Journal of English Language and Linguistics

Thai EFL Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes towards Syntactic Structures in English Writing

Abhinan Wongkittiporn — 2024-04-02

This study investigates Thai EFL students’ attitudes of difficulty towards syntactic structures in English writing and their evaluation of frequencies in using syntactic structures in their writing. The framework of attitudes in this study follows Baker (1992) and Garrett (2010). The methodology of this study uses convenience sampling method. The participants in this study were 30 sophomores, majoring in English from a private university in Thailand. They were asked to fill in a questionnaire concerning syntactic structures in English writing. The instruments in this study were a questionnaire with a five-scale measurement. After the questionnaire was developed, it was validated by three experts. The three experts are PhD instructors in the field of English language and language assessment and evaluation from a renowned public university of Thailand. The descriptive statistical analysis via frequencies and percentages was used to calculate the data analysis. The results in this study show that the participants feel that dependent clauses are difficult for them to use, especially adverbial clauses, reduced adjective clauses and verbless adverbial clauses. Based upon their evaluation toward frequencies of syntactic structures, the participants frequently use existential there constructions and adjective clauses in their writing in English. It is highly expected that the results of this study will be useful for English language teachers to gain better understanding of Thai EFL university students toward their difficulties with syntactic structures in English writing. So, English teachers could bring the results of this study to provide improvement to their students.

Using of Morphological Theory to Improve English Reading Comprehension Ability of Buriram Rajabhat University Students

Rungnapa Moendee — 2024-04-02

This study aimed to 1) explore the English reading comprehension problems and needs of Buriram Rajabhat University students, 2) construct the English reading comprehension handbook by using morphological theory to improve their English reading comprehension ability, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of the English reading comprehension handbook that uses morphological theory. The population consisted of 128 first-year students at Buriram Rajabhat University, had taken the BRU English proficiency test and experienced difficulties with English during the 2023 academic year. From this population, a sample of 30 participants was selected using systematic sampling techniques. The study used several research instruments to collect data which included: 1) a questionnaire to identify the problems faced by students in comprehending English reading, 2) an English reading comprehension handbook by using morphological theory, 3) pre-test and post-test, and 4) a students’ satisfaction with the English reading comprehension handbook that uses morphological theory questionnaire. The results revealed that 1) most students at Buriram Rajabhat University acknowledged facing challenges in English reading comprehension, with vocabulary knowledge receiving the highest, followed by fundamental knowledge, and knowledge of sentence structure, respectively. Moreover, the students express a high-level need to improve their English comprehension using morphological theory. 2) The handbook is structured into five chapters, each rooted in morphological theory to offer through assistance for students facing challenges in English reading comprehension. 3) The English reading comprehension handbook, which utilized morphological theory, received the highest level of student satisfaction and students demonstrate higher English proficiency test scores after utilizing the English.

Translanguaging as Interactional Resources Employed by Students in EFL Student-Led Group Task Interaction

HAO YANG — 2024-04-02

This study aimed to investigate the strategies used by students during group tasks in the EFL classroom. The study focused on translanguaging as one of the strategies to facilitate communication and interaction among students. The data was collected by recording the classroom discussions of a focused group in an EFL class at a Chinese university over three hours. The analysis was carried out using conversation analytic methodology. The study revealed various interactional features in turn constructions. Students often used single learner turns to agree and extended learner turns with clarification or explanation to support their ideas for turn-taking. Concerning turn passing, students prefer to use open-ended questions to ask for opinions, they also used open-ended questions to ask for opinions, confirmation checks for meaningful understanding, and extended wait times for other speakers to take turns. Regarding self-repairs and peer repairs, they often made content-focused repairs rather than form-focused ones, and students with a higher English proficiency usually provided support. Translanguaging was an effective strategy to facilitate peer interaction and avoid errors in meaning-making. The study has important implications for language teaching and learning policy, highlighting the need to encourage prospective teachers to practice translanguaging to facilitate classroom interaction and second language acquisition.