emphasis on reflective skill practice as one
of the foundations of the course, this study set out to explore whether guided questions
which were the main method used in this course helps facilitate students’ reflection
through writing assignments. The main purpose of this study is to assess the level of
reflection that students can achieve. The present research employed the three levels of
reflectivity by Mezirow (1981) which includes non-reflection, reflection, and critical
reflection. Using these three levels, students’ writings were categorized into three groups:
non-reflector, reflector and critical reflector. The non-reflector refers to students who
merely describe events or activities whereas the reflector shows awareness of observation,
ability to evaluate activities or actions, or expressing judgment. The critical reflector
refers to students who are able to recognize the need in improving themselves or the
change of their plans or actions. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify themes
recurring from the data. After ninety six reflective writings were analyzed, the study
revealed that the students’ writings were categorized into those of the reflector (74%), the
critical reflector (16%) and the non-reflector (12%), respectively. The main finding
showed that writing assignments encouraged students’ reflection.
Biodata
Maneerat Chuaychoowong is a lecturer and currently a coordinator of Master of Arts
program in English for Professional Development. She has been involved in teaching the
MA program which consists of both home and international students. Her research and
interests have focused on students’ learning experience of English medium of instruction,
international and home students’ perceptions of their learning context, and analysis of
educational policy and its implementation. Her present projects include intercultural
learning and a study of students’ development of critical and reflective skills.
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
Communicative English: Research, Pedagogy and Material Development
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CULI Research Seminar 2015
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