Papers by sirinthorn seepho
International journal of learning, teaching and educational research/International Journal of learning, teaching and educational research, Apr 30, 2024
Suranaree Journal of Social Science
This qualitative research aims to explore the supportive factors and constraints on the developm... more This qualitative research aims to explore the supportive factors and constraints on the development of EFL learners’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in the EFL context of Vietnam. Forty-seven EFL learners who were learning General English at a foreign language center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, were involved in this study. Two research instruments, namely diary and semi-structured group interview, were employed to garner data. The findings revealed that there were more supportive factors (active learners, inspirational teacher, interactive learning material and task, and dynamic context) than constraints (learner differences and task administration) that affected learners’ ICC development. This study recommends that different factors such as learners, teacher, learning material/task, and context, should be scrutinized so as to facilitate the development process of learners’ ICC.
Suranaree Journal of Social Science
With the increasing development of inbound and outbound tourism in China, a greater number of Eng... more With the increasing development of inbound and outbound tourism in China, a greater number of English-speaking tourism professionals are needed. To meet the needs, Tourism English programs were provided in universities and colleges in the country. However, problems occurred with the in-service professional development of Tourism English teachers, who were originally trained as language teachers. Existing training programs could not meet their professional needs. The present study aimed at exploring the effectiveness of the workshop based-on Work-based Reflective (WRB) Model for in-service Tourism English teachers’ professional development in the Chinese context. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through pre and post-tests, teacher’s logs, mentors’ comments, a questionnaire and semi-structured interview. The findings showed that the WBR Model was effective in improving in-service Tourism English teachers’ professional development. It could significantly enhance the te...
It is known that metacognitive strategies are important for successful second/foreign language re... more It is known that metacognitive strategies are important for successful second/foreign language readers. This paper investigated the metacognitive strategies of English major students in academic reading at Guizhou University in China. All of the participants were third-year English majors. The data were collected by means of a Metacognitive Strategy Questionnaire (MSQ), a semi-structured interview and a reading comprehension test. The results revealed the overall metacognitive strategy use in academic reading comprehension of Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students with both high and low proficiency. The in-depth analysis of their differences was also illustrated. The results indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between metacognitive strategy use and English reading achievement. This study bears crucial pedagogical implications in the teaching of reading for EFL learners.
The project-based learning approach (PBL) has been accepted as an effective teaching method for p... more The project-based learning approach (PBL) has been accepted as an effective teaching method for promoting language learning for more than two decades. Projects are generally used as a tool to enhance students’ additional learning experience outside classroom in subject content courses such as history, science, art, and so on. However, most research studies concerning PBL focused on the effects of PBL on learning, rather than the process of how it helped improve the learning process. Moreover, although some of them offered steps of PBL teaching, but few of them discussed a clear structure of how to integrate PBL into regular classroom instruction. Therefore, this study attempted to find a systematic way to integrate project-based lessons into regular foreign language teaching situations where course content and time allocation were fixed and to investigate whether they could help improve students’ overall language skills. The participants were 47 first-year students who took an Engli...
The Journal of English Studies, 2016
Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is seen as one of the key competences in the 21st ce... more Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) is seen as one of the key competences in the 21st century, so one of the ultimate goals in English language training programs is to educate learners to become intercultural speakers who can deal with linguistic and cultural complexity and take part in multicultural situations. However, the integration of intercultural content into English language education is still ignored in the Vietnamese context. This empirical study, therefore, endeavored to integrate intercultural content into an English communicative language course in order to explore EFL learners’ attitudes towards intercultural communicative language teaching (ICLT) and their ICC development in the Vietnamese context. It involved forty-seven EFL learners who were learning an intercultural communicative language course at a foreign language center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Three research instruments, namely questionnaire, language test, intercultural competence test and semis...
Learner autonomy has gradually played a fundamental role in educational research and teaching pra... more Learner autonomy has gradually played a fundamental role in educational research and teaching practice in the 21 st century. In order to promote learner autonomy in a language classroom, a teacher needs to be considered one who creates and maintains learning community. Accordingly, the focus of this study was to explore EFL teachers’ perceptions of promoting learner autonomy and their teaching practices. Thirty participants answered an open-ended questionnaire and eight participants then took part in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data were analyzed through content analysis. The findings showed the positive attitude of the participants toward the promotion of learner autonomy in language learning. The roles of teachers were identified as a facilitator, a counselor, and a resource in promoting learner autonomy. In practice, however, some mismatches between their perceptions and teaching practices were revealed.
Recently, the instruction of critical thinking, which is mostly conducted with learners in a west... more Recently, the instruction of critical thinking, which is mostly conducted with learners in a western context, has expanded to EFL teaching and learning contexts and is emphasized in higher education in China. Previous studies found that Chinese EFL learners lack critical thinking due to their English proficiency. This study aims to explore a way to reduce the negative effects of English proficiency on the development of critical thinking. One natural class of English major freshmen was chosen as the sample. Selective translation and scaffolding were employed to curtail the obstruction of English proficiency in the development of critical thinking. The results show that obstruction of English proficiency in the development of critical thinking could be removed by selective translation and scaffolding. The findings provide some implications for the development of critical thinking in an EFL context.
Within the changing landscape of English teaching in the 21 st century, language education in Asi... more Within the changing landscape of English teaching in the 21 st century, language education in Asia tends to provide learners with more freedom to take control over their learning than before, i.e., learner autonomy is taken into great consideration. Alongside this tendency, this paper aims to propose a model to develop learner autonomy through a portfolio for EFL learners. Specifically, a portfolio-based learner autonomy development (PLAD) model with an elaborate description of learners' and teachers' roles is presented so that EFL teachers can apply the PLAD model in their writing classes. Some implications and recommendations for future research are also included. It is hoped that this paper may provide EFL teachers with a different perspective toward promoting learner autonomy within an EFL context.
Recently, the instruction of critical thinking, which is mostly conducted with learners in a west... more Recently, the instruction of critical thinking, which is mostly conducted with learners in a western context, has expanded to EFL teaching and learning contexts and is emphasized in higher education in China. Previous studies found that Chinese EFL learners lack critical thinking due to their English proficiency. This study aims to explore a way to reduce the negative effects of English proficiency on the development of critical thinking. One natural class of English major freshmen was chosen as the sample. Selective translation and scaffolding were employed to curtail the obstruction of English proficiency in the development of critical thinking. The results show that obstruction of English proficiency in the development of critical thinking could be removed by selective translation and scaffolding. The findings provide some implications for the development of critical thinking in an EFL context. ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 10 August 2015 Received in revised form 20 Nove...
SAGE Open, 2017
Many teaching strategies have been used to promote the development of critical thinking skills, a... more Many teaching strategies have been used to promote the development of critical thinking skills, among which the most frequently used are group discussion, concept mapping, and analytical questioning. The study aims to explore learners' voice and learning experience in the pedagogical contributions of these strategies to the development of critical thinking skills in Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners. One full university class was chosen as the sample in the instruction of critical thinking skills and to take part in a learner voice survey, among which 15 participants were chosen by purposeful sampling for semistructured interviews. The instruction of critical thinking was embedded in an English reading class by using the three teaching strategies, during which four interviews were conducted for each critical thinking skill. After the instruction of critical thinking skills was completed, all participants were surveyed with the learner voice questionnaire. The results show that participants thought the three teaching strategies could improve critical thinking skills. Each teaching strategy made unique and specific contributions to the development of critical thinking skills. These findings have pedagogical implications for using these teaching strategies in the instruction of critical thinking skills in Chinese EFL learners.
If the learner is confident, learning increases. If the learner believes in the teacher, learning... more If the learner is confident, learning increases. If the learner believes in the teacher, learning increases. If the learner thinks the subject is important, learning increases. If the learner believes it will be fun and valuable, learning goes up! Jensen (2000:115
วารสารเทคโนโลยีสุรนารี Suranaree Journal of Social Science, 2010
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2015
This paper aims to apply Problem-based Learning (PBL) approach to integrate medical English mater... more This paper aims to apply Problem-based Learning (PBL) approach to integrate medical English materials design. As a language teacher, the researchers documented how to design PBL medical English materials and prompted these materials to facilitate students with their speaking ability in group discussion. The material design process consisted of two stages: analyzing the context; and designing the PBL materials. In addition, the explorations of the difficulties the researcher encountered in designing were described in details, and the solutions of these difficulties were stated elaborately. The researcher's journal was the instrument used in the design; it documented the nature of the design of PBL materials, which provided data of the materials design preparation, proceeding and completion. The information from researcher's journal was analyzed by content analysis, which revealed that the complicated process of the materials design required the researcher's collective knowledge and experience, in mastering its complexity. Furthermore, the language teachers need to supply comprehensive knowledge and relative background of the medical content, to gain aids from the content-teacher as the designer to work together, and then the production process could be fulfilled. Finally, suggestions for further research were also proposed.
International Education Studies, 2013
The increasing need to learn English worldwide leads to the rapid development in the field of Tea... more The increasing need to learn English worldwide leads to the rapid development in the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Teachers in this profession are required to reach a much higher level of professionalism now, and their in-service professional development can be an effective approach to updating their professional learning and practice. However, many existing programs for in-service professional development could not always reach their goals as expected. Therefore, this study aimed at developing and evaluating the Multilayered Peer Coaching Model (the MPC Model) for the tertiary EFL teachers to have their in-service professional development. Five phases based on the instructional system design theories were followed for developing this model, and the data for its efficiency were collected from such instruments as tests, observations, teacher's logs, researcher's field notes, and questionnaires which were responded by the EFL teachers and the students at Guiyang University in China. The results from this study showed that the MPC Model had positive impacts on the tertiary EFL teachers' in-service professional development.
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 2020
This research project took Yunnan (YN), the most southwestern province of China and a frontier pr... more This research project took Yunnan (YN), the most southwestern province of China and a frontier province with the largest number of ethnic minorities along with multi-ethnic languages and abundant ethnic cultures, as a specific case. It studied both the current situation of minority education and the necessity for Preferential Admission Policies (PAPs) in the particular stage of the national college entrance examination (NCEE) from a social perspective. Quantitative statistics was used to analyze data from the different education levels of the minority groups. Document analysis and in-depth interviews with four groups of participants (exclusive ethnic minority university students (EEMs), university teachers, administrators and provincial officials of Yunnan Province) were conducted to explore the rationality and feasibility of PAPs. The findings reveal that PAPs are indeed justified in Yunnan's multi-ethnic social context, at the same time, geographical remoteness and regional gaps, socioeconomic determinants, and linguistic barriers contributed to the need for PAPs at present under the average level of minority education in Yunnan.
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2013
The increasing influence of English as a lingua franca or an international language has brought n... more The increasing influence of English as a lingua franca or an international language has brought new trends of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). But on the way to these new trends some issues have inevitably appeared, and one of them is the continuity of EFL teachers' in-service professional development. This study aimed to investigate the opinions of the tertiary EFL teachers on the multilayered peer coaching model (the MPC Model) that they had employed for their in-service professional development, and make the recommendation of this model for sustaining tertiary EFL teachers' in-service professional development. The information was obtained from the EFL teachers at Guiyang University in China with the help of such instruments as observation, teacher's diary, the researcher's field note, questionnaire and interview, and the data were analyzed in both qualitative and quantitative methods. The results revealed that the tertiary EFL teachers had positive attitudes towards the MPC Model and it could be recommended as one of the effective tools for the tertiary EFL teachers to sustain their in-service professional development.
Uploads
Papers by sirinthorn seepho