Transference of Teaching Skills to Optimize Cultural Learning Differences Amongst Thai University English Students

John W. Tigue, The United States

John W. Tigue, Ph.D., is a faculty member in the Department of Business English at Southeast Asia University (Thailand). Previously, he served as a vice president of academic affairs and as a dean of liberal arts (USA), and as a department chair of philosophy at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (Ecuador). He is the author of The Transformation of Consciousness in Myth: Integrating the Thought of Jung and Campbell. drjohnt8@gmail.com

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Abstract
Introduction
Challenges
Proactive measures/strategies implemented
Active-listening chart for e-Stories
Strategies implemented to increase student learning
Student attendance and final scores
Summary
Next steps
References

Abstract

Student motivation is a key ingredient to successful learning with culture being, perhaps, the prime ingredient. This article discusses English-language learning at Southeast Asia University (SAU), which is located in Bangkok, Thailand. Thai university students frame learning differently from most Western ones. Therefore, to establish a productive learning environment, a number of successful practices were applied to courses, others revised, and new ones developed in an attempt to enhance students’ processing of language while supporting, yet reframing, some of their sociocultural tendencies. This required students to modify some culturally-ingrained habits so more responsible and, eventually, successful behavior could emerge.

Introduction

Southeast Asia University is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and acknowledges English as the primary language of communication between member nations. The university decided to align its calendar with ASEAN educational systems and wanted to provide students with an opportunity to learn during this transition period—did not want an unusually long break between terms. Therefore, in summer 2014, SAU launched an ambitious English-language program, consisting of a five-week, non-credit English course (EN 1000) in which over 4,000 students participated in one of two concurrent sessions. EN 1000 was a “communicative” English course focusing on listening and speaking. Both Thai and foreign teachers instructed a cross-discipline mix of students in day, afternoon, and evening classes, which met twice a week for three hours (30 hours total).

SAU applied a number of different strategies to engage students while exposing them to different native-English speakers. Classes were a mix of students from all undergraduate disciplines (majors) and academic years. During the first summer session, students remained in the same classroom with Thai student assistants while instructors rotated to different classes. This approach provided students with an opportunity to hear different English accents and observe varied teaching styles. During the second session students remained with their same instructor and student assistant. This change afforded all with an opportunity to develop a cohesive rapport and establish continuity with learner expectations. The material developed for the course was consistently delivered, though activities were unique to each instructor. It is this second term from which data on the Author’s 300 plus students was analyzed.

Challenges

It was obvious at the program’s onset that tardiness and absenteeism were going to be detrimental to fully engaging students. Data for the first summer session was not tracked as instructors did not meet their same-student groups. Rotation of instructors stopped after the first session, which permitted student tracking. During the second summer session students met classes 55% of the time and, of those who attended, 10% arrived later than 30 minutes. Evening students, who were typically older and arrived directly from work, missed classes 26% of the time and arrived closer to scheduled start times.

An early in-class conversation that took place with students was about why they thought communicating in English was important and how it could be of use to them. Adult learners said that better English-language skills would be useful for their careers. Students who made English their own were more likely to learn both in class and outside of it. One immersive learning activity was during a lesson on body parts and wellness, where students began by looking at pictures of people and their activities. For example students:

1. made a list of what activities they thought were “healthy,” “unhealthy,” or “neutral;”
2. talked about why these activities should fit into one of these three categories;
3. learned names of 20 body parts;
4. drew a picture of the human body and labeled these parts; and
5. wrote three sentences describing their health.

While they did these activities, the student assistant and instructor walked around the room and asked them about their lifestyle and reviewed their work.

Student evaluations of course sections and instructors reflected that the summer program was valuable to them. Combined students’ scores in classes increased 26% between pre-test (57%) and post-test (83%). Some English majors, who were mixed with non-majors, wrote that separate and higher-level sections would have challenged them more. Most students indicated that English would be of value to them to enter a career or expand current or future career opportunities.

Instructor and student assistants agreed that rotating instructors made it more difficult to bond with students. They acknowledged that knowing students’ names, skill levels, and work habits increased the likelihood of having a relaxed, yet, interactive learning environment. Also, students who knew that their instructor knew them were more apt to arrive to class on time and participate fully. Students who cannot hide in anonymity tend to recognize the social impact of irresponsible behavior. Negative student behavior is less likely to take place in smaller classes. Students who form meaningful relationships with peers and instructors early on have higher graduation rates as they know people care about them. Gentry writes that research by N. Alkandara (2012) “found that when students are actively involved in classroom discussions, this positively enhances graduation and retention rates (2014, p. 7).

Part Two

The next phase of this project was to learn how student patterns would unfold during the full, credit-bearing August and January terms. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to apply new learning strategies to general education English courses and track their effect on student attendance and grade point averages.

Third-year English majors completed an in-class assignment discussing why some students arrived to class late and recommended how to reduce these occurrences. Students understood that if they were to exhibit similar behavior at work, they would soon be unemployed. It was impressive that they conceded their reasons were primarily excuses for poor self-management. Tardiness decreased initially after students completed the exercise; though, former behavior patterns reemerged for some. This may have been due to a lack of positive reinforcement by peers as well as not having an institution-wide policy on attendance. Some did not appear to recognize how their present habits could detrimentally affect their future aspirations. These students may be what the Author refers to as “short-distance thinkers”—unaware of the long-term consequences of inefficient planning (2015, p. 125). (Comparative data was not drawn from major courses as they are rotated amongst instructors).

Students seek acceptance for the emotional support of belonging, seek recognition to establish meaning in their lives, and seek success to know they matter. Samovar et al write, “Students from collectivistic cultures (e.g. China, Japan, Korea, Thailand) may view assertive communication style as disruptive to harmonious interactions (p. 290). Therefore, “avoiding conflict would be paramount” (2010, p. 321). The challenge was to create a classroom environment which would explore new social paradigms with students. It was surmised that cultural transformation could only take place if the learning environment did not threaten students’ core values and that the introduction of new ones were clearly beneficial. Instructors plant learning seeds that take root in classrooms which can flourish beyond these rooms as learning emerges over time. A modest number of students emerged as leaders whose enthusiasm for learning English demonstrated that pockets of students were beginning to culturally transform how they learn.

Proactive measures/strategies implemented

This research was conducted to learn whether the introduction of variables into the learning environment would facilitate students coming to class on time, improve overall attendance, and raise grade point averages. This section explores learning challenges and how they were addressed. Kokemuller writes that a class of around 25 students makes it more likely that they will participate as well as speak with instructors outside of class. Instructors have more time to offer detailed feedback of students’ work (Demand Media) which is crucial in a writing class. Average class size was around 35 students for labs and 88 for theory/lecture-based classes; so, one can understand the challenge of attending to so many students. One method used to manage some unfocused students was relocating them from a long-narrow room (12 rows deep) to a short-wide one (six rows deep). This allowed for better interaction and monitoring of students who became distracted. Sellers reinforces this notion of an interactive class when he remarks that asking and answering questions is key to deepening students’ learning. Small classes increase the likelihood of routine discussions and thoughtful dialog. Students are more likely to prepare well for class as they know they will be expected to participate (Demand Media). Additionally, in large classrooms, walking around and commenting on classwork tends to help keep students focused. This type of interaction with students appeared to motivate them to work more diligently. Finocchiaro writes that “motivation occurs when the teacher greets students and proceeds to interact with various individuals by making comments or asking questions which indicate personal concern” (1981, 62).

During year one, it became obvious that learning student names, having them discuss why learning English is important, and starting activities as soon as class began increased student attendance and reduced tardiness. Students in lab-based classes participated well with only a small percentage arriving after 15 minutes. Classes with 80 or more students had high attendance rates, but tardiness was still a factor with students arriving after the first half hour. According to Jedeikin, instructors can learn student names, behavior patterns, and learning styles more easily in a class of 20 students. Students who miss classes are easily noticed and soon discover that instructors are aware of their behavior. First-year students, especially, need a familiar setting to feel comfortable when expressing their ideas. Instructors have more time to provide student-specific feedback as well as a chance to work closely with peers (2013).

After students received their midterm exam grades, some acknowledged that they needed to begin attending classes regularly. As a way to incentivize students, they were awarded one point when they arrived to class on time and five bonus points if they met with instructor about their exam. The rationale to award bonus points for expected behavior was to learn if ingrained cultural habits that were detrimental to learning would change. Some leadership-building principles were applied to this process:

• First, generate buy-in by showing how changing behavior is relevant and meaningful;
• Second, give students opportunities for small wins (quizzes and homework with feedback); and
• Third, provide students with the tools they need to adjust their behavior without great ordeal.

This approach borders on merit-based learning—rewarding students for the results they produce. Though only 8% of the students took advantage of the five-point incentive, they mentioned that some felt faculty offices to be sanctuaries, and they did not want to disturb anyone.

Another concern was starting main lessons when a high percentage of students had yet to arrive. As a result, the first 30 minutes were used to review the previous lesson, hold short conversations, or have a game. Students who arrived late saw a classroom of active students—no one was waiting for them.

Thai students, unlike their Western counterparts, tend to be less independent and are accustomed to forming tight social networks. It is very common for Thai students to enter classrooms as a group, sometimes as large as 25 members. As well, they will go out to the bathroom three or four at a time. This type of “herd” mentality adds to the challenge of cultivating responsible time- and self-management. Rather than squash the social cohesiveness of the students, it seemed more appropriate to redirect their gregarious behavior to facilitate learning efficiently. Students liked activities in which they all participated. For example, they:

• stood up and formed rows or circles in which they asked and answered questions;
• lined up in sequential order to demonstrate comparatives or superlatives;
• formed writing teams to complete sentences;
• held group competitions to solve word puzzles and do tongue twisters; and
• completed counting, the alphabet, phone numbers, opposites, and vocabulary-building drills.

Students who rarely practiced speaking aloud in class and did not repeat words or phrases were asked to come to the front of the class to complete them while speaking into a microphone. Typically, this meant two to four students came up front. It was interesting that Thai students want their classmates to perform well and would often coach them during these exchanges. Students were less motivated to hold one-on-one conversations with their immediate classmates. I surmised this may have been due to limited peer recognition. In large group activities, students paid attention to each other. So, they wanted to perform well and “save face” (similar to one’s reputation). Darren C. blogs that “the Thai concept of ‘face’ in Thailand is probably “self-image’ and upholding the image in the eyes of others” (2016). Cox provides additional clarification when she provides an analogy for readers to, “Think of saving face as Thai currency. It can help you get farther and soothe any problems perceived in the present. Because it’s also important for you to understand that Thai culture is a current culture, thinking of today because tomorrow is not here yet. If you lose face, if you lose your temper, your currency has lost its value”. The concept of saving face fits with observations of students in Thailand as well as in the United States in that many have not been acculturated to critically question information. The Author, for example, writes that in the United States there is much misinformation from media and political sources (2015, p. 126), which if not scrutinized can lead to a pattern of thoughtless assimilation and a weakening of independent thinkers. Not everyone has the critical thinking skills to address complex issues confidently.

Another active-learning practice involved students entering pertinent information about e-stories onto a table.

Active-listening chart for e-Stories

Table 1. Active-Listening Chart for e-Stories

Students listened and looked for key words and phrases from e-stories. They completed this activity through six steps:

• listen to e-stories without any visual aids
• listen to e-stories while reading them silently
• listen to instructor translate e-stories or self-translate and, then, read them out loud
• write down key words and phrases
• copy pertinent and supplemental questions from text or instructor; write responses to them
• develop their own dialog/script using key words/phrases from the e-stories or expand on their theme/topic, and read them

As students went through these steps, they added to their previous information. Also, they reviewed phrases that were most likely to be beneficial to them in actual life. Students practiced how to identify sounds/words by associating them with familiar experiences. This helped them to retain what they learned. For example, when they listen to a radio program, they only hear words. When the same program is on television, they can begin to associate images to these words to facilitate contextual learning. When students know the general topic, they are more apt to follow the story. In Listening and Speaking in Business English classes, students wrote down key phrases used during peer presentations and then explained what they heard.

One activity students particularly enjoyed was to jot down 5-10 key words or phrases read during an e-story and then to raise their hands when they heard that e-story played. This activity provided instant feedback on how well a class comprehended a lesson. Students laughed out loud when many hands went up at once. Students also interviewed each other using these phrases and then wrote down their classmate’s responses. Students’ work was checked, and for those who did it especially well earned bonus points. One word answers received fewer points than full sentences. Student retention and understanding of dialogs increased when they recorded key words. It precipitated students moving from basic communication to sustainable conversation. Thornbury writes, “learner talk needs to be ‘captured’. It is not enough to get students talking. Their talk needs to be pinned down for analysis” (p. 70). Students learned to use question words to add on and extend role playing from a few basic exchanges to more meaningful ones.

A method used to reinforce learning vocabulary was to play music videos. For example, in one lesson, students learned about the meaning of words people use to talk about weather. They practiced terms while viewing photos of various weather conditions. This was followed by playing music videos such as “Singing in the Rain” and “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” (with lyrics on screen) to reinforce key terms. As explained, people use five senses to learn (auditory, visual, olfactory, kinesthetic, and oral). People can optimize their learning by making connections from their senses to real-life situations. It is much easier to learn the word “ice cream” when one tastes the real thing. Videos are one way to teach international pop culture as well, which can be of special interest to students who may have had little opportunity to travel abroad. Gentry recognized that “making learning authentic and relevant” affected student motivation, leading to increases in “class attendance, purchase and use of the textbook, [and] completion of all course assignments” (2014, p. 8).

At the first class meetings of the January 2015 term, Business English majors completed a time-management survey with 94% of them reporting that “arriving to class on time” and “being in class for the full time” was important” or “very important.” As a result, a new structure was put into place in the subsequent term where students received one point for arriving on time and being prepared, one to three points for homework and participation, and zero points if they missed class entirely. In addition, they had to have a textbook and notebook.

During the January term the Business English Department implemented a new strategy to apply after students completed their midterm examinations. All students who earned a failing grade had to attend a special review session covering the most challenging parts of their English exams. Students then retook a new version of that particular portion of the midterm exam. The reasoning behind this process was to provide students with an opportunity to demonstrate course mastery during the concurrent term. The Business English Department believed this to be better than a “wait and see” if they failed approach, ending with students retaking courses. A lower score on these second-round exams would not lower their grade, though a higher score could raise it one level. Though few students needed to retest, the ones who did improved their score.

Strategies implemented to increase student learning

Table 2. Strategies Implemented to Increase Student Learning

Student attendance and final scores

Table 3. Student Attendance and Final Scores*
*Students who registered for classes but never attended or who did not take exams were not included in data as they were not exposed to learning strategies.
**Lab students also completed a companion lecture course. Instructors for labs and lectures were not necessarily the same individuals. The lab grade counts for 50% of the overall grade. Data is for lab grades only.

Summary

English I consists of first-term students, English II of second-term students, and English for Communication of first-term students, primarily, with some mix of students from all four years. Between year one and year two, attendance increased nearly 20% in 500301 labs and 7% in 500302 labs. One would expect that students in their second term would demonstrate more responsible behavior. After all, they successfully completed their first university term. As such, there was less of a learning curve for these students to navigate academia. The experience was no longer new, and they were better prepared for how to manage it. During the same time span, class GPAs increased nearly one full point for 500301 and 1.26 for 500302. The 500305 lecture classes saw a striking rise of 7% in attendance between year one and year two and the same jump between fall and spring terms in year two. This was followed by another increase of nearly 3% between spring and summer.

Data revealed that in the 500305 large lecture-based classes, in spite of a steady increase in attendance, GPAs remained about the same with an average score of 2.25. Even though the number of students who earned a failing grade decreased tremendously, the number who scored in the higher ranges remained about the same. So, there was little shift in overall averages. Whereas the lab classes showed both a dramatic increase in attendance and GPA. Lab class students engaged in structured conversations, which were preceded by completing textbook exercises and developing conversation pieces to read aloud. Whereas the lecture classes focused more on grammar and writing. The evidence suggests that conversation, which necessitates interaction with other students and instructor, reinforces learning better than writing alone. Spoken learning moves students from a passive-listening state to an active-user state. As a result of this research, students in lecture classes will begin incorporating grammatical and syntactical structures into written exercises which they will perform in small groups of three to five students.

Next steps

A challenge with learning any language is having an opportunity to use it in real-life situations. Students already spend a fair amount of time watching English-language films and listening to English lyrics. However, listening, only, is seldom sufficient to mastering the multiple functions of a language. Some ways to reinforce language development is to have chat sessions during meals, go on field trips to places where English is widely spoken—often tourist areas, and to form after-class clubs.

Teachers around the globe have developed a vast array of creative teaching exercises, which one can locate fairly easily through web searches. Whatever techniques one uses, what is important is crafting them to one’s specific course and adapting or adjusting them throughout an ever-shifting learning landscape. Any long-term and systemic change to learning should be reinforced by faculty across disciplines to insure that a culture of responsibility is established.

It can be difficult for instructors to let go of their feeling that they need to perform for students. For many years the focus has been on effective teaching, whereas, nowadays that focus has shifted to effective learning. Instructors are no longer the “sage on the stage” but the “guide by the side.” Teachers’ roles are as much about cultivating student interest in learning as it is providing them with tools for learning.

Though the goal to have a classroom of 100% on-time and fully attending students was not achieved, students learned to implement a number of new methods that precipitated a more productive learning environment. Through simple acts of conversing with students about attendance and responsibility the class tone was set. Students grew to anticipate the reward and acknowledgement associated with a sequenced set of activities. These changes led to a modest cultural shift. As most SAU students will be the first of their generation to graduate from university, they do not have a homegrown support network. As a result, these students will be the ones to shift culture—their own and those who follow them.

References

Author. (25 June 2015). General Education: Reflections on a Dying Giant. SAU National Interdisciplinary Conference Proceedings, 123-127.

C., Darren (21 March 2016). Thailand Land of Face. Retrieved from http://www.pattayaunlimited.com/thailand-land-of-face/, Pattaya Unlimited (BlogDaz).

Cox, Lani V. (no date). Episode 2: Saving Face in Thai Culture. Retrieved on 9 August 2016 from http://ressources.learn2speakthai.net/thaigirltalk/6175/, Thai Girl Talk.

Finocchiaro, Mary (1981). “Motivation: Its Crucial Role in Language Learning.” In Hines, M. and Rutherford, W. (eds.) On TESOL ‘81. Detroit, Michigan: TESOL. Selected Papers from the Fifteenth Annual Conference of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED223079.pdf

Gentry, Ruben (August 2014). Sustaining college students’ persistence and achievement through exemplary instructional strategies. Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 24. Retrieved from http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/141918.pdf

Jedeikin, Jenny (11 January 2013). 5 benefits of a small class size. Retrieved from http://www.phoenix.edu/forward/perspectives/2013/01/5-benefits-of-a-small-class-size.html, Phoenix Forward: Perspectives (U of Phoenix).

Kokemuller, Neil (no date), Small College Class Size Benefits. Retrieved on 14 January 2016 from http://classroom.synonym.com/small-college-class-size-benefits-1435.html, Demand Media.

Samovar, L., Porter, R., & McDaniel, E. (2010). Communication Between Cultures. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Sellers, Evie (no date). Small College Class Size Benefits. Retrieved on 14 January 2016 from http://education.seattlepi.com/small-college-class-size-benefits-1269.html, Demand Media.

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