Journal of Communication in Scientific Inquiry (JCSI)
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Journal of Communication in Scientific Inquiry (JCSI) is a biannually social science journal, scholarly open access and published by the publication of University Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). This particular journal demonstrates competitive advantages against its counterparts as it emphasises on the use of new technologies with focus on ‘internet of things’ (iOT) in education. The journal’s visibility is amplified by drawing on high quality characteristics, distributed coverage, knowledge coreness and exclusivity of cutting edge issues. This will indirectly lead to indexing in well-recognised scientific data base such as Scopus or ISI which will promote it to a much higher level of quality in time. Journal homepage / Copyrights and Limitations On Use
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PublicationTreasure and pressure of becoming honor students( 2019-12)
;Jay L. Escalera ;Mena O. DimaculanganEunice S. EscaleraThis paper focuses on the different facets of honor students including their motives, joys, and struggles in maintaining a good set of grades. The purpose of this study is to discover the stories of students who excel academically through examining their personal accounts. With the bulk of study directed towards struggling learners, this paper, through phenomenological approach contends that students who excel in their class have their own struggles in vying for academic excellence and recognition. More than simply gearing towards Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as personal motivations, there is a deeper story behind aspiring for grade of 90 percent and above. Apparently, society plays major impact on harnessing students with academic excellence. This paper uses qualitative approach basically through interviews and focus group discussions with the purposively chosen sample. Honor students deem academic excellence important because it symbolizes the prize of their exerted efforts in complying with the demanding academic requirements of the K-12 program. By and large, the main motives of students to excel academically are their family, financial standing, and ambitions. Academically excellent students take pride in having academic recognitions because it gives them sense of self-satisfaction, pride of their parents, and sometimes, tangible rewards. However, becoming honor students means living by the expectations of the society including their family and teachers. Having a sudden decrease of grades gives honor students pressure that causes them stress. The grade of 90 for honor students may mean both excellence and standard yet, it does not signify nor measure intelligence. Also, students need understanding when they face failure especially when they are pulled out from classes for academic competitions representing the school. Being honor students does not also mean being safe from bullying from their classmates. -
PublicationInstagram as a digital tool to enhance students’ writing skills( 2019-12)
;Latisha Asmaak ShafieStudents often face difficulties in writing due to grammar, vocabulary, syntax, lack of practice, over-reliance on their first language and writing anxiety. The traditional method of teaching writing has no longer seen as adequate to fulfill the demand of the current generation who are considered as digital native. This demand forces educators to explore and integrate technology into their teaching approaches. Instagram, with it many fun features; create, filter, share live videos are relatively easy to use tool and can be accessible anytime and anywhere. Although many studies highlighted that Instagram can be an effective pedagogical tool for developing learners’ vocabulary range and writing skills (Akhiar, Mydin & Adi Kasuma, 2017; Shafie, Yaacob & Singh, 2016), but Instagram is not commonly used in formal second language learning contexts. This paper promotes the use of Instagram as a digital writing tool to enhance students’ writing skills. The researchers provide suggestions of activities which allow students to observe selected Instagram accounts by focusing on the topics/themes, the styles of writing and the purposes of their writing. The activities teach students how to write each post by using the formula on Instagram. Apart from that, students also learn to use captions and hashtags to intrigue their audience -
PublicationProsedur terjemahan Bahasa Istana dan Bahasa Klasik dalam terjemahan intralingual Hikayat Bayan Budiman( 2019-12)Nur Syamilah Mat SaidBerdasarkan amalan penterjemahan, makalah ini membincangkan prosedur terjemahan bahasa istana dan bahasa klasik dalam terjemahan intralingual Hikayat Bayan Budiman berdasarkan panduan pemindahan bahasa yang digagaskan oleh Za'ba (1934). Terjemahan intralingual merupakan terjemahan yang dilakukan dalam bahasa yang sama. Bentuk terjemahan boleh melibatkan pengungkapan semula atau parafrasa atau pentafsiran lambang verbal dengan makna lambang yang lain dalam bahasa yang sama. Za'ba dalam bukunya Ilmu Mengarang Melayu (1934) menggariskan beberapa panduan pemindahan bahasa yang sesuai dijadikan panduan kepada penterjemah dalam menangani cabaran yang timbul sebelum dan semasa proses terjemahan dilakukan. Dalam penterjemahan bahasa istana, penterjemah cenderung menggunakan prosedur terjemahan parafrasa, neutralisasi, nota kaki dan beberapa prosedur terjemahan lain dalam menangani cabaran terjemahan bahasa Melayu klasik kepada bahasa Melayu moden. Penterjemah juga turut menyuaipadankan panduan terjemahan yang diberikan oleh Za'ba dengan kaedah terjemahan komunikatif yang diutarakan oleh Newmark (1988) dalam melakukan terjemahan. Cabaran yang dikenal pasti dalam menterjemah bahasa istana dan bahasa klasik dalam Hikayat Bayan Budiman adalah untuk mengekalkan kesesuaian unsur sintaksis bahasa Melayu moden tanpa mengabaikan keindahan bahasa yang menjadi nadi dalam teks bahasa Melayu klasik. Selain itu, aspek stailistik dan keindahan gaya penulisan bahasa Melayu klasik turut cuba dikekalkan dan diperkenalkan dalam teks sasaran. Cabaran yang diketengahkan dan juga cadangan penyelesaian yang dikemukakan oleh penterjemah diharapkan mampu memberi panduan dalam penterjemahan bahasa istana dan terjemahan intralingual bahasa Melayu dan turut membantu menggalakkan perkembangan terjemahan intralingual di Malaysia.
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PublicationStudents’ perceptions on Card Game (LXpress Card Game) usage in English communication skills( 2019-12)
;Nadzrah Sa’adan ;Maisarah Noorezam ;Siti Aishah TaibSiti Mariam Mohammad IliyasAccording to the survey conducted by Malaysian Employers Federation (2016), 73.2% of the respondent companies indicated that our graduates lacked problem solving and English communication skills. This issue creates a mismatch between what the employers want in a graduate and what skills a graduate actually possesses. It is without doubt that communication skills are important in order for school leavers and graduates to secure a job. To address this issue, a deck of cards was invented to facilitate ESL students’ speaking practices. The objective of this invention is to help students to be familiar with the language functions in interaction. Four (4) basic language functions focused in this game are Explaining/Describing, Expressing Agreement, Expressing Disagreement and Drawing Conclusion. In order to evaluate ESL students’ perceptions on this card game, a survey has been conducted. It was found that the ESL students perceived the card game usage as a way to improve their communication skills positively with an average mean of 4.31. The ESL students also agreed that the game provided an environment that was conducive to learning (Average Mean = 4.40) and 5 aspects that can be improved on the card game which were appearance, content, monitoring, timing and availability were also suggested by the students. Recommendations for future studies are also proposed at the end of this paper. -
PublicationBlending Folklore with technology as language teaching and learning tools: role and impact( 2019-12)
;Dipima BuragohainMohd Syamril Aklmar Check KassimFolk literature or folklore is considered as the earliest form of literature across all human cultures. It encompasses all the wonderful traditions, mostly oral in nature, practised by cultures and subcultures. Whereas technology is the driving energy behind almost everything in the current time. In terms of language teaching and learning, innovation is the keyword to go. Empowering language learners with a variety of innovative and integrated tools and techniques is the acknowledged practice within the current academic periphery. It includes practices such as multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom, technology-driven classroom activities and other collaborative learning tools. The present study aims to explore the possibilities of blending folklore with technology as language teaching and learning tools while highlighting the role and impact of such a blended approach on language learners in higher education. It particularly attempts to explore the possible ways of generating content and learning materials for language learners using this blended approach. -
PublicationComparative study of language learning strategies used by first-year students at Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, Thailand and UniMAP, Malaysia( 2019-12)
;Liew Khe LiKanya PornwasanyingThe purposes of this study were (1) to explore language learning strategies used by firstyear Prince of Songkla University (PSU) and UniMAP students; and (2) to compare their use in terms of gender and nationality. The instrument used to collect data was the Oxford’s Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Version 7.0, which consists of six categories of language learning strategies: memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social strategies. The 68 subjects were 10 first-year English majors and 58 first-year students enrolled in Foundation English courses required at each university. The data was analyzed for mean and standard deviation. Results showed that both Thai and Malaysian students used English learning strategies at a high level in all the categories. Metacognitive strategies were most frequently used among the students while memory strategies were employed the least. It was also found that genders and nationalities did not affect learning strategy use. -
PublicationAnalisis Sosiolinguistik masyarakat Melayu di tiga wilayah sempadan Selatan Thailand berlandaskan teori etnografi komunikasi( 2019-12)Kamaruddin IsayahKertas kerja ini bertujuan untuk memaparkan situasi sosiolinguistik dan fenomena kebahasaan dalam masyarakat Melayu di tiga wilayah sempadan selatan Thailand (3WSST). Data sosiolinguistik yang terkumpul melalui kajian pustaka, pemerhatian dan temu bual tidak terancang dianalisis secara deskriptif menggunakan teori etnografi komunikasi yang dicadangkan oleh Hymes (1974) melalui singkatan komponen tutur tertentu, iaitu SPEAKING. Masyarakat Melayu di 3WSST yang dimaksudkan dalam kertas kerja ini merangkumi wilayah Pattani, Yala dan Narathiwat. Memandangkan pengkelompokan etnik di Thailand, masyarakat Melayu merupakan sebuah masyarakat minoriti di negara ini. Di bahagian hujung Selatan Thailand, masyarakat ini dianggap majoriti penduduknya. Identiti yang melambangkan masyarakat ini bersifat Melayu ialah pembentukan masyarakat sejak zaman silam hingga sekarang berunsurkan ciri-ciri Melayu, iaitu dengan mengamalkan adat dan budaya Melayu. Sejarah telah membuktikan bahawa masyarakat di sini ialah masyarakat Melayu asal yang tidak diasimilasikan daripada mana-mana masyarakat. Bahasa Melayu khususnya dialek Melayu Patani merupakan medium utama bagi penduduk masyarakat ini. Dari sudut sosiolinguistik, masyarakat Melayu di 3WSST jelas sekali mengalami fenomena pertembungan dengan orang Thai, kesannya muncul sebuah masyarakat dwibahasa. Hakikatnya, fenomena kedwibahasaan dalam masyarakat ini mengakibatkan berlakunya beberapa aspek linguistik seperti fenomena pemilihan bahasa, percampuran bahasa dan sebagainya.
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PublicationSlices of Pain: seeing through the eyes of characters in literature using Socio-Psychological Prism( 2019-12)Mercedita M. ReyesAnchored on the field theory of Kurt Lewin and functionalism of Emile Durkheim, this study brought to the fore some slices of pain as reflected in six select novels from Asia and Africa. This literary investigation owes its magnitude and significance in appreciating literature through the prism of the sciences - psychology and sociology. The study attempted to describe characters in terms of their environment and their psychological needs, identified slices of pain that confronted them and evaluated how select influences affected them. The researcher made use of the descriptive-analytical research design to explicate qualitative data from the select novels. The study produced psychological fields of major characters in the novels. How the characters deal with pain was influenced by the multitude of processes in their physical or social world as indicated by the boundary zones of their life spaces, their cognitive structure, their ways of perceiving and some processes outside themselves. The major characters were located between the positive and negative forces which were mutually exclusive. The life spaces of the individuals were influenced by the state of their needs and the effects depended on the intensity of that need and on the fluidity of the related areas of the life space. The social aspect was explained by its reflective causes in the context of social solidarity, social integration, social phenomenon, social cohesion, and their various forms. Field theory in psychology, functionalism in sociology and their underpinnings could well be incorporated in the study of literature.
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Publication“Narrative Application in Gameplay”: the enhancement of creative thought of teaching staff at the Centre for International Languages, UniMAPThis paper discusses the narrative or storytelling aspect of tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs). The primary intention of this paper is to introduce TTRPGs as an effective alternative teaching and learning method that could benefit students in classrooms. The activities implemented could train students to be more creative, think outside the box, and spontaneously generated narrative and infused with characteristics such as – in this case – bravery, comedy, and horror-comedy. The research subjects are 6 teaching staff of the Centre for International Languages, UniMAP. The participants comprise of four English language teachers, one Bahasa Melayu teacher and one Bahasa Melayu lecturer. Each participant has their duties. One is the gamemaster who acts as the general narrator and arbiter of the rules of the game, while the other five are players who play roles within the setting of the game. The TTRPG used in the game sessions was Cubicle 7's The Laundry RPG based on author Charles Stross' series of horror-comedy novels, The Laundry Files. Three sessions were run from November 2018 to March 2019, each taking from 90 minutes to two hours. In helping to develop creative ideas using The Laundry RPG, three episodes of the narrative were derived from the gameplay of the TTRPG, each from one session. First is entitled The New Normal, the second an Unbelievably Wooden Dialogue and the third episode Getting Ahead of Themselves. The Narrative Paradigm theory framework by Walter Fisher (1985) is used in the analysis of the discussion of this paper. The three stories that were derived from the three The Laundry role-playing game activities can be read at this website: https://hishgraphics.com/category/rpg-actual-play/rpg-campaigns/laundry-the-musangking-directive/.
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PublicationThe effects of vocabulary enhancement activities on EFL learners( 2020-06)Patcharee ImsriThis study compared the effects of vocabulary enhancement activities on first-year English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ reading comprehension and vocabulary improvement. In the activities, these learners were assigned to study a list of fifty to one hundred words a week. The learners studied word functions and had to find words’ definition and sample sentences from a dictionary by themselves. Both formative and summative tests were conducted to test the learners’ vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension ability. This study compared the learners’ performance between those who studied fifty and one hundred words a week. The objectives were to investigate (1) whether the learners’ performance was affected by the number of words assigned each week, and (2) how vocabulary enhancement activities affected learners’ reading comprehension skills and vocabulary knowledge. The findings demonstrated that (1) the learners who studied one hundred words per week did not outperform the students who studied fifty words a week, and (2) this vocabulary enhancement activity did not provide enough support for the learners to acquire vocabulary knowledge. The findings suggested that it was essential for learners to study words in context rather than from a given list of words.
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PublicationUsing cross border collaboration project to encourage English language usage among Thai and Malaysian undergraduate students( 2020-06)
;Eunice AclanPeople often turn to a second language to communicate when the native language fails to be the medium of communication particularly in international collaboration communication. The second language of choice must be a language that is understood by the speaker and the listener. Correct language usage does leave a good impression in many circumstances but in many collaboration activities, the message matters more than the accuracy of the language use. This paper examines the English language usage among the participants from two universities during a collaborative project. Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) and Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya (RUTS) have conducted a collaborative project for their undergraduate students. In order to encourage the use of English language, the participants are restricted to non-Thai speaking for UniMAP students and nonMalay speaking for RUTS students; with exception for a few students who acted as mediators for emergency situations. The use of English language is reported based on the perspectives of the students which have been gathered using questionnaires. Findings show that the program is successful in encouraging the use of English in all four skills of listening, speaking,reading and writing. Findings also show that writing skill has the highest English language usage amongst the participants of this program. -
PublicationDeveloping speech abilities on various occasions using role-plays and practice in real-life situations of students studying the art of speaking( 2020-06)Jutada TabpawanThe purpose of this research is to develop the ability to speak on various occasions of students studying the art of speaking. Role-based teaching and practice in real situations is the teaching method. The sample group consists of 25 students who studied the art of speaking course in the second semester of the academic year 2018. The tools and data collection method used in this experiment are (1) learning plans for speaking on various occasions in 5 plans, including speaking in the ceremonial role, inviting, greeting, congratulating and presentation speech, (2) a test of speaking ability in various occasions and (3) assessment forms of speaking in role-playing and actual practice. The statistics used in data analysis is a mean, standard deviation, and t-test for Dependent Samples. Data were analysed using the statistical program. The results showed that the speaking scores and assessment scores for both roleplay and the real situations after the experiment is higher than the score before the experiment at the level of significance 0.001.
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PublicationCitra daya tarikan fizikal dalam novel ‘Teen-lit’( 2020-06)
;Sharifah Fazliyaton Shaik Ismail ;Rohizah HalimAsrar OmarSecara umumnya, wanita kerap didedahkan dengan gagasan bahawa mereka yang cantik dan yang mempunyai daya tarikan fizikal (physical attractiveness) yang menarik dilihat sebagai lebih berpengaruh, berkuasa, berwibawa dan menjadi ikutan ramai. Gagasan ini diperkukuh dalam media, seperti televisyen, media bercetak dan media digital menerusi penampilan tokoh terkenal, pelakon, model dan selebriti. Internalisasi kecantikan daripada media sebegini bukan sahaja meninggalkan impak kepada wanita dewasa, malahan remaja muda juga turut terpengaruh dengan tuntutan untuk kelihatan menarik. Tumpuan terhadap kecantikan dan daya tarikan fizikal dapat dilihat dalam karya sastera remaja, khususnya genre ‘teen-lit’ yang diterbitkan dewasa ini. Makalah ini berhasrat untuk meneliti citra daya tarikan fizikal yang terdapat dalam novel ‘teen-lit’ yang diterbitkan selepas tahun 2010 untuk melihat sejauh mana pengarang novel kategori ini memaparkan kecantikan dan penampilan diri dalam karya mereka. Sebanyak tiga buah novel ‘teen-lit’ dianalisis secara tekstual untuk melihat penggunaan daya tarikan fizikal sebagai tema utama novel dan intervensi ketigatiga pengarang dalam merincikan aspek penjagaan tubuh badan dan penampilan diri. Kajian mendapati bahawa kesemua novel yang diteliti sarat dengan pelukisan daya tarikan fizikal, khususnya paras rupa dan saiz tubuh watak. Dua novel yang dianalisis memperlihatkan bahawa watak protagonis yang pada asalnya mempunyai masalah kegemukan akhirnya menurut kehendak masyarakat dengan mengurangkan berat badan mereka. Satu lagi novel pula memerihalkan keakuran watak utama untuk menghapuskan ‘kejelikan’ yang dimiliki. Campur tangan pengarang dalam menekankan aspek penampilan diri juga ketara apabila pengarang memuatkan narasi yang berinformasi tentang kepentingan penjagaan tubuh badan dan penampilan diri. -
PublicationExploring current needs of English for electrical engineering: students and professionals’ voices to English instructional in tertiary education( 2020-06)
;Jittima Choopun ;Duangkamon Kumteang ;Arkhom LuksanasakulPatcharin KangkhaThis paper reports on the results of the current needs of English for electrical engineering students. The data were collected from 63 electrical engineering students of Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya (RUTS) in the academic year of 2018 and 18 professional electrical engineers who were working in both government and private organizations. The study employed a questionnaire for data collection. The data were analysed by using means and standard deviation (SD). The findings of the study revealed that all the English topics for electrical engineering were required by the electrical engineering students and professionals at a high level. Another important result was that the researcher also came up with the realization that contents combined with English for Specific Purpose (ESP) should be highly considered when designing and developing the instructional materials in teaching English for electrical engineering students. -
PublicationKuasa disebalik imej dalam pengiklanan( 2020-06)
;Zaliza ZubirRohizah HalimMakalah ini akan menganalisis enam iklan yang berbeza iaitu iklan produk dan bukan produk untuk melihat teknik pengiklan mempengaruhi pengguna untuk mempercayai dan memiliki produk yang diiklankan. Wacana iklan berbeza dengan wacana-wacana lain kerana mempunyai persembahan verbal dan visual yang mampu menpengaruhi ideologi masyarakat khususnya pengguna yang melihat iklan tersebut. Hal ini membuktikan bahawa kuasa disebalik verbal dan visual sesebuah iklan mampu mengubah persepsi pengguna. Oleh itu, pendekatan Analisis Wacana Kritis (CDA) sangat bersesuaian untuk menganalisis teks dan gambar bahkan juga mampu melihat proses dan perubahan sosiobudaya yang terselindung disebalik sesebuah wacana iklan yang dihasilkan. Model 3-D Norman Fairclough dan Model visual Kress dan Van Leeuwen digunakan untuk menganalisis data kajian. Hasil kajian ini mendapati bahawa kebanyakan pengeluar cuba menunjukkan bahawa mempunyai kuasa untuk memilih atau tidak memilih sesuatu. Apabila pengeluar iklan adalah kerajaan, mereka mahu menunjukkan kuasa mereka terhadap orang. Ideologi di belakang yang terakhir adalah bahawa orang yang berkuasa harus menunjukkan kepadanya/kuasa. Oleh itu, masyarakat perlu mematuhi dan mengikut kehendak pengeluar. Jika pengeluar iklan swasta, ideologi di belakang mesej iklan boleh memberi penonton/pengguna yang lebih berkuasa untuk memilih atau tidak memilih sesuatu barangan atau perkhidmatan yang diiklankan. Penonton/pengguna akan lebih bersemangat untuk memilih itu kerana mempunyai kuasa pemilihan. Kesimpulannya, setiap iklan yang dihasilkan bukan sekadar untuk menyampaikan maklumat tentang sesuatu produk tetapi menonjolkan kuasa, identiti dan ideologi tertentu. -
PublicationAnalisis wacana kritis: satu pengenalan umum( 2020-06)
;Zaliza ZubirRohizah HalimMakalah ini akan menjelaskan tentang sejarah ringkas analisis wacana kritis dan pendekatan yang diguna pakai dalam kajian analisis wacana kritis. Pendekatan dan kaedah dalam menganalisis wacana kritis telah diperkenalkan oleh tiga tokoh terkenal dalam bidang analisis wacana kritis, iaitu Teun Van Dijk, Ruth Wodak dan Norman Fairclough. Setiap pendekatan yang diperkenalkan oleh tiga tokoh ini mempunyai pendekatan yang berbeza tetapi tujuan yang sama, iaitu untuk melihat hubungan antara bahasa dan kuasa dalam penyelidikan mengenai kelembagaan institusi, politik, ekonomi dan media. -
PublicationDrama technique: an effective way to facilitate students’ language acquisition( 2020-12)Juliana AhmadEducators need to be creative in finding a new approach to motivate students to learn language. The process of teaching and learning needs to be compatible with students’ interest in order to encourage them to acquire language effectively. It is quite challenging for educators to find an appropriate method or teaching strategy that would alleviate students’ motivation to participate actively in teaching and learning process due to the nature of learner-centered approach that is widely adapted in education nowadays. This study mainly intends to explore the promising outcome of strengthening students’ speaking skills by integrating drama as part of the learning activities. Drama technique is undoubtedly one of the most convincing ways which is believed to build students’ confidence in the language thus improve their speaking ability. For this particular study, a group of international students from Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University (NPRU) are selected to give their feedback on the drama activity that was conducted in class during the Communicative English Course organized by UniMAP. The group of students were given an opportunity to share their thoughts and views throughout the implementation of drama activity held in class. Based on the students’ response, the answers have been analyzed thoroughly and it was found that students have positive and optimistic point of view about incorporating drama to increase their level of confidence in acquiring language which consequently contribute to improving their capability in language skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing more confidently in English.
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PublicationLanguage diversity on tourist attraction signs: a case study in Nakhon Pathom( 2020-12)
;Sirawich Tampanich ;Virata Panjanon ;Wattansak Fuengbangluang ;Chayaphon BaicharoenHathaichanok AnghirunThis linguistic landscape (LL) study is aimed to investigate the diversity of languages used on signs in the Nakhon Pathom province. This study was framed based on the reviewed empirical LL research studies previously conducted over the past decade. Nakhon Pathom was selected as the main research setting based on the convenient sampling method. Ten (10 ) most visited tourist attractions in Nakhon Pathom were chosen to be investigated. The samples of the study included 558 signs which were sorted into three categories based on recommendations by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT): (1) history, religion, and museum, (2) nature and outdoor, and (3) food, shopping, and entertainment. Descriptive statistics, namely frequency and mean, were used to analyse the data. The findings revealed that the most commonly found signs were monolingual signs containing Thai or English (71%), bilingual signs containing Thai-English or English-Thai (28%), and multilingual signs containing Thai-English-Chinese, Thai-Chinese-English, ThaiRussian-Chinese, or Thai-English-Chinese-Japanese-Burmese (1%), respectively. According to the findings, Thai appeared to be the dominant language in majority of the examined signs, while multilingual signs were found the least, which expressed the multilingual needs for foreign tourists. Therefore, it is suggested that the local private and government sectors should provide more multilingual signs for a more effective communication and promote the tourism in Nakhon Pathom. For this reason, further research should put greater emphasis on the significance of language uses and symbols on public signs. -
PublicationThe status of EFL writing instruction in Saudi Arabia( 2020-12)
;Najwa Rebhi WahdanThis paper examines the status of writing instruction among EFL learners in Saudi Arabia. It attempted to highlight the current teaching methods and curriculum used to teach EFL writing in Saudi Arabia. Findings revealed that the traditional teaching methods are still used for teaching EFL writing skills in writing classes and the focus is on the form of the written product rather than on the process of writing. The implementation of traditional teaching methods led to students’ low achievement in writing skills among Saudi students. There are also other factors responsible for writing difficulties such as cultural factors, sociocultural factors, and psychological factors. The paper concludes with implications and suggestions given to the EFL instructors to enhance students’ abilities in writing skills and improve their writing achievements. -
PublicationThai variety of English (TE) appeared in the English for International Communication (EIC) students’ writing tasks, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya (RMUTSV), Songkhla( 2020-12)
;Patcharin Kangkha ;Boonyarit OmaneeNattana BoontongThe two purposes of this research were 1) to investigate the Thai English (TE) appeared in the writing tasks of students in the course of English for International Communication (EIC) at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, RUTS, Songkhla; and 2) to identify the use of TE performed in the writing tasks by the students in the EIC Course. The subjects were 36 EIC twilight program students who studied Writing I Course (1-2018). The research instruments were audio recordings, feedback writing checklists and semi-structured interviews. The statistic used in data analysis was the percentage. The findings revealed that the TE features functioned as expressions of repetition for emphasis (42.48%), confirmation (24.32%), politeness (14.08),and gender (12.08%) and formation of a new TE based on their group discussions in the pre-writing activities for (6.02%) and others as (1.02%). Meanwhile, the various characteristics of linguistic functions varied in the social functions, and the kinds of activities, topics and settings. In addition, it was found that the linguistic motivations were mainly employed for effective communication i.e. for better understanding, conceptualizing, explaining difficult English concepts, reprimanding, as a tone-softener and as a language of youth. Finally, this result is implied as significant because it will enable providers of the writing course to recognize that TE occurs at all levels of writing tasks and activities in particular in the pre-writing discussions and must be given appropriate attention as it can be transferred to the writing products. It will also serve as a reference point for future research into language changes or shifts in Thailand.