Thai Tertiary Learners’ Attitudes towards Their Thai English Accent

Authors

Eric A. AMBELE, English Section, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, ThailandFollow
Yusop Boonsuk, English Section, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prince of Songkla University, ThailandFollow

Publication Date

2021-01-01

Abstract

The global spread of English nowadays has led to a shifted role in the use of English as an international lingua franca in expanding-circle contexts like Thailand. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine Thai university students’ attitudes towards their own Thai-English accent, in addition to how the notion of standard language ideology in Thailand plays an influential role in their English accent attitudes. The research further explores the perspectives of the students regarding their acceptability of Thai-English accent by adopting a mixed-method approach using both questionnaire and interview as research instruments. The findings reveal a controversial perspective in the attitudes of the students towards their own ThaiEnglish accent. While most participants show a positive attitude towards their own Thai-English accent as they reported that the Thai English accent is good as long as one can be understood, some of them still attempt to sound as native-like as possible because they think that Thai-English accent is unintelligible. This finding calls for a reconsideration in pronunciation teaching in universities in Thailand in order to address these emerging practical and communicative requirements inspired by English diversity where non-mainstream Englishes are now gaining acceptance.

DOI

10.58837/CHULA.PASAA.61.1.4

First Page

87

Last Page

110

Recommended Citation

AMBELE, Eric A. and Boonsuk, Yusop (2021) "Thai Tertiary Learners’ Attitudes towards Their Thai English Accent," PASAA: Vol. 61: Iss. 1, Article 4.
DOI: 10.58837/CHULA.PASAA.61.1.4
Available at: https://digital.car.chula.ac.th/pasaa/vol61/iss1/4