Jirapan Udomkit. Communication anxiety for the basic signal officers in the English classroom at the signal school . Master's Degree(Applied Linguistics). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2003.
Communication anxiety for the basic signal officers in the English classroom at the signal school
Abstract:
A great deal of current theory and research stresses the importance of providing
learners with opportunities for real communication in second or foreign language
acquisition. The English syllabus of the Signal School, one of the military schools of the
Royal Thai Army, reflects the influence of such thinking. This study aims to investigate
the following issues: first, whether or not the provision of opportunities for meaningful
English communication, as advocated in the syllabus, is manifested in the Signal
School’s English classroom; second, what the level of learners’ confidence is when
communicating in English in class; and third, what factors account for the learners’
different confidence levels when communicating in English in class. Data was collected
in the forms of teacher and student diaries, interviews, COLT observation scheme and
questionnaires.
The results of this study indicate, first, that the students had little opportunity for
participating in classroom communication. Of the eleven requirements for
communicative curriculum design and implementation, the role of the students, the
syllabus and methodology, and class size were significant problems. Second, a majority
of the learners was not confident when communicating in English in the classroom.
Finally, eight factors contributing to learners’ confidence levels when communicating in
English in the classroom were identified. The researcher found that interpersonal
evaluation, classroom activities and methods, and self-esteem were particularly
important. Risk-taking, motivation and attitudes, tolerance of ambiguity, beliefs, and
instructor-learner interaction were less evident