RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
READING SKILLS
36 39 I never
have a reading problem
5 45 35 15 0
Table 4.4
From table 4.4 above, for question number 34, 25% of the respondents usually can read academic textbooks in English while 35% of them occasionally, 25% of them rarely and 15% of them never can read academic textbooks in English. From question number 35, we can see that 10% of the respondents usually can read a magazine in English while 45% of them occasionally, 25% of them rarely and 20% of them never can read a magazine in English. Next, question number 37 stated that 45% of the respondents usually can understand English idioms while 45% of them occasionally and 10% of them rarely can understand English idioms. For question number 38, half of the respondents answered they can explain the main idea and summary the passage occasionally while 35% of them can explain the main idea and summary the passage rarely. Furthermore, 5% of the respondents answered never and 5% of them answered usually they can explain the main idea and summary the passage.
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38 respondents stated that they always can paraphrase English passages while half of them usually, 40% of them occasionally and 5% of them never can paraphrase English passages. From question number 45, majority of the respondents answered they rarely can choose appropriate vocabulary in their writing while 20% of them answered occasionally. Moreover, 10% of them
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answered usually and 5% of them answered they cannot choose the appropriate vocabulary in their writing. Next, from question number 46, 10% of the respondents stated that they always have an adequate English vocabulary for writing essays, half of them usually, 35% of them occasionally and 5% of them never have an adequate English vocabulary for writing essays. For question number 47, most of the respondents which is majority answered occasionally they able to develop a suitable structure for the content while 35% of the respondents answered rarely they able to develop a suitable structure for the content.
4.6 Findings
The most serious English problem reported by the Thai students was speaking skills and this findings is similar to a research by Attapol KhamKhien ( 2010). Other problems revealed in this study were reading skills, listening skills and the least problematic skills is writing skills. Major tasks of speaking skills problems are the ability to perform academic presentation in English in the classroom, ability to explain idea clearly in English and ability to ask questions in English in classroom. Besides that, they also have problem in pronunciation. Some sounds are difficult for Thai learners to produce. The English final consonant may be the most difficult part of the word for Thais to pronounce. According to Brown (1987), pronunciation problems result from the loss of muscular plasticity in the mouth of an adult foreign language learner.
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Furthermore, Thai students also have intonation problems. Thai language does not use intonation to differentiate questions and statements. So it's not unusual that Thai students use rising tones for both Yes or No questions and Wh-questions or the tones used in the Yes-No questions or statements are not different. Next, factors that affecting Thai students faced problems in learning English are they do not prefer to learn English because they find the subject matter boring. Most of teachers still use grammar and rote learning methods for teaching English. They also did not have opportunity to use English in their daily lives, lack of exposure about English language and do not have motivation to use English. Moreover, there is not enough technology support for language learning, such as ICTs as well as language laboratories, particularly for schools in rural or remote areas throughout the country.
Besides that, there are some teachers in Thailand use Thai style to pronounce English word in classes.
4.7 Discussion
This study concluded that speaking skills was the most difficult English language problem that Thai students encounter, followed by reading, listening and writing skills. This may be because the cause of the speaking is the productive skills in the speaking mode. It is more complicated than it seems at first, and often seems to be the most difficult skills since it involves pronunciation, grammatical items and word choice. Besides that, they would have better performance in listening activities if native speakers spoke English more slowly. It is inappropriate for Thai teachers of English to simplify the native speakers’ speed rate due to scarcity of the authentic material and
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practice. Hence, the native-English speakers’ speaking factor seems to be another main obstacle in listening for Thai students. In reading skills, lots of practice is needed, and for readers to persist with a lot of practice, they must become engaged in some way captured cognitively or affectively by the texts they are reading. Michael John Strauss ( 2008 ) stated that this situation in Thailand is not so very different compared to the situation in the West. There are so many Thai people are reluctant readers not because of some exclusively Thai lack of reading culture, but because of elements in their home and education backgrounds which have not been conducive to the fostering of keen, independent readers. English language is not a familiar subject in Thailand, so they have to try very hard to understand or express ideas effectively. Peoples in Thailand prefer to speak in their native language, so the students did not have chance to practice English with their friend and family. In many places in Thailand, the facility in school is not enough for them to practice English. Computer or audio materials are useful for them to practice correct English pronunciation. Moreover, teachers in Thailand use Thai style to pronounce English word. We all know that teacher serves as role model, if teacher in Thailand keep doing mispronunciation, the students will have the same problem too.
4.8 Summary
Based on the data obtained by the researchers, it can be concluded that the most problematic skills faced by Thai students is speaking skills while the least problematic skills is writing skills. They occasionally can have an informal conversation in English and express themselves in English.
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Moreover, they did not really comfortable in talking with native speaker instructor in the classroom.
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