English Oral Communication Problems during Corporate Meetings: A Case Study of ELF Users in a Social Media Company
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The purposes of this study are to investigate the English oral communication problems by focusing on the main problems that the participants encountered during the corporate meetings, and to explore the communication strategies the participants applied to facilitate their English oral communication. The data were collected from 63 respondents who are ELF users and working at the studied social media company by collecting data with online-questionnaires through the google-form platform. The results were analyzed by the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) program to calculate frequency, percentage, mean score, and standard deviation (SD). The results of this study revealed that the main problems of English oral communication faced by ELF users in this study were the accent, stress, and pronunciation problems which received the highest mean score, followed by grammatical usage problems, vocabulary problems, and the problem of non-verbal communication. In addition, the participants applied the strategy of paying more attention to catch key words as the most used communication strategy during corporate meetings, followed by the intention to learn more English skills to improve their English competency, and the strategy to learn about the cultures of their colleagues.
Article Details
References
Dörnyei, Z., & Scott, M. L. (1997). Communication strategies in a second language: Definitions and taxonomies. Language learning, 47(1), 173-210.
Du-Babcock, B. (2013). English as Business Lingua Franca: A comparative analysis of communication behavior and strategies in Asian and European contexts. Ibérica, Revista de la Asociación Europea de Lenguas para Fines Específicos, (26), 99-130.
Guffey, M. E., Du-Babcock, B., & Loewy, D. (2016). Essentials of Business Communication: An Asia Edition. (3rd. ed.) Australia: Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
Hamilton, C., and Kroll, T.L. (2017). Communicating for Results: A Guide for Business and the Professions. (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Huang, C. P. (2010). Exploring factors affecting the use of oral communication strategies. LongHua Technology University Journal, 30, 85-104.
Jampa, S., and Denis, N.K., (2016). A Study of English Communication Problem between Non-Thai and Thai Co-workers in Lutheran Church in Mukdahan and Ubon Ratchathani Areas. International Journal of Research-Granthaalayah, 4(1), 131-137.
Jeharsae, F. (2012). English Oral Communication Problems and Strategies Used by Employees in an International Workplace to Communicate with Native and Non-native English Speaking Customers (Unpublished master’s dissertation). Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Jenkins, J. (2009). English as a lingua franca: Interpretations and attitudes. World Englishes, 28(2), 200-207.
Jung, M-Y. (2010). The Intelligibility and Comprehensibility of World Englishes to Non-Native Speakers. Journal of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistics 14(2), 141-163.
Kirkpatrick, A. (2007). World Englishes: Implications for International Communication and English language teaching. The United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Lunenburg, F. C. (2010). Communication: The process, barriers, and improving effectiveness. Schooling, 1(1), 1-10.
McPheat, S. (2010). Effective Communication Skills. UK: MTD Training & Ventus Publishing Aps.
Miao, L. (2010). A Study of English Communication Problems between Thai students and Foreign English Teacher in Suwanplubplapittayakom School (Unpublished master’s dissertation). Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Nielsen, M. F. (2009). Interpretative management in business meetings: Understanding managers' interactional strategies through conversation analysis. The Journal of Business Communication, 46(1), 23-56. DOI: 10.1177/0021943608325752
Rani, K. U. (2016). Communication barriers. VEDA’S Journal of English Language and Literature (JOELL), 3(2), 74-76.
Sangmala, K. (2008). Passenger Satisfaction with the Interpersonal Communication of the Finnair Passengers Service Representatives at Suvarnnabhumi Airport: A Comparative Study Between Thai and Foreign Passengers. Bangkok, Thailand: Language Institute, Thammasat University.
Suwanpakdee, A. (2012). A Study of English Communication Problems and Strategies Used to Solve Problems between Thai and Non- native English Speaking Film Crews while Filming in Thailand (Unpublished master’s dissertation). Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand.
